Explain the forms that instructions processed by a computer or mobile device can take.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Student responses will vary, but should be drawn from the following information from the text.

Instructions that a computer or mobile device processes can be in the form of software (programs and apps), commands, and user responses.

• Software is a series of related instructions, organized for a common purpose, that tells a computer or mobile device what tasks to perform and how to perform them. When software developers write programs or apps, they usually enter the instructions into the computer or mobile device by using a keyboard, mouse, or other input method. The software developer then stores the program in a file that a user can execute (run). When a user runs a program or app, the computer or mobile device loads the program or app from a storage medium into memory. Thus, a program or app is entered into a computer's or mobile device's memory.

• A command is an instruction that causes a program or app to perform a specific action. Programs and apps respond to commands that a user issues. Users issue commands by touching an area on a screen, pressing keys on the keyboard, clicking a mouse button to control a pointer on the screen, or speaking into a microphone.

• A user response is an instruction a user issues by responding to a message displayed by a program or app. A response to the message instructs the program or app to perform certain actions. For example, if you respond with a reply of ‘Yes' when a program asks the question, Do you want to save the changes you made to this file?, the program will save the changes you made. If you respond with a reply of ‘No', the program will not save your changes before exiting.