<sod>  
 In most computers, an [[operating system]], such as Windows, loads and executes programs. In this context, a computer program refers to the individual [[executable]] image rather than all the programming currently running on the computer.
 
==The Von Neumann architecture==

In a computer with the most common [[Von Neumann architecture]] or [[Harvard architecture]] the program is loaded from a peripheral device of some kind, often a [[hard drive]]. In a machine following the Von Neumann architecture, the program is loaded into main memory. The instruction sequence are then executed in order until a jump or branch instruction is executed or an interrupt occurs. These instructions change the [[program counter]].

 A computer program consists of a set of instructions that the computer understands. A computer of this architecture without a program does absolutely nothing.
 
 The instructions in a computer program are in [[machine code]]; they are usually originally written in a computer [[programming language]], and translated to machine code using a computer program called a [[compiler]] or an [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreter]]. Sometimes the programming language is simply a set of abbreviations for the machine code instructions, called [[assembly language]] &ndash; in this case, a program called an [[assembler]] is used to make the translation.
 <eod> <sod> 
 In most computers, an [[operating system]], such as Windows, loads and executes programs. In this context, a computer program refers to the individual [[executable]] image rather than all the programming currently running on the computer.
 
==The Von Neumann architecture=
 A computer program consists of a set of instructions that the computer understands. A computer of this architecture without a program does absolutely nothing.
 
 The instructions in a computer program are in [[machine code]]; they are usually originally written in a computer [[programming language]], and translated to machine code using a computer program called a [[compiler]] or an [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreter]]. Sometimes the programming language is simply a set of abbreviations for the machine code instructions, called [[assembly language]] &ndash; in this case, a program called an [[assembler]] is used to make the translation.
 <eod>