Chapter One

Introduction to programming
What is programming?
Programming is a skill that can be acquired by a computer professional that gives
him/her the knowledge of making the computer perform the required operation
or task.
Why do we need to learn computer programming?
Computer programming is critical if one wants to know how to make the
computer perform a task. Most users of a computer only use the available
applications on the computer. These applications are produced by computer
programmers. Thus if someone is interested to make such kind of applications,
he/she needs to learn how to talk to the computer, which is learning computer
programming.
What is programming language?
Programming Language: is a set different category of written symbols that
instruct computer hardware to perform specified operations required by the
designer.
What skills do we need to be a programmer?
For someone to be a programmer, in addition to basic skills in computer, needs to
have the following major skills:
• Programming Language Skill: knowing one or more programming language to
talk to the computer and instruct the machine to perform a task.
• Problem Solving Skill: skills on how to solve real world problem and represent
the solution in understandable format.
• Algorithm Development: skill of coming up with sequence of simple and
human understandable set of instructions showing the step of solving the
problem. Those set of steps should not be dependent on any programming
language or machine.

In every programming Language there are sets of rules that govern the symbols used in a
programming language. These set of rules determine how the programmer can make the
computer hardware to perform a specific operation. These sets of rules are called syntax.

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1.1. Generations of programming language.
st nd rd th
Programming languages are categorized into five generations: (1 , 2 , 3 , 4 and
th
5 generation languages)
These programming languages can also be categorized into two broad categories:
low level and high level languages.
o Low level languages are machine specific or dependent.
o High level languages like COBOL, BASIC are machine independent and can
run on variety of computers.
From the five categories of programming languages, first and second generation
languages are low level languages and the rest are high level programming
languages.
The higher the level of a language, the easier it is to understand and use by
programmers.
Languages after the fourth generation are referred to as a very high level language.

1.1.1. First Generation (Machine languages, 1940’s):

Difficult to write applications with.

Dependent on machine languages of the specific computer being used.
Machine languages allow the programmer to interact directly with the hardware, and
it can be executed by the computer without the need for a translator.
Is more powerful in utilizing resources of the computer.
Gives power to the programmer.
They execute very quickly and use memory very efficiently.

1.1.2. Second Generation (Assembly languages, early 1950’s):

Uses symbolic names for operations and storage locations.

A system program called an assembler translates a program written in assembly
language to machine language.
Programs written in assembly language are not portable. i.e., different computer
architectures have their own machine and assembly languages.
They are highly used in system software development.

1.1.3. Third Generation (High level languages, 1950’s to 1970’s):

Uses English like instructions and mathematicians were able to define variables
with statements such as Z = A + B
Such languages are much easier to use than assembly language.
Programs written in high level languages need to be translated into machine
language in order to be executed.

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 The use of common words (reserved words) within instructions makes them easier
to learn.
All third generation programming languages are procedural languages.
In procedural languages, the programmer is expected to specify what is required
and how to perform it.

1.1.4. Fourth Generation (since late 1970’s):

Have a simple, English like syntax rules; commonly used to access databases.
Forth generation languages are non-procedural languages.
The non-procedural method is easier to write, but you have less control over how
each task is actually performed.
In non-procedural languages the programmer is not required to write traditional
programming logic. Programmers concentrate on defining the input and output
rather than the program steps required.
o For example, a command, such as LIST, might display all the records in a file on screen,
separating fields with a blank space. In a procedural language, all the logic for inputting
each record, testing for end of file and formatting each column on screen has to be
explicitly programmed.
Forth generation languages have a minimum number of syntax rules. This saves
time and free professional programmers for more complex tasks.
Some examples of 4GL are structured query languages (SQL), report generators,
application generators and graphics languages.

1.1.5. Fifth Generation (1990’s):

These are used in artificial intelligence (AI) and expert systems; also used for
accessing databases.
5GLs are “natural” languages whose instruction closely resembles human speech.
E.g. “get me Jone Brown’s sales figure for the 1997 financial year”.
5GLs require very powerful hardware and software because of the complexity
involved in interpreting commands in human language.

1.2. Overview of Computers and Computer Organization.

Regardless of differences in physical appearance, virtually every computer may be
envisioned as being divided into six logical units or sections:
Input Unit: it obtains information from various input devices and places this
information at the disposal of the other units so that the information may be
processed or stored.
Output Unit: it takes information that has been processed by the computer and
places it on various output devices to make the information available for use
outside the computer.

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 Memory unit: it retains information that has been entered through the input unit, so
the information may be made immediately available for processing when it is
needed. The memory unit also retains processed information until that information
can be placed on output devices by the output unit.
Central Processing Unit (CPU): it is the computer’s coordinator and is responsible
for supervising the operations of the other sections. CPU tells the input unit when
information should be read into memory, tells ALU when information from the
memory should be used in calculation and tells output unit when to send
information from the memory to certain output devices.
Arithmetic and Logic unit: is a part found inside the Central Processing Unit and is
responsible for performing calculations such as addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division. It also performs comparisons.
Secondary Storage device: Programs or data used by other units normally are placed
on secondary storage devices (such as disks) until they are needed, possibly hours,
days, months, or even years later.

1.3. The evolution of Operating Systems.

Early computers were capable of performing only one job at a time. This form of
computer operation is often called single-user batch processing. The computer runs a
single program at a time while processing data in groups or batches.
As computers became more powerful, it became evident that single-user batch
processing rarely utilizes the computer’s resources.
Therefore, computer developers thought that many jobs or tasks from different
programs or applications could be made to share the resources of the computer to
achieve better utilization. This concept is called multiprogramming.
Multiprogramming involving the “simultaneous” operation of many jobs on the
computer.
In the 1960’s, many groups, pioneered timesharing operating systems.
Timesharing is a special case of multiprogramming, in which users access the
computers through terminals. Here, the computer does not run the users job
paralleling, but shares the CPU’s time.

1.4. Major Programming Paradigms

The major land marks in the programming world are the different kinds of features
or properties observed in the development of programming languages. Among
these the following are worth mentioning: Procedural, Structured and Object
Oriented Programming Paradigms.
1.4.1. Procedural Programming.
o Procedural programming is a programming paradigm based upon the concept
of procedure call. Procedural programming is often a better choice than simple
sequential programming in many situations which involve moderate
complexity or which require significant ease of maintainability.

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 o Possible benefits: the ability to re-use the same code (function or procedure) at
different places, an easier way to keep track of program flow than a collection
of “GO TO” or “JUMP” statements.
1.4.2. Structured Programming.
o Process of writing a program in small, independent parts. This makes it easier
to control a program's development and to design and test its individual
component parts.
o Structured programs are built up from units called modules, which normally
correspond to single procedures or functions.
o Can be seen as a subset or sub discipline of procedural programming. It is most
famous for removing or reducing reliance on the GO TO statement.
1.4.3. Object-Oriented Programming.
o The idea behind OOP is that, a computer program is composed of a collection
of individual units, or objects as opposed to traditional view in which a
program is a list of instructions to the computer.
o Object-oriented programming is claimed to give more flexibility, easing
changes to programs. The OOP approach is often simpler to develop and
maintain.

1.5. Problem solving process and software engineering.

1.5.1. Software Engineering.
o Software engineering is the profession that creates and maintains software
applications by applying technologies and practices from computer science,
project management, engineering, application domain and other fields.
o The method used in solving problems in computer science and/or
information systems is called the software development life cycle.
o The software development life cycle has the following components.
 preliminary investigation
 analysis
 design
 implementation
 testing and maintenance
1.5.2. Problem Solving
o Problem solving is the process of transforming the description of a problem
into the solution by using our knowledge of the problem domain and by
relying on our ability to select and use appropriate problem-solving
strategies, techniques, and tools.
o A problem is an undesirable situation that prevents the organization from fully
achieving its purpose, goals and objectives. Or problem can also be defined as
the gap between the existing and the desired situation where problem
solving will try to fill this gap.
There are two approaches of problem solving:
Top down design: is a systematic approach based on the concept that the
structure of the problem should determine the structure of the
solution and what should be done in lower level. This approach will

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 try to disintegrate a larger problem into more smaller and manageable
problems to narrow the problem domain.
Bottom up design: is the reverse process where the lowest level
component are built first and the system builds up from the bottom
until the whole process is finally completed.
1.6. Basic Program development tips
The program we design in any programming language need to be:
Reliable: the program should always do what it is expected to do and handle
all types of exception.
Maintainable: the program should be in a way that it could be modified and
upgraded when the need arises.
Portable: It needs to be possible to adapt the software written for one type of
computer to another with minimum modification.
Efficient: the program should be designed to make optimal use of time, space
and other resources of the computer.

1.7. Algorithm designing and modeling the logic (using flow chart).
A digital computer is a useful tool for solving a great variety of problems. A
solution to a problem is called an algorithm; it describes the sequence of steps to
be performed for the problem to be solved.
Generally, an algorithm is a finite set of well-defined instructions for
accomplishing some task which, given an initial state, will terminate in a
corresponding recognizable end-state.
The algorithm should be:
 Precise and unambiguous
 Simple
 Correct
 Efficient
1.7.1. Modeling a programs logic using flow chart
Algorithm could be designed using many techniques and tools. One tool of
designing algorithm is by using flowcharts. Flowchart is a graphical way of
expressing the steps needed to solve a problem.
A flow chart is a schematic (diagrammatic description) representation of a
process.













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 Basic flowcharting symbols are:

Terminal point

Process

Decision

Input /output

Flow line

Inter-page connector

On page connector

Eg. 1 To check whether the number is even or odd number

Start

Enter the
number

Yes Num%2== NO
0? Display odd
Display even

End

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Example #2- A flowchart for computing factorial N (N!) where N! = (1 * 2 * 3 * ... * N). This
flowchart represents a loop.
Start

Read N

M=1
F=1

F=F*M

Is M=M + 1
M=N?
No

Yes
Print F

End

Pseudo Code- is a compact and informal high-level description of a computer programming

algorithm that uses the structural conventions of a programming language, but is intended for
human reading rather than machine reading. Pseudo-code typically omits details that are not
essential for human understanding of the algorithm, such as variable declarations, system-
specific code and subroutines.

Eg. 1. Pseudo code to check whether the number is even or odd number
Get number
If number% 2 = =0
display even
Else
display odd
halt

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Eg. 2. Pseudo code for computing factorial N (N!) where N! = (1 * 2 * 3 * ... * N).
get number
factorial = 1
count = 1
while count < =number
factorial = factorial *count
count = count + 1
display factorial
halt

Compilers and Interpreters

Any program written in a language other than machine language needs to be translated to
machine language. The set of instructions that do this task are known as translators. There are
different kinds of translator software, among which compilers and interpreters are of interest for
most programmers.
Compilers: a compiler is a computer program that translates a series of statements written in
source code (a collection of statements in a specific programming language) into a resulting
object code (translated instructions of the statements in a programming language). A compiler
changes or translates the whole source code into executable machine code (also called object
code) which is output to a file for latter execution. E.g. C++, Pascal, FORTRAN, etc.
Interpreters: is a computer program that translates a single high level statement and executes it
and then goes to the next high level language line etc. E.g. QBASIC, Lisp etc.

Mechanics of Creating a program (C++)

C++ programs typically go through five phases to be executed: these are edit, preprocess,
compile, link, load:
1.Edit: this is accomplished with an editor program. The programmer types C++ statements
with the editor and makes corrections if necessary. The programs source file is then stored
on secondary storage device such as a disk with a “.cpp” file name.
After the program is edited, C+ principally compiled in three phases:
preprocessing, translation to object code, and linking (the last two phases are what is
generally thought of as the "compilation" process).
2. Preprocess: In a C++ system, a preprocessor program execute automatically before the
compiler’s translation phase begins. The C++ preprocessor obeys command called
preprocessor directives, which indicate that certain manipulations are to be performed on
the program before compilation. The preprocessor is invoked by the compiler before the
program is converted to machine language. The C++ preprocessor goes over the program
text and carries out the instructions specified by the preprocessor directives (e.g., #include).
The result is a modified program text which no longer contains any directives.
3. Compile: Then, the C++ compiler translates the program code. The compiler may be a
true C++ compiler which generates native (assembly or machine) code. The outcome may
be incomplete due to the program referring to library routines which are not defined as a

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 part of the program. For example, the << operator which is actually defined in a separate
IO library.
4. Linking: C++ program typically contain references to functions and data defined elsewhere,
such as in the standard libraries. The object code produced by the C++ compiler typically
contains “holes” due to these missing parts. A linker links the object code with the code for
the missing function to produce an executable image (with no missing pieces). Generally,
the linker completes the object code by linking it with the object code of any library
modules that the program may have referred to. The final result is an executable file
5. Loading: the loader takes the executable file from disk and transfers it to memory.
Additional components from shared libraries that support the program are also loaded.
Finally, the computer, under the control of its CPU, executes the program.
In practice all these steps are usually invoked by a single command and the user will not
even see the intermediate files generated.

Worksheet 1
For each of the problems below, develop a flow chart
1) Receive a number and determine whether it is odd or even.
2) Obtain two numbers from the keyboard, and determine and display which (if either) is
the larger of the two numbers.
3) Receive 3 numbers and display them in ascending order from smallest to largest
4) Add the numbers from 1 to 100 and display the sum
5) Add the even numbers between 0 and any positive integer number given by the user.
6) Find the average of two numbers given by the user.
7) Find the average, maximum, minimum, and sum of three numbers given by the user.
8) Find the area of a circle where the radius is provided by the user.
9) Swap the contents of two variables using a third variable.
10) Swap the content of two variables without using a third variable.
11) Read an integer value from the keyboard and display a message indicating if this
number is odd or even.
12) Read 10 integers from the keyboard in the range 0 - 100, and count how many of them
are larger than 50, and display this result.
13) Take an integer from the user and display the factorial of that number

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