What is a source code ?

[NordComputer]

Source code (commonly just source or code) is any series of statements written in some human-readable computer programming language. In modern programming languages, the source code which constitutes a program is usually in several text files, but the same source code may be printed in a book or recorded on tape (usually without a filesystem). The term is typically used in the context of a particular piece of computer software.
Source code is the code that a program consists of before the program is being compiled, ie it's the original building instructions of a program that tell a compiler what the program should look like once it's been compiled to a Binary.
Source code is a set of programming language instructions that must be translated to machine instructions before the program can run.
The programming language underlying any application. The source code may be written in any o*ne of a thousand possible computer languages including Java, C++, Pascal, Basic or even Unix. Typically in proprietary software the source code is compiled (converted into machine language) and distributed as binary software. End-users are not able to view the original program and are therefore unable to alter it.
Commercially or in-house developed proprietary algorithms, macros, etc. that define how the software program works, completes its computations, etc.
The readable form of code that you create in a high-level programming language. Source code is converted to machine-language object code by a compiler or interpreter.
The form in which a computer program is originally written, usually in a language which other programmers can understand. In order to actually run, the source code is changed by the computer's compiler into an internal language which is much harder for humans (but easier for the computer) to understand.
The original human-readable version of a program, written in a particular programming language, before the program is compiled or interpreted into a machine-readable form.
Program instructions written as an ASCII text file; must be translated by a compiler or interpreter or assembler into the object code for a particular computer before execution.

[Peter]

A programmer writes a program in a particular programming language. This form of the program is called the source program, or more generically, source code. In other words source code consists of the programming statements that are created by a programmer with a text editor or a visual programming tool and then saved in a file. Source code is the only format that is readable by humans.

[webdon]

Source code is raw material...
files are kept in diferent format such as .exe .htm . wml etc... every file is created using some code according to it format which may be written in assembly or any other higher/lower language which can understanded by normal humain....
thats it...

[Jack]

Source code is a text written in a sequencial maner which is then has to be converted into machine language to get a desirable output.

[kev woodman]

Source code is life.

Actually a pretty good description although these days scripting languages are also considered source code and these often can be viewed by the end-user as they are not compiled or interpreted in the traditional sense.

Oh and Unix isn't a programming language, it's an operating system

[Administrator]

Originally Posted by kev woodman

Oh and Unix isn't a programming language, it's an operating system

LOL.

I didnt notice that.

[chris]

Source Code is computer program which is written in an English-like computer language and it must be complied to yield the object code before the program can be run on the computer. It is basically instructions for the compiler as the information is in high level programming language.

[harry]

Source code is generally written using english language along with some special characters. This code is translated to object code which is usually a binary code (ones and zeroes) using compiler or assembler.
Computers after reading these binary code will output results accordingly.
This object code can be used and run on any machine.

[kev woodman]

Enough definitions now surely? Especially as they are getting less and less accurate - there was (almost) nothing wrong with Nord's original.

Just for the record though (and because I'm a know-it-all smart arse of course):

* source code doesn't have to be in a high level language, it could be written in Assembler, it could be written in binary if you were a real masochist. Back in prehistoric times I could write 'machine code', binary instructions for my Texas TI99-4A;

* compiled code can't be run on any machine. It's operating system specific except in the case of some interpreted languages which don't really compile in the traditional sense but use a kind of halfway house such as Java's byte-code;

* source code doesn't have to be program instructions. It could be mark-up (XML, HTML, CSS etc).

[harry]

kev,
you said " compiled code can't be run on any machine. It's operating system specific "

I don't think so, just take an example of an .exe file which can run on any machine.
May i right?

[kev woodman]

Nope sorry - try running a Windows executable on a Mac.

You may be able to compile the same source code on different OS but in practice this almost never works. Computer architecture is like a pyramid with application software on the top. The OS is lower down just above the hardware (actually different parts of the OS occupy different layers within the architecture but for simplicities sake pretend they don't.

The job of an OS is to provide a layer of abstraction between hardware and application software. Take printers for example - if you want to write some code that accesses a printer your program doesn't have to know how every printer works it just has to know how to tell the OS to print. The OS has the job of managing the various devices that make up your system.

The problem is that each OS has different processes for communicating with hardware and so code for Windows machines will almost always be different to code for Macs, Unix, Linux, BeOS etc. It's the ability to avoid these problems that is one of Javas main selling points.