Editing Von Neumann architecture (section)

==Capabilities==
On a large scale, the ability to treat instructions as data is what makes [[Assembly language#Assembler|assemblers]], [[compiler]]s, [[Linker (computing)|linkers]], [[Loader (computing)|loaders]], and other automated programming tools possible. It makes "programs that write programs" possible.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/M/MFTL.html |title=''MFTL'' (My Favorite Toy Language) entry Jargon File 4.4.7 |access-date=2008-07-11}}.</ref>  This has made a sophisticated self-hosting computing ecosystem flourish around von Neumann architecture machines.

Some [[High-level programming language|high-level languages]] leverage the von Neumann architecture by providing an abstract, machine-independent way to manipulate [[Executable|executable code]] at runtime (e.g., [[LISP]]), or by using runtime information to tune [[just-in-time compilation]] (e.g. languages hosted on the [[Java virtual machine]], or languages embedded in [[web browsers]]).

On a smaller scale, some repetitive operations such as [[Bit blit|BITBLT]] or [[High-Level Shader Language|pixel and vertex shaders]] can be accelerated on general purpose processors with just-in-time compilation techniques. This is one use of self-modifying code that has remained popular.