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In computing
Computing

Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and developing computer technology, computer hardware and computer software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology....
, an executable (file) causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instructions
Instruction (computer science)

In computer science, an instruction is a single operation of a central processing unit defined by an instruction set architecture. In a broader sense, an "instruction" may be any representation of an element of an executable program, such as a bytecode....
," as opposed to a file that only contains data
Data (computing)

In computer science, data is anything in a form suitable for use with a computer. Data is often distinguished from computer programs. A program is a set of instruction that detail a task for the computer to perform....
. Files that contain instructions for an interpreter
Interpreter (computing)

In computer science, an interpreter normally means a computer program that execution , i.e. performs, instructions written in a programming language....
 or virtual machine
Virtual machine

In computer science, a virtual machine is a software implementation of a machine that executes programs like a real machine.Definitions...
 may be considered executables, but are more specifically called scripts
Scripting language

A scripting language, script language or extension language, is a programming language that allows some control of a single or many Application software....
 or bytecode
Bytecode

Bytecode is a term which has been used to denote various forms of instruction sets designed for efficient execution by a software Interpreter as well as being suitable for further compilation into machine language....
.






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Binary Executable File
In computing
Computing

Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and developing computer technology, computer hardware and computer software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology....
, an executable (file) causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instructions
Instruction (computer science)

In computer science, an instruction is a single operation of a central processing unit defined by an instruction set architecture. In a broader sense, an "instruction" may be any representation of an element of an executable program, such as a bytecode....
," as opposed to a file that only contains data
Data (computing)

In computer science, data is anything in a form suitable for use with a computer. Data is often distinguished from computer programs. A program is a set of instruction that detail a task for the computer to perform....
. Files that contain instructions for an interpreter
Interpreter (computing)

In computer science, an interpreter normally means a computer program that execution , i.e. performs, instructions written in a programming language....
 or virtual machine
Virtual machine

In computer science, a virtual machine is a software implementation of a machine that executes programs like a real machine.Definitions...
 may be considered executables, but are more specifically called scripts
Scripting language

A scripting language, script language or extension language, is a programming language that allows some control of a single or many Application software....
 or bytecode
Bytecode

Bytecode is a term which has been used to denote various forms of instruction sets designed for efficient execution by a software Interpreter as well as being suitable for further compilation into machine language....
. Executables are also called "binaries
Binary file

A binary file is a computer file which may contain any type of data, encoded in Binary numeral system form for computer storage and processing purposes; for example, Document file format containing formatted text....
" in contrast to the program's source code
Source code

In computer science, source code is any collection of statements or declarations written in some human-readable computer programming language....
.

Interaction with operating systems

Some operating system
Operating system

An operating system is an interface between hardware and applications; it is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the limited resources of the computer....
s designate executable files by filename extension
Filename extension

A filename extension is a substring to the filename of a computer file applied to indicate the encoding convention of its contents.In some operating systems it is optional, while in some others it is a requirement....
 (such as .exe
EXE

EXE is the common filename extension denoting an executable file in the DOS, OpenVMS, Microsoft Windows, ReactOS, and OS/2 operating systems.Besides the executable program itself, many EXE files contain other components called Resource , such as bitmaps and icons which the executable program may use for its graphical user interface....
) or noted alongside the file in its metadata
Metadata

Metadata is "data about other data", of any sort in any media. An item of metadata may describe an individual datum, or content item, or a collection of data including multiple content items and hierarchical levels, for example a database schema....
 (such as by marking an "execute" permission
File system permissions

Most modern file systems have methods of administering permissions or access rights to specific user and groups of users. These systems control the ability of the users affected to view or make changes to the contents of the file system....
 in Unix-like
Unix-like

A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
 operating systems). Most also check that the file has a valid executable file format
File format

A file format is a particular way to encode information for storage in a computer file.Since a disk drive, or indeed any computer storage, can store only bits, the computer must have some way of converting information to 0s and 1s and vice-versa....
 to safeguard against random bit sequences from inadvertently being run as instructions. Modern operating systems retain control over the computer's resources, requiring that individual programs make system call
System call

In computing, a system call is the mechanism used by an application program to request service from the kernel based on the Monolithic_kernel or to system servers on operating systems based on the microkernel-structure....
s to access privileged resources. Since each operating system family features its own system call architecture, executable files are generally tied to specific operating systems. However, there are many tools available that make executable files made for one operating system work on another one. One example of this is Wine
Wine (software)

Wine is a free software software application that aims to allow Unix-like computer operating systems on the x86 architecture or x86-64 architecture to execute programs written for Microsoft Windows....
.

See also

  • Object file
    Object file

    In computer science, object code, or an object file, is the representation of code that a compiler or assembler generates by processing a source code file....