COMPUTER SCIENCE: RUNNING APPS

COMPUTER SCIENCE
COMPUTERS: Running an Application, Program, or Software

I will now try to explain the technical details on how computers work.  Even though there are more fully qualified computer experts than me, I believe that some people explain things more easily readable than others, and I hope I am in that first category.

This is what happens when you run or execute a program, application, or software like a Java, C++ program, or a software like Microsoft Word or Minecraft.

Executing the software or running the program:  You click the software or Microsoft Word icon, type a command on the COMMAND PROMPT, or click RUN in the IDE (Integrated Development Environment, a programming software).

After you execute or run the program, the computer takes the following steps:
1. Computer fetches the software or program that was sitting in your secondary storage (example, hard drive).  The software, program, or application is written in binary code (all 0s and 1s).
2. A LOADER program loads the software, program, or application from the secondary storage into the main memory (RAM or Random Access Memory) of the computer.
3.  The CPU of the computer then reads and executes the program, application, or software, and awaits any further instruction from you, the computer user.  (Reading and execution is all in 0s and 1s, actually, in real physical existence, digital electronic signals that is interpreted and outputted by the CPU as 0s and 1s.  In reality, computers do not read 0 and 1 but read the digital electronic signals.  The input and output of 0s and 1s are only needed so that humans can read what the computer is doing.  If computers program themselves without using 0 and 1, humans cannot tell what computer is doing or will do, real sci-fi stuff.)

Execution of the program, application, or software ends when you turn it off, when it turns itself off properly, when it malfunctions, or by an outside force like when the electricity went out.

Let me know if this explanation has been useful or if you have a comment.

John