Introduction to Computer Programming

Introduction
A computer is a machine that performs a variety of tasks according to specific
instructions. It is a data processing machine which accepts data via an input device and
its processor manipulates the data according to a program.
The computer has two major components. The first one is the Hardware which is the
tangible part of the computer. It is composed of electronic and mechanical parts. The
second major component is the software which is the intangible part of a computer. It
consists of data and the computer programs.

Basic Components of a Computer

Hardware
The Central Processing Unit
The processor is the brain of the computer. It contains millions of extremely tiny
electrical parts. It does the fundamental computing within the system. Examples of
processors are Pentium, Athlon and SPARC.
Memory
The memory is where data and instructions needed by the CPU to do its appointed tasks
can be found. It is divided into several storage locations which have corresponding
addresses. The CPU accesses the memory with the use of these addresses.
Main Memory
The main memory is very closely connected to the processor. It is used to hold programs
and data that the processor is actively working with. It is not used for long-term storage.
It is sometimes called the RAM (Random Access Memory).The computer's main memory
is considered as volatile storage. This means that once the computer is turned off, all
information residing in the main memory is erased.
The Secondary Memory
The secondary memory is connected to main memory. It is used to hold programs and
data for long term use. Examples of secondary memory are hard disks and CD-ROM.
Secondary memory is considered as non-volatile storage. This means that information
residing in secondary memory is not erased after the computer is turned off.

Input and Output Devices

Input and output devices allow a computer system to interact with the outside world by
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moving data into and out of the system. Examples of input devices are
keyboards, mice and microphones. Examples of output devices are monitors, printers
and speakers.
Software
Software is the program that a computer uses in order to function. It is kept on some
hardware device like a hard disk, but it itself is intangible. The data that the computer
uses can be anything that a program needs. Programs acts like instructions for the
processor.
Some Types of Computer Programs:
1. Systems Programs
Programs that are needed to keep all the hardware and software systems running
together smoothly
Examples:
Operating Systems like Linux, Windows, UNIX, Solaris, MacOS
2. Application Programs
Programs that people use to get their work done
Examples:
Word Processor
Game programs
Spreadsheets
3. Compilers
The computer understands only one language: machine language. Machine language is
in the form of ones and zeros. Since it is highly impractical for people to create programs
out of zeros and ones, there must be a way of translating or converting a language which
we understand into machine language, for this purpose, there exists compilers.

Overview of Computer Programming Languages

What is a Programming Language?
A programming language is a standardized communication technique for expressing
instructions to a computer. Like human languages, each language has its own syntax and
grammar.
Programming languages enable a programmer to precisely specify what data a
computer will act upon, how these data will be stored /transmitted, and precisely what
actions to take under various circumstances.
There are different types of programming languages that can be used to create
programs, but regardless of what language you use, these instructions are translated
into machine language that can be understood by computers.
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Categories of Programming Languages

1. High-level Programming Languages
A high-level programming language is a programming language that is more userfriendly, to some extent platform-independent, and abstract from low-level computer
processor operations such as memory accesses. A programming statement may be
translated into one or several machine instructions by a compiler.
Examples are Java, C, C++, Basic, and FORTRAN
2. Low-level Assembly Language
Assembly languages are similar to machine languages, but they are much easier to
program in because they allow a programmer to substitute names for numbers.
Assembly languages are available for each CPU family, and each assembly instruction is
translated into one machine instruction by an assembler program.
Note: The terms "high-level" and "low-level" are inherently relative. Originally, assembly
language was considered low-level and COBOL, C, etc. were considered high-level. Many
programmers today might refer to these latter languages as low-level.

The Program Development Life Cycle

Programmers do not sit down and start writing code right away when trying to make a
computer program. Instead, they follow an organized plan or methodology that breaks
the process into a series of tasks.
Here are the basic steps in trying to solve a problem on the computer:
1. Problem Definition
2. Problem Analysis
3. Algorithm design and representation (Pseudocode or flowchart)
4. Coding and debugging
In order to understand the basic steps in solving a problem on a computer, let us define
a single problem that we will solve step-by-step as we discuss the problem solving
methodologies in detail. The problem we will solve will be defined in the next section.
Problem Definition
A programmer is usually given a task in the form of a problem. Before a program can be
designed to solve a particular problem, the problem must be well and clearly defined
first in terms of its input and output requirements.
A clearly defined problem is already half the solution. Computer programming requires
us to define the problem first before we even try to create a solution.

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Let us now define our example problem:

Create a program that will determine the number of times a name occurs in a list.
Problem Analysis
After the problem has been adequately defined, the simplest and yet the most efficient
and effective approach to solve the problem must be formulated. Usually, this step
involves breaking up the problem into smaller and simpler sub-problems.
Example Problem:
Determine the number of times a name occurs in a list
Input to the program:
List of names, name to look for
Output of the program:
The number of times the name occurs in a list

Algorithm design and representation

Once our problem is clearly defined, we can now set to finding a solution. In computer
programming, it is normally required to express our solution in a step-by-step manner.
An Algorithm is a clear and unambiguous specification of the steps needed to solve a
problem. It may be expressed in either Human language (English, Tagalog), through a
graphical representation like a flowchart or through a pseudocode, which is a cross
between human language and a programming language.
Now given the problem defined in the previous sections, how do we express our general
solution in such a way that it is simple yet understandable?
Expressing our solution through Human language:
1. Get the list of names
2. Get the name to look for, let's call this the keyname
3. Compare the keyname to each of the names in the list
4. If the keyname is the same with a name in the list, add 1 to the count
5. If all the names have been compared, output the result

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Expressing our solution through a flowchart:

Expressing our solution through pseudocode:

Let nameList = List of Names
Let keyName = the name to be sought
Let Count = 0
For each name in NameList do the following
if name == keyName
Count = Count + 1
Display Count
Flowcharting Symbols and their meanings
A flowchart is a design tool used to graphically represent the logic in a solution.
Flowcharts typically do not display programming language commands. Rather, they
state the concept in English or mathematical notation.
Here are some guidelines for commonly used symbols in creating flowcharts. You can
use any symbols in creating your flowcharts, as long as you are consistent in using them.

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Coding and Debugging

After constructing the algorithm, it is now possible to create the source code. Using the
algorithm as basis, the source code can now be written using the chosen programming
language. Most of the time, after the programmer has written the program, the program
isn't 100% Working right away. The programmer has to add some fixes to the program
in case of errors (also called bugs) that occurs in the program. This process of is called
debugging.
There are two types of errors that a programmer will encounter along the way. The first
one is compile-time error, and the other is runtime error. Compile-Time Errors occur if
there is a syntax error in the code. The compiler will detect the error and the program
won't even compile. At this point, the programmer is unable to form an executable that a
user can run until the error is fixed.
Forgetting a semi-colon at the end of a statement or misspelling a certain command, for
example, is a compile-time error. It's something the compiler can detect as an error.
Compilers aren't perfect and so can't catch all errors at compile time. This is especially
true for logic errors such as infinite loops. This type of error is called runtime error. For
example, the actual syntax of the code looks okay. But when you follow the code's logic,
the same piece of code keeps executing over and over again infinitely so that it loops. In
such a case, compilers aren't really smart enough to catch all of these types of errors at
compile-time, and therefore, the program compiles fine into an executable file. However,
and unfortunately, when the end-user runs the program, the program (or even their
whole computer) freezes up due to an infinite loop. Other types of run-time errors are
when an incorrect value is computed, the wrong thing happens, etc.

INTRODUCTION PROCEDURAL PROGRAMMING TECHNIQUES

Procedural programming is characterized as a problem solving technique that follows a
divide and conquer approach. What is meant by divide and conquer is a stepwise
approach that takes a complex problem and breaks it down into smaller subtasks. The
pieces can communicate with each other so the computer program becomes a series of
subtasks that make up the whole. There is quite a bit of evidence that suggests that this
approach of problem solving can be very effective in designing complex solutions.
Procedural programming gets its name from its dependence on procedures (or blocks of
logic) that creates statements to perform one subtask. A program is a collection of many
sub tasks or procedures that together fulfill the requirements behind the program. Just
like control structures, procedures are found in most programming languages. Whereas
control structures are typically implemented with if and while statements, procedures
come by many names (like function, method, subroutine and procedure). Even if the
name is different, all of these terms refer to a procedure that represents a subtask of the
program.

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A procedure is very similar to the code block used by control structures.

The difference is that a procedure typically contains many structures and statements
and is called out in program logic to be run as a sub task.
Key Concept: The procedure or module is executed when it is called in the program. When
called, all of the statements in the module are executed and then control is return back to
the call point where execution is now focused on the next statement. If the module returns
a value, then the statement that called the module must receive that value and use that
value in the calling statement.
Lets choose a non-programming example to illustrate procedural designs. Do you
suppose that the design team who constructed the space shuttle sat down in front of the
drawing board and designed all of the systems from start to finish? Would they have
done this without ever trying to break down shuttle functions or operations into smaller
pieces? I would suggest that the answer is no and that the space shuttle, although it had
a design that joined all the systems, most of the space shuttle was designed in pieces.
One piece or sub task might have been the launch system. Other pieces might have been
the communications, reentry, cooling and heating and crew quarters. One other piece or
subsystem might have been the arm used in the cargo bay. It is likely that each of the
components on the space shuttle was given to a different group of engineers to design
with one group focusing on merging all of the components. Now, as I am sure you can
imagine, I had no part in the design of the space shuttle but I have been involved with
development of several very complex systems. What characterized my involvement in
the design of these systems were the technique of modularization and the process of
taking the larger problem and breaking it down into smaller pieces.
Procedural Programming: Procedural programming is built around the concept of
developing programs based on sub tasks (also known as modules of code). The modules are
called and connected by a single parent module that coordinates all of the modules into a
working solution. Procedural programming gets its name from procedures. A procedure is
a subtask that is implemented in programming languages under a variety of language
specific names (i.e. functions, procedures, methods, sub routines, etc.)

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Questions Time?
Question 1
The flow chart below is meant to show the stepsfor making and drinking a glass of
blackcurrant squash.
Place the instructions below in the flow chart. Make sure you put the instructions in the
correct order.

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Question 2
The flow chart on the right is meant to show the steps for safely crossing the road.
There is a decision box in this flow chart.
Place the boxes below in the flow chart.

Question3
Write a pseudocode to print the grade of students according to their final marks. Criteria
is as follows:
Marks
>=75 and <=100
>=60 and <75
>=40 and <60
<40

Grade
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Fail

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