What defines a low-level language?

A low-level language is primarily characterized by its ability to provide direct manipulation of hardware components. This means that it interacts closely with the computer's architecture and allows programmers to write instructions that correspond almost directly to the machine code executed by the computer's CPU. Because of this feature, low-level languages often require a deeper understanding of the underlying hardware, making them less abstracted than high-level languages.

For instance, assembly language is a classic example of a low-level language, as it allows for precise control over registers and memory addresses. This characteristic of manipulating hardware directly is what makes option B the defining feature of low-level languages. The other options, while they discuss aspects of programming languages, do not capture the essential nature of low-level languages as effectively.