programming is the preparation and writing of detailed instructions for a computer. these instructions tell the computer what data to use and what sequence of operations to perform with the data.

computer programmers use programming languages that consist of words, individual letters, numerals, and other symbols, as well as rules for combining these elements.

programming languages are know as high-level languages. a computer cannot work directly with a program written in a programming language. the instructions must be translated into a machine language composed of binary digits. these digits represent operating codes, memory addresses, and various symbols, such as plus and minus signs. machine language is also know as low-level language.

special programs called compilers and assemblers translate programming languages into machine language. compiled programs are permanently translated into machine language. other programs are translated each time the program is run, requiring another type of program, called an interpreter.

compilers assemblers, and operating systems maybe viewed as smart program because they enable a computer to carry out complicated instructions. the user communicates with the smart program, and the smart program communicates with the computer.

ther are several ways of writing programs: procedural programming, declarative programming, functional programming, and object-oriented programming

generally , programming is performed using the following step-by-step process:

1.       Define the purpose, scope and design of the program;

2.       Plan the sequence of computer operations;

3.       Write program instructions encoded in a particular programming language

4.       Test the program

5.       Debug the program

6.       Expose the program to beta testing

Prepaing a program begins with a complete description of the job that the computer is to perform. This description explains what input data are needed, what computing must be done, and what the output should be. After a computer program is written , it is debugged and tested