Machine code is a strictly numerical language, and is the lowest-level interface to the CPU intended for a programmer. Assembly language provides a direct mapping between the numerical machine code and a human-readable version where numerical opcodes and operands are replaced by readable strings (e.g. 0x90 is the NOP instruction on x86). While it is possible to write programs directly in machine code, managing individual bits and calculating numerical addresses and constants manually is tedious and error-prone. For this reason, programs are very rarely written directly in machine code in modern contexts, but may be done for low-level debugging, program patching (especially when assembler source is not available) and assembly language disassembly. MindAptivs’ Essence Agent generates programs in machine code consisting of a sequence of machine instructions interspersed with data.