How is "input" different from "output" in programming?

The distinction between input and output in programming is foundational to understanding how programs function. Input refers to any data or information that is received by a program from an external source, which could be a user, a file, or another system. It is essentially the raw data that the program processes. Examples of input include a user's keyboard entry, information from a database, or data received through an API.

Output, on the other hand, pertains to the data that a program generates as a result of processing input. This output is what the program produces and can be displayed on a screen, written to a file, or sent to another service. It serves as the end result of the program's operations, showing the results of the computations or transformations that were applied to the input data.

In summary, option B accurately captures this relationship, defining input as the data that a program receives and output as the data that the program generates, reflecting the flow of information through a program's processing cycle.