Genetics

Exposing the evolutionary weak spots of the human genome

Mutations can be good and bad. Sometimes they help an organism adapt and survive. Other times they are so harmful that an organism can't survive or reproduce. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor Adam Siepel's team ...

Cardiology

Computer tool can track stroke rehabilitation to boost recovery

A sensor-equipped computer program can accurately identify and count arm movements in people undergoing stroke rehabilitation, a new study shows. Now that it can do so, the next step, say the study authors, is to use the ...

page 1 from 9

Computer program

Computer programs (also software programs, or just programs) are instructions for a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute the instructions. The same program in its human-readable source code form, from which executable programs are derived (e.g., compiled), enables a programmer to study and develop the algorithm.

Computer source code is often written by professional computer programmers. Source code is written in a programming language that usually follows one of two main paradigms: imperative or declarative programming. Source code may be converted into an executable file (sometimes called an executable program or a binary) by a compiler. Alternatively, computer programs may be executed by a central processing unit with the aid of an interpreter, or may be embedded directly into hardware (in which case it is more widely known under the term 'firmware', as something 'between' software and hardware).

Computer programs may be categorized along functional lines: system software and application software. And many computer programs may run simultaneously on a single computer, a process known as multitasking.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA