What does "Running" a Program mean in a Computer?
To run a computer program or application means to execute it, in other words, to start the program, so that the CPU starts following its algorithm.
Examples of Usage
- Don't turn off your computer while this program is running!
- Click two times on the icon to run the program.
- Error: the application stopped running unexpectedly. (i.e. it crashed.)
- The program is running but not responding to my mouse clicks. (i.e. it's frozen.)
Note that:
- I try to run it but it doesn't run.
Normally means that the program does run, but it crashes before a window is displayed. In other words, the operating system loaded the program in memory, started it, and it terminated in an error before showing anything on screen.
Similarly:
- I closed it but it stays running in the background.
In general, we call an application that doesn't display a window while it's running an application that "runs in the background."
Some applications have an algorithm that executes after their main window is closed. Normally this would be something like making sure changes to settings are saved. If a problem occurs during this algorithm that freezes the program, the application will be stuck in this state without showing a window to indicate it.
How to Run a Computer Program?
See:
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