Western Governors University (WGU) ICSC2211 D684 Introduction to Computer Science Practice Test

Source code refers to the human-readable instructions written in a programming language. It is the set of programming statements and instructions that a programmer writes using a specific programming language to create software applications. This code is designed to be understandable by humans and can include a wide range of instructions such as variables, loops, functions, and logical processes that ultimately define how the software will operate.

The importance of source code lies in its role as the foundational element of programming. It is not binary code, which is the machine-level code that computers execute directly; rather, source code is meant to be compiled or interpreted into binary code for the computer to understand. Furthermore, while programming errors and documentation are essential aspects of software development, they do not define what source code is. Programming errors pertain to mistakes made during coding, and documentation involves additional materials that help explain how to use or maintain a software application but are separate from the source code itself. Thus, the correct understanding is that source code is fundamentally about the human-readable programming instructions, highlighting its role in the development process.