Definition of Application Program

Our dialogue with computers is carried out through software, of programs, of applications (synonyms all of them). But what exactly is a program?

An application program is made up of a series of instructions that the hardware of the computer is able to understand and execute as commands

The basic language computers use is binary, made up of ones and zeros. It is practically impossible to conceive the realization of an application program using this language, and more so if we talk about the complete applications that we use today.

As a Format intermediate between the language "spoken" directly by the machine and humans, the assembler was invented. Every chip and every architecture hardware Different has its variant of assembler, like the different languages ​​that are spoken throughout the world.

However, the assembler is still very complicated for complex programs that can perform multiple functions, although it is valid for tasks that require great control over the hardware.

A new rung added to the ladder that has led us to a better understanding with our machines has been the high-level languages, which provide easily understandable structures and commands for anyone with a technical background, allowing you to structure and develop applications complex.

A program written in a high-level language must go through a process called compilation, in which it is translated into the binary language that the machine understands and, therefore, it is possible to execute it

High-level languages ​​have also been accompanied by tools to facilitate the creation of applications, such as compilers, development environments with facilities to type source code and reuse it, and integrated environments with functionalities of all kinds that allow to carry out the different necessary tasks from a single place.

One more nuance: we are talking about an application program because we can apply it to solve a certain task. There are other kinds of programs, such as utilities or external commands.

We could enter into a debate on many types and subtypes of both utilities and applications, but for our definition the basic differentiation is enough:

An application program solves a user need, while a utility serves, to a greater or lesser extent, to cover computer maintenance and management tasks.

Thus, applications would be a processor of texts, a browser web, a spreadsheet, a database, or an image retouching program, while a utility might be a antivirus, a file compactor, or a disk formatter.

Historically, there has also been more differentiation within programs, generally in the early days of the microinformatics, which today no longer exists in practice: compiled programs (which I have already explained) versus interpreted.

I have already explained compiled programs, the source code of which is translated, through the process called compilation, permanently into a language understood by the computer. Interpreted programs are not compiled, and their source code is translated into machine language directly at execution time.

Some BASIC interpreters, such as GWBASIC, are now deprecated except for some lovers of the computingvintage were the maximum exponent of this type of programming.

At best, the environments and interpreted languages ​​survive in the educational field for the youngest.

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