What is Process?
{{nosources|date=February 2013}}A '''process''' is a series of stages in [[time]] where the last stage is the product, [[wikt:result|result]] or [[wikt:goal|goal]]. Processes may be ''[[Planning|planned]]'' or ''unplanned''. A process planned by humans has a purpose. It is a course of [[wikt:action|action]], or a procedure, to achieve a result, or an end-product. The sequence from start to finish is the plan. A plan may be [[writing|written]], or [[program]]med, or just held in the [[mind]]. Examples include building a house, fighting a [[battle]]. sowing crops; organising a [[wedding]]. Natural processes are not planned by humans. They are investigated and described. Examples: [[volcanic eruption]], the evolution of the [[solar system]]; biological [[evolution]]; the [[melting]] of [[ice]] and other [[phase change]]s; the process of [[development]] from [[egg (biology)|egg]] to [[adult]]. Processes often repeat whenever certain conditions hold. Example: car low on petrol/gas, visit garage and refill. Most computer programs are of this type. Processes may be circular: planets revolve around sun; eggs produce chickens, and chickens produce eggs. [[Rain]] water flows into [[river]]s, [[evaporate]]s, and returns as rain. Processes, especially those which are cyclical, may be subject to [[feedback]]. A simple case is a central [[heating]] system. == References == {{Reflist}} [[Category:Planning]] [[Category:Thought]] [[Category:Science]]