Can you explain what the imperative programming style means?

Imperative programming style is an approach where the programmer describes step-by-step how exactly a task should be performed. In this style, the code consists of a sequence of instructions that change the state of the program.

For example, in Java, imperative code for summing the elements of an array looks like this:

int sum = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < numbers.length; i++) {
    sum += numbers[i];
}

Here, it is explicitly specified how the summation occurs: initializing the variable, iterating over the array elements, and accumulating the result. This style contrasts with declarative programming, where it describes what needs to be achieved rather than how.