How do computers read code?

Computers read code like you read a bedtime story, one line at a time.

Imagine your favorite bedtime story is written in a special language that only computers understand. This language is made of tiny letters called 0s and 1s, which are like switches that can be either off or on. These tiny letters form instructions for the computer, just like sentences tell you what to do next in your story.

A computer has a brain inside it, kind of like yours. This brain follows each instruction step by step. It starts at the top of the code and moves down, just like you follow each sentence from beginning to end.

Each line of code is like a simple command: “Jump!”, “Run!”, or “Stop!”. The computer uses its brain to figure out what each command means and does exactly that, it jumps, runs, or stops!

Sometimes the instructions are written in a different language that humans use, like English. But the computer still turns those words into 0s and 1s before it can follow them.

So, just like you read a story to know what happens next, the computer reads code, one line at a time, to know what to do next! Computers read code like you read a bedtime story, one line at a time.

Imagine your favorite bedtime story is written in a special language that only computers understand. This language is made of tiny letters called 0s and 1s, which are like switches that can be either off or on. These tiny letters form instructions for the computer, just like sentences tell you what to do next in your story.