Machine Code Era
1940s - 1950s
The earliest form of programming involved direct binary instructions to the computer hardware. Programmers had to manually write sequences of 0s and 1s that corresponded to specific processor operations.
Key Characteristics:
- Direct hardware manipulation through binary code
- Required deep understanding of computer architecture
- Extremely tedious and error-prone
- Unique to specific hardware
Level of Abstraction:
None - direct hardware instructions
Example:
01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111
The Abstraction Continuum
Machine Code
01001000
→
Assembly
MOV AL, 61h
→
High-Level
for (i=0; i<10; i++)
→
Frameworks
<Button onClick={...}/>
→
Vibe Coding
"Create a login form"