developer-roadmap/roadmaps/c/content/c-vs-assembly@iJnBnTdwAgSTPBDPaqqqA.md

C vs Assembly

Assembly language maps almost directly to a specific CPU's instruction set, so code written for one processor architecture will not run on another without a rewrite. C sits one level above assembly: it compiles down to machine code but uses portable syntax that works across architectures with little or no change. Programmers get most of the performance benefits of assembly with far less code and much better readability. C is sometimes called "portable assembly" for this reason.

Visit the following resources to learn more:

• @article@C versus Assembly
• @video@Comparing C to machine language