Which term refers to a program written in a high-level language?

The term that refers to a program written in a high-level language is source code. Source code is the set of instructions and statements written using a programming language that is human-readable, such as Python, Java, or C++. It serves as the original code that developers write and edit before it is converted into a lower-level format that the computer can execute.

When developers write source code, they use syntax and constructs provided by the programming language, which are designed to be understandable by humans. This code must then be compiled or interpreted into machine code or object code for the computer to perform the tasks specified within the program.

In contrast, binary code, machine code, and object code refer to lower-level representations of a program. Binary code consists of 0s and 1s, making it the most basic form understood directly by the computer's hardware. Machine code is the set of instructions in binary that the computer’s processor can execute directly. Object code is the output of a compiler that has transformed source code but may still be incomplete until linked with other code libraries.

Understanding the distinction between these terms is crucial for grasping how high-level languages bridge the gap between complex human instructions and the straightforward binary operations that computers perform.