A form of computer Software consisting of numerically coded instructions that can be processed directly by a computer or other device to control its operation. Object code is translated (using a special-purpose software program such as a compiler or assembler) from Source Code, the alphanumeric form in which most software is originally written by a programmer.
In order to prevent users from duplicating or making modifications to software programs, most software is distributed in the form of compiled object code without the source code.