What is an assembler used for in programming?

An assembler plays a crucial role in programming, particularly in the context of lower-level programming languages. Its primary function is to convert assembly language instructions, which are low-level human-readable code, into machine code that can be executed by a computer's processor.

Assembly language offers a symbolic representation of the machine code, making it more understandable for programmers, but it still needs to be translated into the binary format that the computer can process. The assembler handles this translation, allowing the code written in assembly to be effectively understood and executed by a computer.

In contrast, high-level programming instructions are handled by compilers or interpreters, not assemblers. Debugging is typically performed by different tools specialized for identifying code errors, while writing comments is a feature of the programming language itself and does not involve the assembler's functionality. Thus, the correct choice highlights the assemblers' essential role in bridging the gap between human-oriented assembly language and machine-readable instructions.