Source code of a program written in the C programming language

Computer programming is the iterative process of writing or editing source code. Editing source code involves testing, analyzing, and refining, and sometimes coordinating with other programmers on a jointly developed program. A person who practices this skill is referred to as a computer programmer or software developer. The sometimes lengthy process of computer programming is usually referred to as software development. The term software engineering is becoming popular as the process is seen as an engineering discipline.

Paradigms

Computer programs can be categorized by the programming language paradigm used to produce them. Two of the main paradigms are imperative and declarative.

Programs written using an imperative language specify an algorithm using declarations, expressions, and statements. A declaration associates a variable name with a datatype. For example: var x: integer; . An expression yields a value. For example: 2 + 2 yields 4. Finally, a statement might assign an expression to a variable or use the value of a variable to alter the program's control flow. For example: x := 2 + 2; if x = 4 then do_something(); One criticism of imperative languages is the side-effect of an assignment statement on a class of variables called non-local variables.