Overview of Programs and Data
* COMPUTER BASICS COMMON COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY OVERVIEW
OF PROGRAMS AND DATA [1] Overview of Programs and
Data[Overview of Programs and Data]
The hardware and the operating system together are referred to as a
_platform_. _Programs_, also called applications, use this platform to
perform tasks. There are many types of programs. Some programs allow you to
perform tasks such as writing letters, doing calculations, or sending
e-mail messages. For example, a word processor, such as Microsoft Office
Word 2007, is a program that helps you create a letter. Other programs
allow you to create illustrations, play games, watch movies, or communicate
with other computer users.
Programs process data that you provide as input to your computer. This
data can be in the form of text, graphics, audio, or video depending on the
type of program. For example, Calculator is a program that requires input
in the form of numbers. Similarly, Sound Recorder is a program that
requires input in the form of audio.
When the program receives the data, it processes the data and displays the
output on the screen. You can save this output in a file. Depending on the
type of data that a file contains, the file is classified as an audio file,
a text file, a graphics file, or a video file.
