What is the advantage and disadvantage of assembly language?

Assembly language is a symbolic representation of a processor's native code. Using machine code allows the programmer to control precisely what the processor does. It offers a great deal of power to use all of the features of the processor. The resulting program is normally very fast and very compact. In small programs it is also very predictable. Timings, for example, can be calculated very precisely and program flow is easily controlled. It is often used for small, real time applications. However, the programmer needs to have a good understanding of the hardware being used. As programs become larger, assembly language get very cumbersome. Maintenance of assembly language is notoriously difficult, especially if another programmer is brought in to carry out modifications after the code has been written. Assembly langauge also has no support of an operating system, nor does it have any complex instructions. Storing and retrieving data is a simple task with high level languages; assembly needs the whole process to be programmed step by step. Mathmatical processes also have to be performed with binary addition and subtraction when using assembly which can get very complex. Finally, every processor has its own assembly language. Use a new processor and you need to learn a new language each time. Assembly is a great language to use for certain applications, rotten for others and never for the faint hearted.