DIT 111 PRINCIPLES OF PROGRAMMING

BY
J. B. HAYFRON-ACQUAH
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
KNUST
KUMASI
Aim of the Course
• Intended for those without any prior knowledge of programming or
absolute beginners

• To help learners write set of instructions for solving problems

Course Outline
Software Development Cycle Input Statements

Algorithms Input and Output Statements

Properties of Algorithms Operators – Mathematical, Relational, Logical and

Unary
Classification of Algorithms Precedence Rules of Arithmetic Operators

Types of Programming Errors Mathematical Expressions and rules for writing

expressions
Components of an Algorithms Control Structures – Sequence, Decision making and
looping
Variables and their naming Examples of Algorithms

Variable Declarations Flowcharts

Variable declarations Subprograms or subroutines or functions

Variable Initialisation Arrays

Course Outline
Program Translators :-
Interpreters
Assemblers
and Compilers
Sorting –
Bubble
Selection
Insertion
and Radix Sort
Searching –
Linear
Binary Search
Learning objectives
After reading this unit you should be able to
• Explain what programming is and what is a program
• The software development cycle
• Explain what an algorithm is
• Explain what the properties of an algorithm are
• Different types of programming errors
• Understand what is a variable and how they named
• Explain what goes into writing an algorithm
- Input and output statement
- Operators (Arithmetic, Relational and Logic)
- Expressions
- Control Structures (Sequence, Looping and Decision making)
Learning Objectives
• Writing algorithms
• Flowcharts
• Drawing flowcharts
• Subprograms
• Use of subprograms in an algorithm
• Different types of programming languages
• Programs translators and their functions
• How a program is converted to executable file
Learning Objectives
• The use of Arrays
• Understand sorting and some sorting techniques
• Understand searching and some searching techniques
Computer Programming
• Programming is the act of writing a set of instructions in solving
problems. Thus, Computer programmers write instructions for a
computer to execute.

• The instructions for the computer to execute are written in a

programming language

• The language can be either Machine, Assembler or High level

language

• The one who writes a computer program is called a programmer

Software Development Cycle
• Defines the various processes involved in software development and
maintenance

• The objective is to produce software product for a customer (user)

• There are four major steps

 STEP 1: SOFTWARE SPECIFICATION
(PROGRAM DEFINITION)
i. Program Objectives – What exactly does the user want

ii. Output - What kind of results is the program expected to generate

or produce

iii. Input Data - What inputs can generate the expected output

iii. Processing – What instructions can generate the expected output

from the input data

iv. Specification document – all the above must be document for

reference
 STEP 2: SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
This involves using the software specification to develop the required
software for the client

- Program Design : Deals with the design of the solution using any of the
following:
-Top-Down design (use of modules/subprograms)
-Pseudocode/Algorithms (Using English and Mathematical expressions
in writing the logical set of instructions)
-Flowcharts (A graphical/pictorial representation of the logical set of
instructions)

- Program code – Conversion of the algorithm/flowchart into a language that

the computer can understand (programming languages)

- Development documentation
 STEP 3: SOFTWARE VALIDATION
The main aim of this step is to validate the software to see if it does exactly
what the customer wants. To do this basically involved two things namely:
• Program testing : Using sample input data to see if the output generated is
what is expected. The sample data must be a data whose manual output is
known.

• Debugging: Usually carried out if the testing produce wrong output. It

involves locating the error and correcting it.

• Validation documentation
 STEP 4: SOFTWARE EVOLUTION
- Maintenance : Is done to ensure that the software meets the
changing need of the customers. This is because customer needs do
change over time.

- Documentation: To provide description of the program and the

procedures used.
 ALGORITHMS
• Is a logical sequence of instructions required to solve a given problem
or a step-by-step instructions for solving a given problem

• They are normally written using English and Mathematical

Expressions
Properties of Algorithms
• Finiteness – Capable of producing the required output after a finite
number of steps for any input or should be able to terminate after a
certain number of steps with the right output.

• Definiteness- All instructions should be precise and not to give room

for ambiguity

• Generality – The instructions should be capable of solving all

problems of a particular type or class
Properties of Algorithms

• Effectiveness – All instructions should be basic and capable of being

performed mechanically within a finite amount of time.

• Having input and Output Capabilities – Capable of accepting data as

input and generate an expected output
Classification of Algorithms
Two main ways of classifying algorithms, by control shifts and by
repetitive steps
- Control Shift – number of alternatives, two alternatives gives
deterministic algorithm while more than two alternatives gives non-
deterministic. If the shift is based on a random number then we have
Random algorithm

- Repetitive – number of repetitive steps. If the number of repetitions

is known in advance then we have direct otherwise indirect
Types of programming Errors
There are three types of error namely
- Syntax: violation of a programming rule or not writing an instruction in
conformity with the rules of the language being used.
Examples are: x + y = z instead of z = x + y
INPUT ABC when A, B and C are variables
IF A>B<C instead of IF A> B and B<C
When a syntax error occurs, it is usually flagged by the interpreter or the
compiler. It can also be detected by the programmer
 Types of programming Errors
- Logical: error as a result of one’s reasoning. It is usually detected when
there is disparity between the program output and the expected output.
Example, the roots of the equations 𝑥 2 − 4 = 0 are 2 and -2. If a program
gives 3 and 6 as the roots then there is a problem with the program

- This type of error can only be detected by the programmer or the

program user
Types of programming Errors
Runtime: Occurs when a program is executing. Some of the common
runtime error messages are as follows:
- Subscript out of range
- Device time out
- Illegal function call
- Overflow
What goes into writing Algorithms
• Variables

• Input statements

• Output statements

• Operator and Expressions

• Looping/iterative/repetitive statements

• Decision making statements

Variables and their naming
• Names used in a computer solution to store data are known as variables

• Variable name must start with either an English alphabet (a-z or A-Z) or the
underscore symbol (_). If more than one character is used, the rest of the
characters should be English alphabets, digits (0-9) or the underscore
symbol.

• Variable names can be of any reasonable length

• Variable names must be Short and meaningful to make our programs easy
to read and understand.

• They should not include special characters such as @, #, $

 Variables and their naming
• Variable names can be in lower, upper and/or a combination of lower
and uppercase characters.

• Note that some programing languages such as C++ are case sensitive
as such Pay, PAY and paY are different variable names. In this course,
we will assume case sensitivity.

• Variable names must not be keywords or reserved words such as for,

while, repeat, until, if, do, repeat. For this course all words being
used as reserved words will be written in UPPERCASES.

• Whenever two words are concatenated as a variable name, we

will capitalise each word such as NetPay, TotalMark,
IncomeTax, etc
Variables – Try questions
• Indicate whether the following are valid variable names. Those that
are invalid indicate why they are so.
i. d.o.b vii. βeta xiii. base 2
ii. Interest-rate viii. interest_rate xiv. why?
iii. Else ix. IV xv. program
iv. B x. 5Times_Table xvi. εtesen
v. 7y xi. Bra_Kwame xvii. Office 2013
vi. You xii. KNUST xviii. sum
Variables Declarations
• Most programming languages such as C++ require that variables be
declared before their first usage. Hence we will declare all variables before
their usage.
• The format for declaring a variable will be as follows:

∞
DECLARE variable , 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝐴𝑆 dataType
0
Where datatype is one of the following:
INTEGER for integer numbers
DOUBLE for real numbers
BOOL for Boolean (True/False)
CHAR for variables that store single characters
STRING for variables that stores more than one character.
 Variables Declarations
• Variables that are of the same data type be declared using a single
DECLARE statement.
Examples
(i) To declare A, B and C as integers, this can be written as
DECLARE A, B, C AS INTEGER

(ii) To declare Sum as integer and Average as a real number we can have
DECLARE Sum AS INTEGER
DECLARE Average AS DOUBLE
Variables Initialisation
• In some programming languages, when a variable is declared and it is
used without being assigned an initial value, it would have an
unknown value that can lead to unpredictable outputs when used in
an expression especially if the variable appears to the right hand side
of the replacement sign.
• Initialise yourself any variable whose initial value is obtained from an
input statement or an assignment statement.
Effect of using Integers and Real numbers in an
expression
Operator Integer Real/Double
Integer Integer Real/Double
Real/Double Real/Double Real/Double
Examples
Evaluate each of the following expressions bearing in mind that table
above.

i. 37/38*38+5.0
ii. 37/38.0*38.0+5.0
iii. 37.0/38*38+5.0
iv. 37.0/38.0*38+5.0
v. 37/38*38+5
 Input Statements
• Input statements allow data to be entered into a variable during program execution.
• Note that an input data can be read from a file. For now, input will be entered via the
keyboard.
• When we want to ask a user to enter data during program execution, we will make use
of any of the following verbs and the format:
- INPUT
∞
- READ variable , 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒
0
- ACCEPT
- GET

Eg. To receive 10, 5 and 30 into the variables A, B and C, we will write
INPUT A
INPUT B
INPUT C
Input Statements
• One input statement can be used to receive one or more data. The
names of the variables should be separated by commas. The input
statements
INPUT A
INPUT B
INPUT C
Can be written as
INPUT A, B, C
Output Statements
• Output statements allow information to be displayed on the screen
• Outputs statements also allow information to be written to a file. For
now, we want our outputs to be displayed on the screen
• When we want information to be displayed on the screen during
program execution, we will make use of any of the following verbs
with the format:
- WRITE
∞
- PRINT item , 𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑚 0
- OOUPUT
- DISPLAY
• One output statement can be used for one, two or more items
separated by commas
Output Statements
• The output statements can be used to display different kinds of item.
The following are typical examples of the item

• WRITE “What is your name?” will display the string What is your name?
• WRITE A, B will display the values in the variables A and B

• WRITE 2*pi*r*r will display the results of the expression 2*pi*r*r

Output Statements
One output statement can be used to display one or more items
separated by commas.
WRITE “The average age of the students is “, average
If the value stored in average is 20.5, then the output will be

The average of the numbers is 20.5

Operators

• Operators are symbols that tell the compiler to perform specific

mathematical or logical manipulations

• There are four main types of operators namely arithmetic, relational,

unary and Logical operators

• Operators are usually found between two operands except when they
are Unary . An operand is any object such as constant, variable, string
and function
Mathematical or Arithmetic Operators
• Generally, the following are the arithmetic operators:

• + for addition,

• - for subtraction,

• * for multiplication,

• / for division, and

• % for the modulus operation, that returns the remainder of an integer

division: e.g. 10 % 3= 1
Precedence Rules of Arithmetic Operators
• Expressions in brackets are evaluated first (starting with inner brackets if
any)

• * / % are of the (same) highest order

• + - are the next in order of precedence

• = lowest precedence

• Arithmetic operators of the same order are evaluated from left to right in
any given expression
Relational (comparison) Operators
• Generally, the following are the operators used in comparing two items
= equal to
!= or <> Not equal to
< less than
<= less than or equal to
> Greater than
>= Greater than or equal to

(Note how the less than or equal to, and greater than or equal to are written,
the symbols cannot be interchanged)
Logical Operators
• These are used when relational tests are to be combined.
• Generally, the logical operators are:
& and
ǀ or
^ exclusive or
! Not

The next table explains how they work

Logical operators
P Q P&Q P|Q P^Q !P
TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE FALSE FALSE
TRUE FALSE FALSE TRUE TRUE FALSE
FALSE TRUE FALSE TRUE TRUE TRUE
FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE TRUE
Unary Operators
• These operators are used to precede an operand
• The operators are as follows:
- for negation (read as negative)
+ has no effect (read as positive)
Assignment Statement
• Written using the assignment operator (=)
• The “=“ is also known as the replacement sign
• General syntax is
Variable sum = total
Constant sum = 100
String FirstName =“John”
variable =
Function sum=sqrt(64)
Expression sum = sum + 1

Sum = total means replace the value in sum with that of total or assign the value of total to sum
Similarly, sum = sum+1 means add 1 to the value of sum and assign the result to sum
Mathematical Expressions
• The general syntax for writing an arithmetic expression is
Variable =operand operator operand [operator operand]
Where
- Variable is the name of a variable
- Operand can be a variable, constant or a function
- Operators are *, /, %, + or –

The “=“ is known as the assignment or the replacement sign and not
equal to even though is generally read “equal to”
Rules for writing mathematical expressions
• Expressions in brackets or parenthesis are evaluated first starting
from the innermost set of parentheses and then to the outermost.
• Multiplication (*), division(/) and modulus(%) are evaluated next from
left to right
• Next is addition (+) and subtraction(-) are evaluated from left to right.
• No two variables, constant or function must be adjacent to each
other. Writing x=zy is wrong if x,y and z are variables, Why?
• No two operators must be adjacent to one another unless the right
operator is a urinary operator. Is wrong to write x=y+/z but right to
write x=y/-z. Why?
• Only one variable name can appear on the left hand side of the
assignment operator, thus x+y=z is wrong, should be z=x+y
Rules for writing mathematical expressions
• There should be no operator on the left hand side of the assignment sign,
thus x/y=z is wrong
• Avoid separating thousands by commas in numbers (avoid something like
1,543,200 as a number)

Indicate whether the following expressions are valid or not. Give reason(s) if
invalid.
i. Y=3(x-6)
ii. Z=2xy
iii. Sum=sum+1
iv. Sum+1=sum
v. Average =“sum’/n
vi. Total=x/+8
Control Structures
These are very important in any Computer programming.
They are used for control of flow control in programs
There are basically three control structures namely
- Sequence
- Decision making
- Looping
Sequence control structure
• Is also known as Linear control structure

• Defines the order in which program statements are executed

• Generally, program execution is from top to bottom

• Where a line has more than one statement or instruction, the order
of execution of the statements is from left to right.
 Decision making control structure
• Is used for decision making in choosing between 2 or more alternatives
• The common forms of the decision making control structure are
1. Simple IF statement

2. IF-THEN-ELSE statement

3. IF-THEN-ELSE IF statement

Note: Some programming languages such as the C++ uses the switch
statement. We will leave out this for now
The Simple IF statement
• Best used when there is only ONE course of action
• The structure is as follows
IF condition is true THEN
take this action
END IF
The condition is true a relational expression. The take this action is
executed only when the relational expression is true. No action is taken
if it is false.
Example
IF A > 0 THEN
A=A/2
B=B*2
END IF
The Simple IF statement
The above example requires the following:
(i) A check to see if the current value of A is greater than 0

(ii) If (i) is true then the statements that follows are to be executed,
that is
divide A by 2 and assign the result to A as its new value and
multiply B by 2 and assign the result to B.

(iii) If (i) is not true, then don’t execute the two statements, rather,
execute the statement after the END IF, if any.
The IF-THEN-ELSE statement
• Best used when there are TWO alternative to choose from
• The general structure is as follows

IF condition is true THEN

take this course of action
ELSE
take this other course of action
END IF
The IF-THEN-ELSE statement
Example
IF gender=“Male” THEN
PRINT “The student is a Male”
ELSE
PRINT “The student is a Female”
END IF
The above example assumes that a student can only be a Male or Female.

If the variable gender contains Male then the relational expression

(sex=“Male”) is true hence the statement The student is a Male will be
displayed.

If the variable gender does not contain Male, then the student cannot be
Male hence The student is Female is displayed
The IF-THEN-ELSE IF statement
• Best used when the alternatives are more than two (2)
• Only one of the alternatives is executed at a time
• Once an alternative is executed, the next statement to be executed is that following the END IF
• Also known as Multiway or Cascaded IF statement

• The structure is as follows:

IF condition 1 is true THEN

take action 1
ELSE IF condition 2 is true THEN
take action 2
ELSE IF condition 3 is true THEN
take action 3
:
ELSE IF condition n is true THEN
take action n
ELSE
take this default action
END IF
The IF-THEN-ELSE IF statement
Example: Let us consider the following grading system of KNUST

Exams Score Grade

70 and above A
60 to 69 B
50 to 59 C
40 to 49 D
Below 40 F

Assume we are to accept a student’s exam score as input and output

the corresponding grade. We will require an input statement, decision
making statement and output statement in that order.
 The IF-THEN-ELSE IF statement
Solution
INPUT ExamScore
IF ExamScore >= 70 THEN
PRINT ExamScore, “ is a Grade A”
ELSE IF ExamScore >= 60 THEN
PRINT ExamScore, “ is a Grade B”
ELSE IF ExamScore >= 50 THEN
PRINT ExamScore, “ is a Grade C”
ELSE IF ExamScore >= 40 THEN
PRINT ExamScore, “ is a Grade D”
ELSE
PRINT ExamScore, “ is a Grade F”
END IF
Looping control structure
• Also known as the repetitive or iterative control structure
• Use to repeat the execution of statement(s) for specified number of
times or until when a certain condition is met.
• The common looping statements are as follows:
1. FOR loop
2. WHILE loop
3. DO-WHILE loop
4. REPEAT-UNTIL loop
FOR loop Statement
• Best used when the number of times to loop is known in advance

• Usually has three commands/statements

- The first is used to set a starting value

- The second is the end condition or the last value

- The third is used to modify a value used in the block. The modifier cannot be 0.

• Also known as a pre-test loop. Thus, the loop condition is tested before the loop
statement(s) is/are executed.

• The general structure is as follows:

 FOR loop Statement
FOR control_variable = StartingValue TO EndingValue [STEP value]
loop statement(s)
ENDFOR
Where
StartingValue is used to intialise the control variable. Control_variable is a
variable used to regulate the looping or the repetition of the loop.
EndingValue specifies the end condition or the last value of the control
variable
STEP value is optional. When used, it specifies how the value of the
control variable should be modified for the next iteration. For all values
other than 1, the STEP value must be specified. If the STEP value is not
specified then it assumes the default value of 1
FOR loop Statement
Example 1: Assume we want a loop to display the numbers 1 to 100. Let i be
our control variable. The loop can be written as follows:
FOR i=1 TO 100 STEP 1
PRINT i
ENDFOR
In the above example,
i. The control variable (i) is first initiliased to 1
ii. The value of the control variable is then checked against the 100 to see if
we are within the range and will it be possible to get to the 100
iii. If (ii) is true, the statement PRINT i displays the current value of i.
iv. ENDFOR causes the loop to repeat by first checking (ii)
v. The looping stops when (ii) becomes false. For example when i is 101 the
control variable will be out of range and hence causes the looping to
stop
 FOR loop Statement
Example 2: Assume we want a loop to print all even numbers between 1
and 500.
Solution: Let our control variable be EvenNumbers. Note that the first even
number in the range is 2 and successive even numbers differ from each
other by 2. We can write our loop as follows:

FOR EvenNumbers = 2 TO 500 STEP 2

PRINT EvenNumbers
ENDFOR

Note that the STEP value is 2 because of how successive even numbers
differ from each other.
FOR loop Statement
Example 3: Indicate how many times the statement “I Love
Programming” will be displayed on the screen.

FOR ManyTimes = 1 to 100 STEP -1

PRINT “I Love Programming”
ENDFOR

Answer: 0
Reason: If we start from 1 and our step value is -1 there is no way one
can ever get to 100 hence the loop is invalid and will not be executed at
all.
FOR loop Statement
For each of the following loops, indicate the number of times the loop will run.
• FOR I=100 to 40
:
ENDFOR
• FOR I= 100 to 40 STEP 3
:
ENDFOR
• FOR I=100 to 400 STEP -1
:
ENDFOR
• FOR I=100 to 400 STEP 1
:
ENDFOR
WHILE loop
• Best used when the number of times to loop is not known in advance
• The loop repeats as long as a condition has been met
• Is also known as a pre-test loop, thus, the condition is tested before
each execution of the loop
• The general structure is as follows:
WHILE (condition is true)
statement(s)
ENDWHILE

Where
condition is true is a relational expression
WHILE loop
Example 1
i=1
WHILE (i <= 100)
PRINT i
I = i+1
ENDWHILE
(i) In the above example, i controls the loop hence i is the control variable.
(ii) The control variable is first initialized to 1 before the start of the loop
(iii) Starting the loop, the value of i is checked to see if it is less than or equal
to 100
(iv) Since (iii) is true, the loop statements are executed by displaying the
value of i and then incrementing the value of i by 1
(v) The loop is repeated until the value of i is 101 which will make i<=100
false
WHILE loop
Example 2: Example of when it is best to use a WHILE loop. Assume we
have a certain number of numbers to sum and that we are told the
number 100 is not part of the list and that it just mark the end of the
list. Here, we don’t know the total number of the numbers in the set.
Our loop can be written as follows:
DECLARE sum, number AS INTEGER
sum=0
INPUT number
WHILE (number != 100)
sum = sum + number
INPUT number
ENDWHILE
 WHILE loop

First line: Allows for the first number in the set to be entered

Second line: Checks to see if the number entered is not 100

Third line: Adds the number entered if it is not a 100

Fourth line: request for the next number in the set

Fifth line: Causes the loop to be executed again, if needed

 DO-WHILE statement
• Best used when the number of times to loop is not known in advance
• The loop repeats as long as a condition has been met
• Is also known as a post-test loop, thus, the condition is tested at the end of each
execution of the loop
• This loop is guaranteed to execute at least one (1) time
• The general structure is as follows:
DO
statement(s)
WHILE (condition is true)

Where
condition is true is a relational expression
 DO-WHILE statement
Example 1
i=1
DO
PRINT i
i = i+1
WHILE(i <= 100)

(i) In the above example, i controls the loop hence i is the control variable.
(ii) The control variable is first initialize to 1 before the start of the loop
(ii) The loop statements are then executed by displaying the value of i and then
incrementing the value of i by 1
(iv) The value of i is checked to see if it is less than or equal to 100
(v) The loop is repeated until the value of i is 101 which will make i <=100 false
DO-WHILE statement
Using the same example 2 under the WHILE loop,
the solution can be written as follows using the DO-
WHILE
INPUT number
DO
sum = sum + number
INPUT number
WHILE (number != 100)
REPEAT-UNTIL
The REPEAT UNTIL is functions exactly the same way as the DO-WHILE.
Most programming language have either the DO-WHILE or the REPEAT-
UNTIL and not both

In a DO-WHILE, simply replace the DO and the WHILE with REPEAT and
UNTIL respectively
Example 1
i=1
REPEAT
PRINT i
i = i+1
UNTIL (i <= 100)
REPEAT-UNTIL statement
Example 2
INPUT number
REPEAT
sum = sum + number
INPUT number
UNTIL (number != 100)
LOOPING
• Please note that for software development purposes you are to use
any of the looping statement you are comfortable with. However, for
examination purposes you can be restricted to which loop to use in
solving a given problem

• Having dealt with the control structures, we are now in a position to

try our hands on some examples.
Problem 1: An algorithm to find average of two
numbers

INPUT FirstNumber
INPUT SecondNumber
Sum = FirstNumber + SecondNumber
Average = Sum/2
PRINT Average
Problem 2: An algorithm to find average of three
numbers

INPUT FirstNumber
INPUT SecondNumber
INPUT ThirdNumber
Sum = FirstNumber + SecondNumber+ThirdNumber
Average = Sum/3
PRINT Average
Problem 3: An algorithm to find average of four
numbers

INPUT FirstNumber
INPUT SecondNumber
INPUT ThirdNumber
INPUT FourthNumber
Sum = FirstNumber + SecondNumber+ThirdNumber+FourthNumber
Average = Sum/4
PRINT Average
If we look at solutions 1 to 3 careful, we see that
anytime the number of numbers to averaged
increases there is a corresponding increase in the
number of variables. The problem with the solutions
are that:
- Each of them is not a generalized solution
- We can use a single variable for all inputs

This will result in the following solution:

INPUT Number to get first number
Sum = Sum + Number to add first number
INPUT Number to get second number
Sum = Sum + Number to add second number
INPUT Number to get third number
Sum = Sum + Number to add third number
INPUT Number to get fourth number
Sum = Sum + Number to add fourth number
Average = Sum/4
PRINT Average
We can see from the solution above that the statements
INPUT Number
Sum = Sum + Number
have been repeated 4 times, 4 representing the number of numbers. We
can therefore use a FOR loop for the solution as follows:
Sum = 0
FOR i = 1 TO 4
INPUT Number
Sum = Sum + Number
ENDFOR
Average = Sum / 4
Print Average
Even though the use of the FOR loop has improved the solution, it is still
not generalized. We can generalized it if we represent the number of the
numbers to averaged by a variable, say NoOfNumbers. Then our solution
can be modified as follows:
Sum = 0
INPUT NoOfNumbers
FOR i = 1 TO NoOfNumbers
INPUT Number
Sum = Sum + Number
ENDFOR
Average = Sum / NoOfNumbers
Print Average
• By the modified solution above, the algorithm works for any number of
input and hence a generalised solution

• Whenever you write an algorithm, please note the following

- Minimise the number of variables used, if possible
- Make your program as short as possible. This ensure it does not take up
too much storage space
- Be conscious of the time your algorithm will take to run. Clients are not
interested in solutions that takes much time to run
Problem 4: Employees of a certain firm are paid on hourly basis. If an
employee works for not more than 40 hours a week, the hours worked
is considered regular and Overtime for hours worked beyond 40.
Regular hours are paid at 5 cedis per hour while the overtime rate is one
and half times the regular rate per hour. All employees are to pay 15% of
their gross pay as Income Tax, 2.5% as National Health Contribution
Levy, 1% as District Tax. Employees who have more than three children
are to pay 50 pesewas per child in excess of three towards Educational
Fund For All. Devise a computer solution that can be used to calculate
the necessary deductions as well as the Net Pay of employees. Your
display for each employee each deduction, net pay and the gross pay
with appropriate captions.
Let us pick the relevant information from the question and represent them
by some names
ITEM DESCRIPTION VARIABLE NAME
Number of Employees NoOfEmployees
Number of hours worked by an employee HoursWorked
Rate for payment of regular hours RegularHours
Rate of payment of Overtime hours OvertimeHours
Gross pay of an Employee GrossPay
Income tax of an Employee IncomeTax
National Health Insurance Levy of an employee NHIL
District Tax payable by employee DistrictTax
Number of children an Employee has NoOfChildren
Payment towards Educational Fund for All EduFund
All deductions Deductions
Net pay of an employee NetPay
 Analysis of the problem
To solve the problem, we must do the following in the order presented:
(i) First, the number of employees should be provided as input
(ii) We then use a loop for items (iii) to (vi)
(iii) Get input on an employee, that is hours worked and the number of
children
(iv) Most deductions are dependent on the grass pay hence we calculate
the gross pay first
(v) We then calculate each of the deductions
(vi) We display the required output
 Solution 4
DECLARE RegularRate, NoOfEmployees, HoursWorked,NoOfChildren, employee AS INTEGER
DECLARE GrossPay, OvertimeRate, IncomeTax,NHIL, DistrictTax,EduFund, NetPay AS DOUBLE
RegularRate = 5
OvertimeRate = 1.5*RegularRate
INPUT NoOfEmployees
FOR employee = 1 TO NoOfEmployees STEP 1
INPUT HoursWorked, NoOfChildren
IF HoursWorked <= 40 THEN
GrossPay = RegularRate * HoursWorked
ELSE
GrossPay = RegularRate * 40 + OvertimeRate* (HoursWorked-40)
ENDIF
IncomeTax = 0.15 * GrossPay
NHIL = 0.025 * GrossPay
DistrictTax = 0.01* GrossPay
 IF NoOfChildren > 3 THEN
EduFund = 0.5 * (NoOfChildren - 3)
ELSE
EduFund = 0
ENDIF
NetPay = GrossPay – (IncomeTax+NHIL+DistrictTax+EduFund)
PRINT “The Gross pay is “, GrossPay
PRINT “The Income Tax is “, IncomeTax
PRINT “The National Health Levy is “, NHIL
PRINT “The District Tax is “, DistrictTax
PRINT “The Education Fund Contribution is ‘, EduFund
PRINT “The net pay is “, NetPay
ENDFOR
Problem 5
Analysis
i. Declare your variables
ii. Accept as input the first number from the set and assume it to be
the largest
iii. Looping (n-1) times, receive each of the remaining numbers as
input
- Compare each number against the largest
- If an input number is greater than the largest, then replace the
largest with the current input
iv. Display the value in largest as the largest number.
Problem 5
Given a set of n integers, write al algorithm for selecting the largest number
from the set.

Solution
DECLARE n, i, FirstNumber, NextNumber, Largest AS INTEGERS
INPUT FirstNumber
Largest = FirstNumber
FOR i=1 to n-1 STEP 1
INPUT NextNumber
IF NextNumber >Largest THEN
Largest = NextNumber
END IF
ENDFOR
WRITE “The Largest number is “, Largest
Problem 6

Write an for finding the roots of any given quadratic equation. A

quadratic equation is of the form a𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 = 0 where a, b and c
are coefficients. The roots of an equation mat=y be real or imaginary. If
−𝑏± 𝑏2 −4𝑎𝑐
the roots are real then the roots are given by .
If the roots
2𝑎
exits your solution should indicate whether they are equal of not.
Message should be displayed if the roots a imaginary.
Problem 6
Analysis
i. Declare the required variables
ii. Receive the a, b and c as inputs
iii. Calculate the discriminant (i.e 𝑏 2 − 4𝑎𝑐)
iv. If the discriminant is zero then we have two equal roots
v. Else If the discriminant is greater than 0 then we have 2 unequal
roots
vi. Else the roots are imaginary
Solution
DECLARE a, b, c AS INTEGERS
DEACLARE Disc, Root1, Root2 AS REAL
INPUT a, b, c
Disc = b*b-4*a*c
IF Disc = 0 THEN
Root1 = Root2=b/(2*a)
WRITE “Roots are EQUAL and are “,Root1,” and “, Root2
ELSE IF Disc > 0 THEN
Root1=(-b+√Disc)/(2*a)
Root2=(-b-√Disc)/(2*a)
WRITE “Roots are UNEQUAL and are “,Root1,” and “, Root2
ELSE
WRITE “Roots are IMAGINARY “
ENDIF
Problem 7
Write an algorithm for finding the factorial of any given positive integer, n. Given a
positive integer n, its factorial is calculate as n!=n(n-1)(n-2)(n-3)……4*3*2*1

Analysis
i. Declare the required variables (say n, i and factorial)
ii. To begin with, let the factorial have an initial value of 1
iii. Get as input the value of n
iv. Check if n is a positive number
v. Loop from n down to 1
At each loop multiply the control variable and factorial value and
store the result in factorial
iv. Display the value in factorial
solution
DECLARE n, i, Factorial AS INTEGERS
Factorial = 1
DO
PRINT “Enter a positive integer “ The DO-WHILE Loop ensures that the factorial is
calculated only when a positive integer has been
INPUT n entered by the user.

While (n<0)
FOR i=n to 1 STEP -1
Factorial =Factorial * i
ENDFOR
PRINT “The factorial of “,n,” is “,Factorial
Problem 8
Write an algorithm to display all the factors of a positive integer, n

Analysis
i. Declare your variables
ii. Receive as input the value of n
iii. Ensure that n is a positive number
iv. Loop from 1 to 12𝑛
Display all values of the loop that divides n without a remainder
v. Finally, display n
solution
DECLARE n, i AS INTEGERS
DO
PRINT “Enter a positive number “
INPUT n The DO-WHILE Loop ensures that the input
number is positive
While (n<0)
PRINT “The factors of n are “
FOR i=1 TO n/2 STEP 1
IF n % i THEN
PRINT “ “, i
ENDIF
ENDFOR
PRINT “ “,n
Problem 9
Write an algorithm to determine whether a given positive integer, n is a prime
number.
Analysis
i. Declare variables
ii. Set a variable MoreFactor to false
iii. Accept n as input
1
iv. Loop from 2 to 𝑛
2
If a factor is found within the range,
- Change the value of MoreFactor to True
- Display a message that the number is NOT a prime.
- Exit the loop
Use EXIT as a reserve word to exit a loop. Most programming have commands to exit
a loop
v. Test if MoreFactor is True. If it is then display a message that the number is a prime.
Solution 1
DECLARE I, n AS INTEGER
DECLARE MoreFactor AS BOOL
MoreFactor = FALSE
INPUT n
FOR i = 2 TO n/2 STEP 1
IF n % i = 0 THEN
PRINT n, “ is NOT a Prime Number”
MoreFactor = TRUE
EXIT
ENDIF
ENDFOR
IF MoreFactor = TRUE THEN
PRINT n, “ is a Prime Number”
ENDIF
Alternative analysis to problem 9
Analysis
i. Declare variables
ii. Set a variable NumberOfFactors to 0
iii. Accept n as input
1
iv. Loop from 2 to 𝑛
2
Each time a factor is found within the range, increase
NumberOfFactors by 1.
v. On exiting the loop, if the NumberOfFactors = 0 then the number is a
prime otherwise it is not
Alternative Solution

DECLARE i, n, NumberOfFactors AS INTEGER

NumberOfFactors = 0
INPUT n
FOR i = 2 TO n/2 STEP 1
IF n % i = 0 THEN
NumberOfFactors = NumberOfFactors + 1
ENDIF
ENDFOR
IF NumberOfFactors = 0 THEN
PRINT n, “ is a Prime Number”
ELSE
PRINT n, “ is NOT a Prime Number”
ENDIF
Brofoyedur is a small village in the Central Region of Ghana. It has been estimated
that the population of this town is about 2000 people and that the population is
increasing at a rate of 15% every six months. You are required to write a computer
solution to determine the number of years that it would take for the population size
to exceed two million for the village to become a city.

Analysis
i. Declare variables
ii. Set the population size to 2000
iii. Set also the number of years it will take to 0
iv. While the population of the village is less than 2000000,
- calculate an increase of population by 15 percent
- increase the number of years by 0.5 (i.e. 6 months)
v. Display the population size and the years
Solution 10
DECLARE PopulationSize AS INTEGER
DECLARES Years AS REAL
PopulationSize = 2000
Years = 0
WHILE (PopulationSize <= 2000000)
PopulationSize = 1.5 *PopulationSize
Years = Years + 0.5
WHILEEND
PRINT “The population size will be “,PopulationSize,” and it will take “,
Years,” to achieve that.”
We can generalised the solution 10 above as follows:
DECLARE PopulationSize, MinimumPopulation, IncreaseRate AS INTEGER
DECLARES Years AS REAL
Years = 0
INPUT PopulationSize, MinimumSize, IncreaseRate
WHILE (PopulationSize <= MinimumSize)
PopulationSize = (1+IncreaseRate) *PopulationSize
Years = Years + 0.5
WHILEEND
PRINT “The population size will be “,PopulationSize,” and it will take “,
Years,” to achieve that.”

Note: The solution is not 100% generalised but better than initial
solution
Hands-on Questions
Q1:The square root of a number N can be approximated by a repeated calculation using the
following formula.
NewGuess = 0.5(LastGuess + N /LastGuess)
where NewGuess is the next guess and LastGuess the last guess. The calculation of a NewGuess
should be terminated when the absolute value of the difference between the NewGuess and the
LastGuess is about 0.0000001. Write down a computer solution for the above formula. You may use
the function ABS(x) or '|x|' to obtain the absolute value of x.

Q2. A number N may be said to be either a perfect, deficient or abundant number. If the sum of
divisors (excluding the number itself) equals the original number, the number is said to be perfect. If
the sum of the divisors is less than the number itself then the number is said to be deficient
otherwise the number is said to be abundant. For example, the number 12 has the divisors 1, 2, 3, 4
and 6. The sum of these divisors is 16. Since the sum of the divisors of 6 is greater than 6, we will
say 6 is an abundant number. Write down a computer solution that can classify a given number as a
perfect, abundant or a deficient number with an appropriate caption.
Q3. The RUSSIAN PEASANT method is one way of finding the product of
any two given integers. Given that A and B are two positive numbers, A is
divided by 2 and its decimal part truncated, while B is also multiplied by 2.
This process of dividing and multiplying is repeated until A attains a value of
1. The product of the two numbers is then the sum of all B values whose
corresponding A values ( including the initial value of A) are odd. As a typical
example, let A and B be 21 and 10 respectively then the division and the
multiplication can be written down as follows:
Current value of A Current value of B
10
10 20
5 40
2 80
1 160
In the above, the bolded lines show when the value of A is odd. The product
of the two numbers will therefore be the sum of the bolded B values, which
is 210 (10+40+160). Write a computer solution that accepts as input two
positive integers and then return the product of the two numbers using the
above method with an appropriate caption. Hint use the modulus operator (
%) where necessary.
Q4. Write an algorithm for evaluating the following expression for a given value of x
and n. If the value of n is negative display the error message value of n must be
greater than or equal to 0.
𝑛
𝑛𝑥 𝑛 𝑛 − 1 𝑥 2
1+𝑥 = 1+ + +⋯
1! 2!

Q5. Assume you are the captain of JB and SONS Airline Ltd (JBSL) and you are
approaching Britain, a country that still measures distances in miles, yards and feet.
Your range finder unfortunately can read only distances in feet to the nearest
whole number. Fortunately enough, your plane has a small personal computer on
which the C++ compiler has been installed. It has become very necessary for you to
write a simple computer solution that will later be coded in C++ language to
convert a number of distances in feet to miles, yards and feet. You should accept as
input a distance in feet and display the equivalent in miles, yards and feet. If a term
is zero, it should not be printed.

For example
287 should be displayed as 1 mile 2 yards 1 foot
5279 should be displayed as 1759 yards 2 feet

Note: 1 mile = 1760 yards and 3 feet = 1 yard.

Q6. Write an algorithm that will allow the first and the second terms of
the Fibonacci series to be entered as input and generate the series up
to an nth terms. The n must also be entered as input.

Q7. A friend of yours on hearing that you have just been taught
Principles of Programming at the Department of Computer Science,
KNUST wants you to write an algorithm for him. He wants the
algorithm to accept any date in the form day month year as three
different inputs. He expects the algorithm on entering the inputs, for
example, 10 12 2020 to return the date in the form 10th December
2020. You are to put in checks to ensure that only valid dates are
accepted as input.

Q8. Write an algorithm to reverse the digit in a given input. Use only to
Print statement to print the reverse digits.
Flowcharts
• A flowchart is a graphical representation of an algorithm.
• It shows steps as boxes of various kinds in sequential order by connecting
them with arrows.

• The following are some of the commonly used symbols in flowcharting

• When a symbol is used, the instruction must be written within the symbol
• The same symbol can be used for more than one instruction of the same
type
• Every flowchart must have a start (beginning) and a stop (end)
• From the start, each path that is followed must always lead to the stop
Common symbols used in flowcharts
Start/End
Logic flow arrow

Input/Output

Compute/Process

Decision

predefined process
Common symbols used in flowcharts
Connector

Loops
 Example of a flowchart
As an example, let us convert the solution 6 below to a
flowchart
DECLARE a, b, c AS INTEGERS
DEACLARE Disc, Root1, Root2 AS REAL
INPUT a, b, c
Disc = b*b-4*a*c
IF Disc = 0 THEN
Root1 = Root2=b/(2*a)
WRITE “Roots are EQUAL and are “,Root1,” and “, Root2
ELSE IF Disc > 0 THEN
Root1=(-b+√Disc)/(2*a)
Root2=(-b-√Disc)/(2*a)
WRITE “Roots are UNEQUAL and are “,Root1,” and “, Root2
ELSE
WRITE “Roots are IMAGINARY “
ENDIF
 START

READ A, B, C

DISC=B*B-4*A*C

< DISC >

:0

WRITE ‘ROOTS ARE

= ROOT1= (-B-√DISC)/(2*A)
ROOT1 = -B/(2*A)
IMAGINARY” ROOT2= (-B+√DISC)/(2*A)
ROOT2 = ROOT1

WRITE “ROOTS ARE EQUAL”, WRITE “ROOTS ARE EQUAL”,

ROOT1, ROOT2 ROOT1, ROOT2

STOP
Let us also convert solution 5 to flowchart
Solution
DECLARE n, i, FirstNumber, NextNumber, Largest AS INTEGERS
INPUT FirstNumber
Largest = FirstNumber
FOR i=1 to n-1 STEP 1
INPUT NextNumber
IF NextNumber >Largest THEN
Largest = NextNumber
END IF
ENDFOR
WRITE “The Largest number is “, Largest
 START

INPUT FirstNumber

Largest =FirstNumber

FOR i=1 to n-1 STEP 1

INPUT NextNumber

Is NextNumber>Largest

Largest =NextNumber

ENDFOR

WRITE Largest

STOP
Subprograms and their importance
• A subprogram is a sequence of program instructions that performs a
specific task, packaged as a unit.

• They enhance program readability and understanding

• Subprograms may be defined within programs, or separately in

libraries that can be used by many programs.

• A subprogram may be called a routine, subroutine, function,

method, procedure or predefined process
Structure of Subprograms
We shall adapt the following structure for our functions
DECLARE FunctionName[(Argument(s))]
body of function
RETURN DataToReturn
END FUNCTION

Where
FunctionName is the name to be given to the function when called
Argument(s) is the input to the function
body of function are the processes to obtain the DataToReturn
DataToReturn is what we expect the function t return after carrying out its
task
Subprograms
• Each subprogram has a single point of entry
• The calling program or subprogram is suspended during the execution
of the called program
• When the subprogram’s execution terminates, the control returns to
the caller program or subprogram
Subprograms
• Generally, subprograms go by different names. This depends on the
programming language being used. Examples are
• Subroutine – FORTRAN, Visual Basic, Perl
• Procedure – Pascal
• Function – Pascal, C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Python
• Super Expression – GML, GMPL
• Method - Java
Types of variables
• Variables in a computer program can be either Global or local
• Variables declared outside the body of any function is a Global
variable while those declare in a function are called Local variables.
• Global variables can be used in any function without having to declare
them. Thus, the scope of a global variable is the entire program
• Local variables can only be used in the function in which it is declared.
Thus, the scope is limited to the function in which it was declared.
Example of using subprograms
Let us consider an algorithm for finding the number of
possible combinations that can be obtained by taking a
sample of items (r) from a larger set (n)

where n is the number of items to choose from, and

we are to choose r of them. There are no repetitions
and the order of the items is not important.
The solution without using subprogram(s)
DECLARE n, r, nFactorial, rFactorial, nrFactorial,i AS INTEGER
DECLARE nCr AS REAL
nFactorial=rFactorial=nrFactorial=1
DO
INPUT n, r
WHILE (r>n || r<0)
FOR i=n TO 1 STEP -1
nFactorial=nFactorial*I
ENDFOR
FOR i=r TO 1 STEP -1
rFactorial=rFactorial*I
ENDFOR
FOR i=n-r TO 1 STEP -1
nrFactorial=nrFactorial*I
ENDFOR
nCr=nFactorial/(rFactorial*nrFactorial)
WRITE “The Combination (“,n,”,”,r,”) is “,nCr
Solution using a subprogram
• Looking at the solution above, the FOR loop is being repeated 3
times. Each of the loop just calculates the factorial of a number
• If we had a built-in or predefined function or a subprogram that can
return the factorial of a number we could have avoided the repletion
of the loop
• Since we have no function in most programming languages that
return the factorial of number we can write our own for use.
DECLARE n, r, Facto AS INTEGER
DECLARE FACTORIAL (m)
Facto=1
FOR i=m TO 1 STEP -1
Facto=Facto*i
ENDFOR
RETURN Facto
END FUNCTION
DO Function calls
INPUT n, r
WHILE (r>n || r<0)
nCr=FACTORIAL(n)/(FACTORIAL(r)/(FACTORIAL(n-r))
WRITE “The Combination (“,n,”,”,r,”) is “,nCr
Try question using subprogram
Write an algorithm to evaluate the following given that your inputs are
n and x.
𝑛𝑥 𝑛 𝑛 − 1 𝑥 2
1+𝑥 𝑛 =1+ + +⋯
1! 2!

Note that n≥0

Arrays
So far we have been using variables that can hold only a single value at
any given time in our algorithms. It is possible for a variable to hold
more that one value at a time. Such a variable is known as Array.
The characteristics of an array are as follows:
i. An array is a collection of items stored at contiguous memory
locations.
ii. The items of an array must be of the same data type
iii. Each element or item can be uniquely identified by its index in the
array
iv. An array is indexed by a subscript. The index of the first element
can be 0 or 1 depending on which programming language is being
used. For this course, we will the index of the first element to be 1.
Arrays
• An array may be a single or multi-dimensional but the elements are
stored in contiguous memory locations be it for a single or multi-
dimentional
• An array must have a name
• Arrays allow random access to elements.
• Very useful in implementing other data structures such as Lists,
Stacks, Queues, Heaps, trees and Hash tables
• Once an array is declared you can’t change its size because of static
memory allocated to it. However, some programming languages
allows for dynamic arrays.
• Insertion and deletion are difficult as the elements are stored in
consecutive memory locations. Inserting and deletion of an element
may require other elements to be shifted and the shifting operation is
costly too.
Arrays
The following shows a typical array
Program Translators
• A program translator may be defined as any computer package
capable of translating a source program written in either a high level
language or an assembly language into a machine language.

• There are three types of program translators namely Compilers,

Interpreters, and Assemblers.
Interpreter
• Each line of program instruction is translated on each occasion the
program is run.

• If any statement violates the syntax of a language, an error message is

displayed on the screen.

• Until the error is corrected, program execution cannot proceed; this

slows down the running of the program, while errors are more quickly
corrected as compared to compilers.
Assembler
• Assemblers translate and assemble a program written in assembly code
into machine (object) code.

• Symbolic function codes (example: MOV) are translated into the equivalent
machine operation code.

• After assembling, the object program is retained on a storage device in

machine code. Error are diagnosed during the assembly process.

• This process occurs once, and does not have to be performed each time a
program is run as with an interpreter.
Compiler
• A compiler translates high level language instruction into machine
code. Each source program instruction generates a number of
machine code instruction.

• A compiler is usually used together with a program called linker,

capable of linking together the different translated modules.

• A list of errors which have to be corrected as a whole are printed by

the compiler provided they are found in the program.
Converting a Source program into executable
file

Editor Compiler Linker Executable File

Source Program Library

Sorting
• Sorting is the process of arranging data into numerical or alphabetical
order.
• The order of the arrangement may be ascending or descending.

• With respect to records in a file or database, sorting is based on one

or more record fields usually referred to as record key(s) or key
field(s).

• Sorting techniques to be considered are Bubble, Selection, Insertion,

and Radix sorts.
Bubble Sort
• This method of sorting works by comparing adjacent items.

• If they are found to be out of order, they are interchanged.

• The first pass begins with N-1 comparisons; N=number of items to be

sorted.

• At the end of each pass, the number of comparisons is reduced

further by 1.
Selection Sort
• Selection sort involves selecting either the largest or the smallest
entry in a list and interchanging it with the last or the first position
items (depending on the programmer).

• The next largest or smallest entry is selected and interchanged with

the element at the second or the last but one position, etc.
Insertion Sort
• This method of sorting is similar to the selection sort.

• The number of passes = N; N = number of items to be sorted.

• From right to left, the number of items in the sorted segment = the
passth entry. For pass 1, the first item is assumed to be sorted and
hence in the sorted segment. For pass 2, the first and second items
are assumed to be in the sorted segment and sorted in the required
order, etc., through to pass N.
Radix Sort
• Radix sort is a non-comparative sorting algorithm that sorts a list of
integers based on their individual digits. It is also called bucket sort.

• Sorting is performed from the least significant digit to the most significant
digit.

• Number of passes = number of digits in the greatest integer among the list
of integers.

• Integers are grouped in buckets/radixes from 0 – 9 based on their end-

digits, and then sorted in the required order after the final pass.
Searching
• Searching is a method of locating a specific item in a larger collection
of items.

• A written program may have to locate specific items within an array in

addition to storing and manipulating them.

• Two searching algorithms are considered: Linear and Binary searches.

Sequential or Linear Search
• Linear search is carried out by beginning the search with the first item
of the collections and then through to the last item.

• The collection of items may or may not necessarily be sorted.

• If the items are already sorted, then the search can be stopped as the
item is found, or an item greater or lesser than the item being
searched for is encountered depending on the arrangement order.
Binary Search
• Binary Search is more efficient than Linear search.

• For Binary Search, the collection of items to be searched must be

sorted.

• Anytime a comparison is made and the item being searched for is not
the desired item, the Binary Search eliminates half of the remaining
items to be searched.