Term of the Moment
extension
Definition: anatomy of a program
Programs (applications, apps) are made up of "data" and "processing." The data comprise buffers, constants and counters. The processing comprises the instructions in a logical order, and when a program is "written" into memory (RAM), the instructions are extracted in that order and executed. See source code.
Buffers
There has to be a place to temporarily hold data being processed (see 3 C's). After the program is compiled into machine language and written into the bytes of memory (RAM), the buffers become reserved areas to hold the data. See buffer.
Constants
Programs require constants, such as minimum and maximum values, starting and ending dates and data needed for comparing. Messages for the user are also constants in a program, and all of these constant types become static values in memory. See constant.
Counters
Programs require places to sum totals and perform calculations. The counters in a program become reserved areas in memory for those purposes. When a program instruction says "add 1 to a counter," an area must be reserved in memory to hold the changing values. See counter.
Anatomy of a Program
Buffers
There has to be a place to temporarily hold data being processed (see 3 C's). After the program is compiled into machine language and written into the bytes of memory (RAM), the buffers become reserved areas to hold the data. See buffer.
Constants
Programs require constants, such as minimum and maximum values, starting and ending dates and data needed for comparing. Messages for the user are also constants in a program, and all of these constant types become static values in memory. See constant.
Counters
Programs require places to sum totals and perform calculations. The counters in a program become reserved areas in memory for those purposes. When a program instruction says "add 1 to a counter," an area must be reserved in memory to hold the changing values. See counter.
Every program is made up of "data" and "processing." Data are buffers, constansts and counters (buffers hold incoming and outgoing data; constants are used for comparison; counters accumulate totals). The processing is a set of instructions programmed in a logical order (the flow chart in this example). See program logic and memory.