Executable facts for kids

This image shows a 'hex dump' of an executable file. It's how computers see the instructions!

An executable is a special kind of computer program that a computer can run directly. Think of it like a set of instructions a computer follows to do a specific job. Programmers write these instructions, and then a special tool called a compiler turns them into an executable file. When you open an app or click on a program icon, you are usually starting an executable file.

What is an Executable File?

An executable file contains instructions written in a language computers understand, called machine code. These instructions tell the computer exactly what to do, step by step. When you "run" an executable, the computer carries out these actions.

How Programs Become Executables

Most computer programs are first written by people called programmers using special programming languages. These languages, like C or Python, are easier for humans to understand than machine code.

• Writing the Code: A programmer writes the program's instructions using a programming language. This is like writing a recipe in English.
• Compiling the Code: After the code is written, a program called a compiler takes these human-readable instructions and translates them into binary machine code. This machine code is the raw language of the computer, made up of ones and zeros.
• Creating the Executable: The result of this translation is an executable file. This file can then be run directly by the computer's processor.

An example of a compiler is the GNU C Compiler, often called GCC. It takes code written in the C programming language and turns it into an executable file.

Executable Files on Different Computers

Executable files often have different names or file extensions depending on the type of computer or operating system they are made for:

• On computers running Microsoft Windows, executable files usually end with '.exe' (like `game.exe` or `browser.exe`).
• On Mac computers, executables might have different extensions or no extension at all, but they are still designed to run directly.

To humans, these files look like a jumble of characters if you try to open them with a text editor. That's because they are meant for the computer to read, not for people!

See also

In Spanish: Ejecutable para niños