ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Programmed input–output

Programmed input-output is like playing a game on your tablet. When you touch a button, the tablet knows you want to do something. For example, you might want to play a game, listen to music, or watch a movie. When you touch a button, the tablet sends a message to the game, music app, or video app, telling it what you want to do.

Programmed input-output works like this, but with computers. When you want to tell the computer what to do, you need to use a special language called programming. Programming is like writing a recipe for the computer. The recipe tells the computer what buttons to press, what messages to send, and what actions to take.

Just like on your tablet, the computer has lots of different apps or programs that can do different things. Some programs might play music or videos, while others might do math or write letters. If you want the computer to do something, you need to tell it which app or program to use.

When you write a program, you use a special language that the computer can understand. This language is called a programming language. Just like learning a new language, it can take some time to get the hang of programming. But once you know how to do it, you can make the computer do all sorts of cool things!

Programmed input-output is just one of the things you can do with programming. By using programming languages, you can create apps, games, and websites, automate tasks, and even control robots and other gadgets. The possibilities are endless!
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