GE> 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)