Fundamentally, computers follow a sequence of instructions they are given in the form of data. A set of instructions to perform a given task (or tasks) is called a "program". In the nominal case, the program, as executed by the computer, will consist of binary machine code. The elements of storage manipulated by the program, but not actually executed by the CPU, are also data. Program instructions, and the data that the program manipulates, are both stored in exactly the same way. At its most essential, a single datum is a value stored at a specific location. Therefore, it is possible for computer programs to operate on other computer programs, by manipulating their programmatic data.