Set of ordered instructions that enable a computer to carry out a specific task.
A program is prepared by first formulating the task and then expressing it in an appropriate programming language . Programmers may work in machine language or in assembly languages . But most applications programmers use one of the high-level languages (such as BASIC or C++ ) or fourth-generation languages that more closely resemble human communication. Other programs then translate the instructions into machine language for the computer to use. Programs are stored on permanent media (such as a hard disk ), and loaded into RAM to be executed by the computer's processor, which executes each instruction in the program, one at a time. Programs are often divided into applications and system programs. Applications perform tasks such as word processing , database functions, or accessing the Internet . System programs control the functioning of the computer itself; an operating system is a very large program that controls the operations of the computer, the transfer of files, and the processing of other programs.