Difference between Program and File Last Updated : 15 Dec, 2020 Comments Improve Suggest changes Like Article Like Report 1. Program : Program, as name suggest, are simple executable files that contain set or collection of instructions used by computer to execute or complete particular tasks as well as produce results you want. 2. File : File, as name suggests, is basic concept in computer that is designed to store data or information also known as common storage unit in computer and must have a unique name within given file directory. Difference between Program and File : Program File Programs are collection of instructions interpreted by CPU. File is way of recording data or information in computer. These set of instructions are stored in a file. These are normally stored on hard disk. Types of programs include application program, system program such as word processors, operating system, database system, etc. Types of computer files can be JPEG, PNG, GIF, PDF, MP4, etc. Programs are used to perform particular tasks or functions. Files are used to store picture, video, computer program, written message, etc. Programs are created using programming languages that computer can execute. Files are developed with help of software program. Programs are usually binary machine language or format that can be processed by run time interpreter. Files are usually organized in file system and into one-dimensional arrays of bytes. Programs are hard to handle and can be edited only by highly skills programmers. Files are easy to handle and can be edited and transferred through internet. It helps one to understand computer, increases confidence level programmers, etc. It helps to enhance data integrity, reduces duplication, security of data, easier to update and modify information. Comment More infoAdvertise with us Next Article Company Preparation M madhurihammad Follow Improve Article Tags : Technical Scripter Difference Between Software Engineering Technical Scripter 2020 Similar Reads Interview PreparationInterview Preparation For Software DevelopersMust Coding Questions - Company-wise Must Do Coding Questions - Topic-wiseCompany-wise Practice ProblemsCompany PreparationCompetitive ProgrammingSoftware Design-PatternsCompany-wise Interview ExperienceExperienced - Interview ExperiencesInternship - Interview ExperiencesPractice @GeeksforgeeksProblem of the DayTopic-wise PracticeDifficulty Level - SchoolDifficulty Level - BasicDifficulty Level - EasyDifficulty Level - MediumDifficulty Level - HardLeaderboard !!Explore More...Data StructuresArraysLinked ListStackQueueBinary TreeBinary Search TreeHeapHashingGraphAdvance Data StructuresMatrixStringAll Data StructuresAlgorithmsAnalysis of AlgorithmsSearching AlgorithmsSorting AlgorithmsPattern SearchingGeometric AlgorithmsMathematical AlgorithmsRandomized AlgorithmsGreedy AlgorithmsDynamic ProgrammingDivide & ConquerBacktrackingBranch & BoundAll AlgorithmsProgramming LanguagesCC++JavaPythonC#Go LangSQLPHPScalaPerlKotlinWeb TechnologiesHTMLCSSJavaScriptBootstrapTailwind CSSAngularJSReactJSjQueryNodeJSPHPWeb DesignWeb BrowserFile FormatsComputer Science SubjectsOperating SystemsDBMSComputer NetworkComputer Organization & ArchitectureTOCCompiler DesignDigital Elec. & Logic DesignSoftware EngineeringEngineering MathematicsData Science & MLComplete Data Science CourseData Science TutorialMachine Learning TutorialDeep Learning TutorialNLP TutorialMachine Learning ProjectsData Analysis TutorialTutorial LibraryPython TutorialDjango TutorialPandas TutorialKivy TutorialTkinter TutorialOpenCV TutorialSelenium TutorialGATE CSGATE CS NotesGate CornerPrevious Year GATE PapersLast Minute Notes (LMNs)Important Topic For GATE CSGATE CoursePrevious Year Paper: CS exams Like