computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

, a typed assembly language (TAL) is an assembly language that is extended to include a method of annotating the datatype of each value that is manipulated by the code. These annotations can then be used by a program (type checker) that processes the assembly language code in order to analyse how it will behave when it is executed. Specifically, such a type checker can be used to prove the

type safety In computer science, type safety and type soundness are the extent to which a programming language discourages or prevents type errors. Type safety is sometimes alternatively considered to be a property of facilities of a computer language; that i ...

of code that meets the criteria of some appropriate

type system In computer programming, a type system is a logical system comprising a set of rules that assigns a property called a type to every "term" (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols). Usually the terms are various constructs of a computer progr ...

. Typed assembly languages usually include a high-level memory management system based on

garbage collection Waste collection is a part of the process of waste management. It is the transfer of solid waste from the point of use and disposal to the point of treatment or landfill. Waste collection also includes the curbside collection of recyclabl ...

. A typed assembly language with a suitably expressive type system can be used to enable the safe execution of untrusted code without using an intermediate representation like

bytecode Bytecode (also called portable code or p-code) is a form of instruction set designed for efficient execution by a software interpreter. Unlike human-readable source code, bytecodes are compact numeric codes, constants, and references (norma ...

, allowing features similar to those currently provided by virtual machine environments like

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

and .NET.

External links

TALx86
a research project from Cornell University which has implemented a typed assembler for the Intel

IA-32 IA-32 (short for "Intel Architecture, 32-bit", commonly called i386) is the 32-bit version of the x86 instruction set architecture, designed by Intel and first implemented in the 80386 microprocessor in 1985. IA-32 is the first incarnation o ...

architecture. {{prog-lang-stub Assembly languages Computer security Programming language theory

See also

Further reading

External links