|
PROGRAM
The set of instructions that
causes a computer to do something, such as manipulate a database.
More Detailed Definition:
(n) An organized list of
instructions that, when executed, causes the computer to behave in
a predetermined manner. Without programs, computers are useless.
A program is like a recipe. It contains a list of ingredients
(called variables) and a list of directions (called statements)
that tell the computer what to do with the variables. The
variables can represent numeric data, text, or graphical images.
There are many programming languages -- C, C++, Pascal, BASIC,
FORTRAN, COBOL, and LISP are just a few. These are all high-level
languages. One can also write programs in low-level languages
called assembly languages, although this is more difficult.
Low-level languages are closer to the language used by a computer,
while high-level languages are closer to human languages.
Eventually, every program must be translated into a machine
language that the computer can understand. This translation is
performed by compilers, interpreters, and assemblers.
When you buy software, you normally buy an executable version of a
program. This means that the program is already in machine
language -- it has already been compiled and assembled and is
ready to execute.
(v) To write programs.
|