1.10 SUMMARY

In this chapter, we discussed computer software in terms of the instructions provided to a machine in order to complete a given task. We considered the role of programming languages and the development of high-level languages, which allow a task-oriented view of a program rather than a machine-level view of interactions within the hardware. Object-oriented approaches encourage an even higher level of view of a computer system by creating classes to represent its components.

We also discussed the development of a design for a program. In Chapter 3, we shall begin to apply these ideas with the use of Java.