A hard drive is a hard drive, but software exists in patterns of magnetic bits and flipped switches in a processor. Software isn't permanent. There's also something called firmware which is software built into hardware so that it's semi-permanent. For instance, your Internet bBrowser is software. It is made up of many programs that communicate with one another to make the browser work.
Programmers create programs by writing in a programming language.
This language is how the program talks to the computer. Line 20 tells the computer to look at line 10 and do what it says. Since there is no end instruction the computer will keep going on and on in an infinite loop. Pascal, Java, Perl, and Leo Laporte's favorite, Python, are some other programming languages. The creator of 'Radiskull and Devil Doll' tells you how to get started with Flash animation .