What is Procedural Programming?

Procedural programming is a term used to denote the way in which a computer programmer writes a program. This method of developing software, which also is called an application, revolves around keeping code as concise as possible. It also focuses on a very specific end result to be achieved. Imperative programming is another term used to signify this type of development. When it is mandatory that a program complete certain steps to achieve specific results, the code is said to have been written according to procedural programming.

Software developers who program according to this concept usually write a preliminary plan in plain language prior to actually writing code. Procedural programming often is taught to beginner students of computer science because of the logic behind it. They are encouraged to think in terms of a series of necessary steps that must be taken to accomplish a goal.

For example, the professor might encourage the class to write down a set of required actions to take to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Pretending not to know how to make the sandwich, each students attempts to follow, step by step, the instructions. They learn that if anything is left out, they will not end up with the final product that they wanted, so they learn the importance of precise instructions. This realization serves to help the student when he or she begins to write actual code.

Procedural programming is not always the preferred method of coding applications. Software that is highly complex can require literally thousands of lines of code, making it somewhat more difficult for a team of people to work with it. Some programmers hold the opinion that extremely large applications can become difficult to maintain by one developer.

Some people wrongly believe that it is impossible to write very large or complex software in a procedural programming language. Certain programs might be more easily written using Object Oriented Programming (OOP), but this does not mean that they cannot be developed procedurally. The Linux kernel, which is the core of an open-source operating system, is written using procedural programming. Other major applications such as the Apache server, the Drupal content management system and Samba, are all written in this manner. These applications are large and are considered to be complex by the overwhelming majority of programmers.

Among the procedural programming languages in existence are C, Fortran and Python. Many important applications and utilities have been coded in such languages. For example, Anaconda, the installer for Fedora Linux, is written in Python, as are various software managements tools.