Understanding Computer Programs A computer program is a set of instructions that directs the computer system to perform user-specified tasks. It consists of hardware and software components, with the software being the programs that provide specific functionality to users. There are two types of computer programs: system programs, which operate and control the processing capabilities of the computer system; and application programs, which provide a user-friendly interface for performing various tasks on the computer.
Program Compilation "Program compilation" is when high-level programming language code is converted into machine-readable binary code using a compiler. The compiled object code files are then processed by a linker to create an executable file that can be directly executed by the CPU.
Compiled vs Interpreted Programs Programming languages can be either compiled or interpreted. In compiled languages like C, source code is converted into machine-readable executable code before execution. In interpreted languages like Java, source code is first converted into intermediate bytecode and then translated into native machine code during execution.