What Is a Computer Program?

A computer program, also known as "computer software," refers to a sequence of coded instructions that can be executed by a device with information processing capabilities, such as a computer, to obtain a certain result, or a sequence of symbolized instructions that can be automatically converted into a sequence of coded instructions Symbolized statement sequence ^[1] . The widespread application of electronic technology has led to the emergence of a new industrial sector and a new commodity, computer software, which specializes in the software required for computers.

Computer program, also known as

Computer programs usually have two forms of expression: the object code of the program, that is, the object program, refers to a series of binary numbers (consisting of "0" and "1") instruction codes that can be embodied as an electric pulse sequence. This sequence of electrical pulses is a manifestation of a computer program used to drive a computer to work (to achieve a certain result). A source program is a sequence of symbolized instructions or symbolized statements. As a symbolic instruction sequence or statement sequence, a program can be represented by numbers, words, and symbols, and the representation can be fixed by tangible media such as paper, tape, and disk. When a program is developed in the form of source code, it can usually be "translated" by computer systems into object code that can be executed by a computer ^[3]

Computer program data can be defined as information that is processed by the program. When we consider the entire computer system, sometimes the difference between program and data is not so obvious.

Computer program script program

Generally, computer programs are compiled and linked into a format that is not easily understood by a computer and then run. Programs that run without compilation are often called script programs.

Computer program program run

In order for a program to run, the computer loads the program code, and may also load data, thereby initializing it to a starting state, and then calling some kind of startup mechanism. At the lowest level, these begin with a boot sequence.

In most computers, operating systems such as Windows, etc., load and execute many programs. In this case, a computer program refers to a single executable map, not all programs currently running on this computer.

Computer program architecture

On a computer based on the most common Von Neumann architecture (also known as Harvard Architecture), the program is loaded into the computer from some external device, usually a hard disk. If the computer chooses the Von Neumann architecture, the program is loaded into memory. The instruction sequence is executed sequentially until a jump or branch instruction is executed or an interrupt occurs. All of these instructions change the contents of the instruction register.

Computers based on this architecture will not work without program support. A computer program is a collection of instructions.

The instructions in the program are based on machine language; the program is usually first written in a computer programming language, and then translated into machine language using a compiler or interpreter. Sometimes programs can also be written in assembly language. Assembly language is essentially a set of tokens representing machine language-in this case, the program used for translation is called an assembler.