Which term describes the executable form of a program after compilation?

Which term describes the executable form of a program after compilation?

• A. Source code
• B. Object code
• C. Encoding
• D. Algorithm

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is the translation from something humans can read to something a computer can execute. Source code is the human-readable program you write in a programming language. Encoding refers to how data or information is represented in bits and bytes, not to the program’s translated form. An algorithm is a general set of steps to solve a problem, not a concrete translation or implementation. The form that results directly from running a compiler is object code. This is the machine-readable version of your program, typically stored in object files and consisting of binary instructions the computer can understand. It may further require linking to become a complete executable, but object code is the translated, executable-ready representation produced after compilation.

The main idea here is the translation from something humans can read to something a computer can execute. Source code is the human-readable program you write in a programming language. Encoding refers to how data or information is represented in bits and bytes, not to the program’s translated form. An algorithm is a general set of steps to solve a problem, not a concrete translation or implementation.

The form that results directly from running a compiler is object code. This is the machine-readable version of your program, typically stored in object files and consisting of binary instructions the computer can understand. It may further require linking to become a complete executable, but object code is the translated, executable-ready representation produced after compilation.