Program

A computer program is a set of instructions that tells a computer what to do. The computer follows those instructions one by one, in order, from top to bottom.

instruction 1  →  run
instruction 2  →  run
instruction 3  →  run
      ↓
   result

Programs are lists of instructions#

Every program — no matter how complex — is just a sequence of individual steps. The computer doesn’t read ahead, make assumptions, or skip around. It runs instruction 1, then instruction 2, then instruction 3, and so on until it reaches the end.