What is the difference between imperative and declarative programming?

Answer

Imperative programming describes how to achieve a result through explicit step-by-step instructions that change program state, as in a typical for-loop that mutates a counter. Declarative programming describes what result you want and lets the system figure out how, as in SQL queries, HTML, or functional operations like map and filter. Declarative code is often more concise and easier to reason about, while imperative code gives finer control over execution. Many languages and tools blend both styles depending on the problem.