The algorithm is kept on, or near, the computer. Users bring their problem to the computer, run the algorithm, and then leave with their results. Programming languages that are primarily designed to express algorithms are called procedural languages. In the 1950's large businesses started using computers. Banks put their customers' checking accounts on computers.
Insurance companies put their policies on computers.
And firms of all kinds used computers to run their accounting and payroll operations. In business applications, data is permanent and algorithms are transient. A firm's data, coded and recorded on a computer system, represents an enormous investment. This collection of data is called a database , and is carefully tended and protected. Small algorithms, called transactions, come to the database, execute, and leave.