Computer program

A computer program is, at the most basic level, a set of instructions to be executed by a computer. Often, a computer program will go through multiple stages of processing until it is in a form that the computer can handle correctly. Computer programs are often likened to recipes, since they are built up of instructions (usually called "statements" or "commands"), accept input, and result in output being produced.

Computer programs can be as simple as a block of code that outputs "Hello world!" or complex enough to browse the Internet and display web pages. One example of a rather complex program would be the Mozilla Firefox web browser.

Generally programs are written to run on top of an operating system, which in turn manages the hardware resources of a computer.

There are a myriad of various ways to write a computer program. On a basic level one could write machine code designed to run directly on top of hardware. This is a tedious task, and several other methods to create programs have evolved over the history of computing

In modern times typically if one chooses to write a program, a programming language is chosen (such as C, Java or Python) and then the syntax of that language is learned. Over time a programmer learns various skills in order to "develop code." Some programmers consider themselves as much artists as engineers.