Introduction to Programming
Lecture Number:
What is Programming
Programming is to instruct the computer on
what it has to do in a language that the
computer understands.
Programming must be done in a
programming language, most preferably it
should be the binary language as computers
work on 1’s and 0’s which is called machine
or some times ‘object’ code.
Machine Code
An example machine code could be:
1011001101010101 (Add two numbers)
1111001100110101 (Subtract two numbers)
1111000011110000 (Multiply two numbers)
It clearly is not memorisable or understandable
by the human being so we need an alternative!
Assembly Language
As an alternative the binary sequences of numbers
were represented by simple english keywords:
1011001101010101 (ADD)
1111001100110101 (SUB)
1111000011110000 (MUL)
This is relatively easier as compared to the machine
language, however modern applications need much
higher levels of abstraction.
The need for High level languages
ADD,SUB, MUL etc are usually limited to a
specific maximum number of bits, we need
generic coding schemes where we can
concentrate on the logic instead of memory
constraints.
ADD might be SUM or ADDA in other
machines, we needed a machine and
platform independent solution so a single
language could suffice for all machines.
High-level Languages
High level languages came into being solving
various glitches (issues) that machine and
assembly languages had.
Examples of high-level languages are:
C++, Java, Visual Basic, Visual C, etc
However, High level languages are not
understandable by the machines so we need
an interpreter, also called a compiler.
Compiler
A compiler is a piece of software that
translates high level language into machine
or binary code.
Every language has a specific style or way,
called its syntax, just like there’s grammar in
human languages.
Compiler also checks for any syntax errors in
our ‘code’.
The Compile process
Programmer Writes High-level Code
Compiler checks for code validity
Translated to machine code
Examples of Compilers
Microsoft Visual Studio
Borland C++
Bloodshed Dev C++
What happens after compiling?
Once the object-code/Machine-code is generated,
another process called ‘Linking’ is done, which
means to link any pre-available libraries with our
code.
A library is a collection of modules or functions made
by other programmers for later reuse.
Different languages have different ways of
expressing libraries, like in C++ they’re represented
by .lib extension.
What happens after Linking?
Loading!
The program after linking is put into Main
Memory (RAM).
Execution is the next step
The RAM acts like a conveyer belt for the
processor which actually executes the code.
Building the Program Logic
Before writing a program, we need to plan
the flow of the program
Pseudo-code and flow-charts are two general
tools that help in planning for a program
Pseudo-code & Flow Charts
Pseudo-code (As the name suggests, pseudo-code generally does not actually
obey the syntax rules of any particular language; there is no systematic standard form. Usually natural
language sentences could be used in the pseudo-code to explain the mechanism)
– Informal language used to develop algorithms
– Similar to a Natural Language
– Not actually executed on computers
– Allows us to “think out” a program before writing
the code
– Easy to convert into a program
Pseudo-code & Flow Charts
Flow Charts
– Flow Charts are a graphical representation,
usually considered more understandable
– Drawn using certain special-purpose symbols, as
described next
Pseudo-code & Flow Charts
Oval symbol OR small circle
– indicates beginning or end of a program,
or a section of code
Arrows called flow-lines
– Indicate the flow of program
Pseudo-code & Flow Charts
Rectangle symbol (action symbol)
– Indicates any type of action.
add grade to total
Diamond
– Indicates Decision
grade >= 60
Today we studied
What is Computer Programming?
Machine, Assembly and High-Level language
Compilers
The program planning process
