What is a program in execution called?

Concept

A program is a passive set of instructions stored on secondary storage. When the operating system loads it and begins execution, the active instance—with its own address space, program counter, registers, and resources—is a process.

One program can therefore create multiple processes, each with a distinct execution state.

Application

The stem asks for the name of a program while it is executing. That active instance is a process.

Contrast

• Procedure: a reusable sequence of instructions that can be invoked within a program.

• Instruction: one operation executed by a processor.

• Function: a callable program unit, often with parameters and a return value.

Cross-check

If execution is paused, the operating system saves the active instance’s context in its process control block and later restores it. That runtime state belongs to a process, not to the passive program file.

Therefore, a program in execution is called a process.