Final answer:
A literal is a piece of data that is written directly in the program code, representing a fixed value such as a number or a string.
Step-by-step explanation:
A literal is a piece of data that is written directly in the source code of the program. Literals represent a fixed value that is included in the code itself, without any alteration or additional computation. For example, in the program code int number = 10;, the numeral 10 is a literal representing a fixed numerical value. There are various types of literals, such as string literals (e.g., "Hello, World!"), integer literals (e.g., 42), and floating-point literals (e.g., 3.14), each typically signifying different types of data.