Oracle® PL/SQL® Interactive Workbook, Second Edition

Lab 1.1 The Nature of a Computer Program and Programming Languages

Lab Objectives After this Lab, you will be able to: ✓ Understand the Nature of Computer Programs and Programming Languages ✓ Understand the Differences between Interpreted and Compiled Languages

A computer needs instructions to follow because it cannot think on its own. For instance, when playing a game of solitaire you must choose which card to move. Each time a card is moved, a set of instructions has been executed to carry out the move. These instructions compose only a small part of the solitaire program. This program comprises many more instructions that allow a user to perform actions, such as beginning or ending a game, selecting a card’s color, and so forth. Therefore, ...