Any programming language that specifies explicit manipulation of the state of the computer system, not to be confused with a procedural language, which specifies an explicit sequence of steps to perform. An example of an imperative (but non-procedural) language is a dATA manipulation language for a {relational dATAbase management system}. This specifies changes to the dATAbase but does not necessarily require anyone to specify a sequence of steps. (2003-06-23)