WEEK – 1,2 /

Problem Solving INTRODUCTION TO

PROBLEM DEFINITION,
using Computer ANALYSIS OF PROBLEMS,
STEPS IN PROBLEM
Programming SOLVING.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education
 Course Outline
CO 1.Understand and formulate algorithms and
pseudocode for problems
Course description
To introduce the students with the foundations
CO 2.Able to represent, organize, manipulate and of computing, programming and problem-
interpret data
solving
To make the students understand the concept
CO 3.Apply programming skills to implement of data representation in computers
pseudocodes and algorithms

To make the students solve simple and

complex problems through programming
CO 4. Analyse and use decomposition techniques to
simplify complex problems
concepts

CO 5. Apply programming techniques to

permanently store and retrieve large datasets for
the problems
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 2
 Unit – 1 Syllabus
Problem definition, Analysis of problems,
Steps in problem solving
Week –
1,2
Problem definition, Analysis of problems, Steps in
problem solving

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 3
 Week - 1 Course
Outline
Lesson 1. What is Problem Solving? Why
should I learn?

Lesson 2. Steps for problem Solving

Lesson 3. Algorithms

Lesson 4. Representation of Algorithms

Lesson 5. Flow Control

Lesson 6. Verification and Coding

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 4
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3.

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Flow Control

Lesson 6.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 5
 Problem solving is a general way to write solutions in
an orderly way to find solutions for problems.
This includes analyzing the potential causes of a problem and
finding action plan / solutions to the problem.
 Everyone uses problem-solving skills both in their personal and
professional lives.
 A good problem solving method involves a step by
procedure
step in giving solutions.
We will see some examples and solutions to the same in the
coming slides.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 6
 Not all problems are solvable!
A problem is solvable only when there exist a procedure /
algorithm / steps that can be followed to solve it with definite
boundaries.
A problem is unsolvable if there is no definite procedure or
boundaries (where to start and stop) on the problem.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 7
 Not all problems are solvable!
 Number Scrabble Problem:
 Number Scrabble is a game which is played with a set of
numbers from 1 to 9.
 Every player picks a number from the list in their turn.
 The number once taken cannot be taken again.
When a player picks and arranges the number in a way the
total horizontal, vertical or diagonal sums to 15, the player
wins.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 8
 Not all problems are solvable!
 Number Scrabble Problem:
As an example game between player A and player B:
• A picks 9.
• B picks 8.
• A picks 2.
• B has no choice but to pick 4 (otherwise, A could get
9+2+4=15).
• A has no choice but to pick 3 (otherwise, B could get
8+4+3=15).
• B picks 6, and thereby confirms to win by either picking 1
• Boundaries are defined (numbers from
(8+6+1=15) or 5 (4+6+5=15).
1- 9 can be used) and total 15
• Steps in the Game is defined
• This problem is solvable

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 9
 Not all problems are solvable!
 Tic-tac-toe:
Tic-tac-toe / noughts and crosses / Xs and Os, is a paper and
a pencil game played by two players, X and O are two
symbols that can be chosen by the player as their marks, who
take turns marking the spaces in a 3×3 grid.
A player who can successfully place the three of their own
symbols in a diagonal, horizontal, or vertical row wins the
game.

• Boundaries are defined (Symbols x and o

can be used) and placing three of their
marks in a diagonal, horizontal, or
vertical row is the winner
Player A Player B A B A B A • Steps in the Game is defined
• This problem is solvable
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 10
 Not all problems are solvable!
 A computer won't solve a poorly written or a big comprehensive problems.
 Assume a textile manufacturer who saw his sales declining.
Noticing that many of his competitors had computerized their operations, he followed
the same.
 And sales continued to slide.

• computer buyers often spend too much time comparing hardware, and don't do enough
thinking and planning about the types of jobs their new computer will do.
• The textile manufacturer hadn't pinpointed his problem -- whether it was inventory
control or invoicing or process management -- so the computer couldn't be of much help.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 11
 Not all problems are solvable!
 A computer won't solve a poorly written or a big comprehensive problems.
 Assume that one of your friend is depressed and not even ready to speak with you.
 Can you give a solution by yourself?
 Or Can you find a solution by programming a computer?

• No!
• Cannot find solutions for an undefined problem.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 12
 Not all problems are solvable!
 A computer won't solve any problems without proper boundaries for the data.
 Assume that you are assigned to give a solution for car parking problem in Chennai.

 Can you give a solution?

• Problem can be defined

• Solution can also be imagined.
• But where will you start with? How many cars? Slot location?
• (*We can solve this only when a boundary is specified)

 Now we can see some of real word solvable problems with solutions.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 13
 Let’s learn with real word examples
 Assume that, one day suddenly lights go off during night.

 What will you do?

 One of the possible solution you may think
Check the power supply, if there is a problem call an
electrician
If no problems were found, check the switch / switch
board, if it is off / having any issues, switch on / call an
electrician
 If no problems were found, check the bulb, replace the
bulb
On analyzing the solution, we can find a
sequence of operations we do to get it fixed.
 We will see one more example in the next slide
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 14
 Let’s learn with real word examples
 Assume that, your bicycle produce some noise.

 What will you do?

 One of the possible solution you may think
 Where the noise comes from?
 If not possible to identify, go to near by mechanic shop
 Get it repaired
 Go for a test run to check if it the sound is gone
 Yes. You got the solution
On analyzing the solution too, we can find a sequence of
operations we do to get it fixed.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 15
 
The Intelligence Quotient (I.Q) of a computer is zero!
A Computer will do the tasks accurately in the way in which we
tell them to do it.
In order for the system to do the task accurately, it is the
responsibility of the user to provide a clear instruction to the
computer.
A proper set of instructions comes only by understating the
problem and defining a well defined solution.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 16
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3.

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Flow Control

Lesson 6.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 17
  From the previous examples, we can see that there is
a
Analyzing the
sequence of common process that happens in giving a solution.
Problem
 The key steps can be classified and ordered as
 Analyzing the problem
 Developing a solution / algorithm Test the code / Developing an
debug Algorithm
 Converting the solution to computer language(code)
 Test the code for proper working
Convert to
Again, this process is not complete. The problems can arise
again / new problem may also arise / needs some Computer
maintenance Language
/ additions etc.. May happen.
 The same cycle of steps need to be followed again to get the
new solutions
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 18
 Analyzing the Problem
The first and the most important step in solving problem is
analyzing the problem
Analyzing the
If you are not clear in what need to be solved, you may end up Problem
with false solutions / creates new problems
 At this point, there are two components that need Test the code / Developing an
to debug Algorithm
understood very clearly
The inputs that we use to identify the problem or in the
other way, the inputs the problem can understand Convert to
 (the sound produced from the bicycle in previous example)
Computer
 Exact expected solution / the outputs Language
 (smooth and clear cycling for the previous example)

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 19
 Developing an Solution / Algorithm
It is a best practice to formularize a solution before actually
implementing it.
Analyzing the
This can be represented in natural language Problem
or diagrammatically known as algorithms and flowcharts.
 An algorithm is a set of well defined steps, to be followed to
Test the code / Developing an
achieve a solution. debug Algorithm
The diagrammatic representation of the steps involved is called
flowchart.
Convert to
There can be multiple ways to provide solution to a single
problem. Computer
Language

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 20
 Developing an Solution / Algorithm
 What do you think about making a Coffee?

 Shall we make a cup of Coffee (instant coffee)?

 Lets do it..

Identify your inputs – coffee powder, sugar, milk, hot water, a cup,
spoon
 Step 1: Add a teaspoon of Instant Coffee powder to your cup.
 Step 2: If you like sugar you can add it now.

 Step 3: Carefully pour the hot boiled water over the cup contents
almost to the half.
 Step 4: Stir to ensure coffee and sugar are fully dissolved.
 Step 5: Add your milk, cold/hot and stir.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 21
 Developing an Solution / Algorithm
 What do you think about making a Coffee?

 Step 5: Add your milk, cold/hot and stir.

Step 6: Taste your coffee. If you feel to change the taste, add more
coffee next time to be more strong, or add less for mild coffee.

 Yes, we have given our first solution and written it as an algorithm.

It is very simple once you understand the problem clearly
and understand the solution you require to produce.
 Just like making a Coffee!!

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 22
 Converting to computer language
 Computer cannot understand a human language.
Analyzing the
 It can understand only electronic signals as voltage levels, a Problem
representation in binary 0 is low voltage and a 1 is high voltage
In order to make the human computer interaction easier, we
are now provided with lot of programming languages like C, C++, Test the code / Developing an
C#, Java, Python etc., debug Algorithm

These are English like languages that human can understand

easily. Convert to

Knowing the identifiers and grammar / syntax and semantics Computer

any one can write instructions to the system Language

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 23
 Converting to computer language
Converting the algorithm to computer understandable format,
a code/program is very easy once we learn the language Analyzing the
Problem
But it is very important to follow the syntax semantics and the
coding procedure
Test the code / Developing an
debug Algorithm

Convert to

Computer
Language

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 24
 Testing and Debugging
Once the algorithms are converted to programs, the process is
not over. Analyzing the
Problem
We have met some solutions, but we have to test the same to
see whether we achieved the expected results, like what we did
in the Step 6 of coffee making. (Tasting to add / reduce coffee
power / sugar in the next preparation) Test the code / Developing an
debug Algorithm
 We should always test for all the extreme conditions and inputs
that we can provide to know the proper working.
Convert to

The process keeps on repeating for further improvements / Computer

additions / modifications Language

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 25
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3.

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Flow Control

Lesson 6.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 26
  All the activities in our life has some sequence of steps.

 Some examples – Getting ready for College, Wearing a tie,

making a coffee (the example we seen in previous slides) etc..
So, it defines a complete, clear and finite logical steps to solve
a given problem
 Steps involved
 Input identification
 Know the exact outputs / solution required
 know the process / operation involved

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 27
 Some important factors to be considered while writing algorithm
 Algorithm must be Finite
 Any algorithm written must terminate after a finite number of steps

 Algorithm must be definite

 Every steps in the algorithm must be exactly and clearly stated.

 Algorithms must be effective

The algorithm can be converted in to program easily and should produce
result in finite amount of time
 Algorithms must be generic
 The algorithm must be complete and it must be convertible to any
programming language

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 28
 Example : 1
 Compute the area and perimeter of a rectangle. length=10
breadth=20
 Step 1: Analyze and find the inputs length and breadth
Area =length * breadth
 Compute the solution Area = length * breadth =10 * 20
 Print the result - Area =200
Perimeter =2 (length + breadth)
 Compute the Solution Perimeter = 2 * (length + breadth)
=2 * (10+20)
 Print the result – Perimeter =2 * 30
= 60
 End of the program

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 29
 Example : 2
 Find the average of three numbers. a = 10, b=20, c=30
sum =a+b+c
 Step 1: Get the inputs. Let it be a, b, c
=10+20+30
 Compute the sum of a,b,c =60
 Divide the sum by 3 (number of numbers) Average=sum / 3
=60 / 3
 Print the result
=20
 End of the program

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 30
 Example : 3
 Find the largest of three numbers. a = 10, b=20, c=30
If 10 > 20
 Step 1: Get the inputs. Let it be a, b, c
greatest = 10
 Check if a>b, then greatest =a else greatest =b else
 Check if greatest < c, then greatest =c greatest = 20

 Print greatest
If greatest < 30
 End of program greatest =30

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 31
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3.

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Flow
Control
Lesson 6.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 32
 Once the algorithm is defined, there are two common methods
to represent the algorithm
 Flowcharts
 This is a visual representation of an algorithm
This uses some specific shapes for specific operation tin the
algorithm
 Examples for the same in future slides
 Pseudocode
 This is a non formal language
 It uses some keywords to represent the algorithm in a non
formal way.
 We will see the examples in next slide

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 33
 Flowcharts
 Symbols are used to represent operations
Symbol Function Description
Start / End This symbol indicates where the flow of the problem starts
and ends

Process This represents a action / process / computation,

“a single step”
Decision This is decision making symbol, based on decision it can
have two branches YES / NO
Input / Output This is the data symbol, used to provide inputs or show
results / outputs
Arrow / Control Flow This in the connector between the symbols which shows
the follow of control.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 34
 Pseudocode
A simple implementation of algorithm in terms of annotations and text
written in plain English.
 This improves the readability, makes the code conversion easier
 There are some frequently used keywords to represent a pseudocode
 INPUT -> to get inputs
 COMPUTE -> to do arithmetic calculations or computations
 INCREMENT -> increment a value
 DECREMENT -> decrement a value
 IF/ELSE -> to check conditions
 WHILE -> to repeat some statements
 PRINT -> to show outputs

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 35
 Pseudocode
Pseudo code for the previous example: finding area
and perimeter of a rectangle:

INPUT length
INPUT breadth
COMPUTE Area = length * breadth
PRINT Area
COMPUTE Perimeter = 2 * (length
+ breadth)
PRINT Perimeter

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 36
 Flowcharts
Lets see the flowchart for the Start
previous example to calculate area
and perimeter of a rectangle Input: length,
breadth Perimeter =2 * (length +
breadth)
INPUT length
INPUT breadth Area=length * breadth
COMPUTE Area = length * breadth
Print Perimeter
PRINT Area
COMPUTE Perimeter = 2 * (length
+ Print Area
breadth) Stop
PRINT Perimeter

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 37
 Activiti
es
 Write an pseudocode, flowchart to find the area of the triangle. – Pseudocode

START
INPUT A,B,C
CALCULATE S = (A + B + C ) / 2
CALCULATE AREA = SQRT( S*(S-A)*(S-B)*(S-C))
PRINT AREA OF TRIANGLE= AREA
END

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 38
 Activiti
es
Start
Write an pseudocode, flowchart to find the
area of the triangle.
Input: a,b,c

-- Flowchart s=(a+b+c)/2

Area=sqrt(s*(s-a)*(s-b)*(s-c))

Print Area

End

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 39
 Activiti
es
 Write an pseudocode, flowchart to find the largest of three numbers X, Y,Z.

STEP 1 : START
STEP 2 : INPUT A, B, C
STEP 3 : IF A > B GOTO STEP 4, OTHERWISE GOTO STEP 5
STEP 4 : IF A > C GOTO STEP 6, OTHERWISE GOTO STEP 8
STEP 5 : IF B > C GOTO STEP 7, OTHERWISE GOTO STEP 8
STEP 6 : OUTPUT "A IS THE LARGEST", GOTO STEP 9 STAR
STEP 7 : OUTPUT "B IS THE LARGEST", GOTO STEP 9
START STEP 8 : OUTPUT " C IS THE LARGEST", GOTO STEP
9 START 9 : STOP

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 40
 Activiti
es
 Write an pseudocode, flowchart to find the largest of three numbers X, Y,Z.

Start
Ye
b>c s
Input: a,b,c

No
Ye A>b No
Print C Print b
s
and
Print A
a>c End

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 41
 Activities –
to do
Write an algorithm, pseudocode, flowchart which will test whether a given integer value is prime or
not.
 Write algorithm pseudocode, flowchart to find the factorial of a given number N
 Write a pseudo code to perform the basic arithmetic operations.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 42
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3.

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Flow Control

Lesson 6.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 43
 Flow
Control
 Flow control represents some sequence of events as represented in flowchart

 Computer executes the program sequentially one after the another in the prescribed steps, we code to
follow.
 While writing algorithms and programs too, we should strictly follow the flow control.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 44
 Flow
Control
Start
 Sequential Execution:
 Examine this case.
The statements are executed one after Input: a,b,c
the another in a sequence
Such kind of execution is called s=(a+b+c)/2
sequential execution
This may not be case for all the time,
Area=sqrt(s*(s-a)*(s-b)*(s-c))
there are cases where some statements
need to executed and some need to be
skipped Print Area
 We will see those in next slide

End

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 45
 Flow
Control
 Selection:
There may be some cases where we
have to follow one route in the
flowchart / algorithm and skip the other
This is similar to finding one of the START
INPUT number
possible 3-4 routes in a google map to
IF number MOD 2 == 0 THEN
reach a destination from a source
PRINT "Number is Even"
 let us see this with an example. ELSE
Assume that we need to find whether a PRINT "Number is Odd"
given number is odd / even END
 See the steps involved in this.
See the if-else part only one statement
is executed at any point of time

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 46
 Flow
Control
Start
 Flowchart representing the selection

Input: number

STAR
TINPUT number No
Ye If number
IF number MOD 2 == 0 THEN s mod 2==0 ?
PRINT "Number is Even"
ELSE
PRINT "Number is Odd"
END Print “Even” Print “ODD”

End

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 47
 Flow
Control
Let us see an another example where multiple conditions are checked to categorize a person as
either child (<13), teenager (>=13 but <20) or adult (>=20),based on age specified

INPUT Age
IF Age < 13 THEN
PRINT "Child"
ELSE IF Age < 20
THEN
PRI
NT
"Teenager"
ELSE
PRI
NT "Adult"
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 48
 Flow
Control
 Flow chart representation Start

INPUT Age Input: Age

IF Age < 13 THEN
PRINT "Child" No
ELSE IF Age < 20 age < 13 No
THEN Age < 20
PRI
NT Ye Ye
"Teenager" s s
ELSE Print “Child” Print “Teenager” Print “Adult”
PRI
NT "Adult"
End
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 49
 Flow
Control
 Repetition
 There may be some cases in a problem solution to do some task some repeated number of times.
For example, in a real life scenario, pedaling a cycle is a repeated task. A single pedaling wont
move the cycle from source to destination. We have to continuously pedal it.
 In programming the same process is called as iteration or a loop
 Lets see some examples

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 50
 Flow
Control
 Repetition
 Finding the average of five numbers:

Step 1: SET count = 0, sum = 0

Step 2: WHILE count <5 , REPEAT steps 3 to 5
Step 3: INPUT a number to num
Step 4: sum = sum + num
Step 5: count = count +
1
Step 6: COMPUTE average = sum/5
Step 7: PRINT average

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 51
 Flow
Control
 Repetition Start

 Finding the average of five numbers:

count=0, sum=0

Step 1: SET count = 0, sum = 0

Step 2: WHILE count <5 , REPEAT steps 3 to 5 No
Step 3: INPUT a number to num Count < 5
Step 4: sum = sum + num
Step 5: count = count + 1 Ye Average=sum/5
Step 6: COMPUTE average = sum/5 s Input
Step 7: PRINT average number Print average
Sum = sum + number

End
Count = count + 1

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 52
 Flow
Control
 Repetition
 accept numbers till the user enters 0 and then find their average:

Step 1: SET count = 0, sum = 0

Step 2: INPUT num
Step 3: WHILE num is not
equal to 0, REPEAT Steps 4 to
6
Step 4: sum = sum + num
Step 5: count = count + 1
Step 6: INPUT num
Step 7: COMPUTE average = sum/count
Step 8: PRINT average

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 53
 Flow
Control
Start
 Repetition
 accept numbers till the user enters 0 count=0, sum=0
and then find their average:
Input number
Step 1: SET count = 0, sum = 0 Ye
Step 2: INPUT num Number == 0?
s
Step 3: WHILE num is not equal to 0,
REPEAT Steps 4 to 6 No Average=sum/count
Step 4: sum = sum + num Sum = sum + number
Step 5: count = count +
Print average
1 Step 6: INPUT num
Step 7: COMPUTE average = sum/count Count = count + 1
Step 8: PRINT average End
Input number
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 54
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3.

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Flow Control

Lesson 6.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 55
 Verifying
Algorithms
 Image a situation where your solution / the algorithm goes wrong

 Lets take some real work examples

You are going to a ATM machine to withdraw 10,000 rupees. But you got only 500 from machine and
10,000 debited from your account. Things go wrong here!
 Even in the above situation, some procedures can be done through bank and get it rectified.
 But nowadays computers are majorly used in medical filed too.
 A robot can do an operation.
 A computer can scan your body and give results.
 If the algorithm/code defined in the computer doesn't work properly, we cannot get back a lost life!

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 56
 Verifying
Algorithms
 So, how can we verify the algorithm / code is working fine?

 This is an important part to be done by every software engineer before releasing the application.
For example, assume we are finding the sum of natural numbers. We use the formula n(n+1)/2 to get
the results.
 How will we check the correctness in the equation?
 We use to provide some sample inputs to check it, possibly small numbers
 For n= 3, => 1+2+3=6
 3(3+1)/2 => 3(4)/2 => 12/2 => 6
 The results will be verified with multiple inputs

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 57
 Verifying
Algorithms
 Similar to this way, we have to provide all possible inputs to the algorithm and check the proper working

 This will help in

 Identifying wrong steps in the algorithm
 Find out missing steps / details in the algorithm

 Task:
 Take any two previous algorithms and check for correctness

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 58
 Verifying Algorithms – Multiple
Solutions
 There may be more than one method to solve a given problem

 So there may be more than one algorithm or arriving a single solution

 If we have more than one algorithms, which one should I choose?

 Let's examine the same with an example

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 59
 Verifying Algorithms – An
Example
 Find whether a given number is prime or not.

 There can be four different ways to write algorithms to check whether a given number is prime or not

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 60
 Verifying Algorithms – Example
Algorithm i,ii
 Algorithm (i)
 Starting with divisor 2, divide the given number (dividend) and check if there are any factors.
 Increase the divisor in each iteration and repeat the previous steps as long as divisor < dividend.
 If there is a factor, then the given number is not prime

 Algorithm (ii)
 In (i), instead of testing all the numbers till the dividend, only test up to half of the given
value(dividend) because the divisor can not be more than half of the dividend

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 61
 Verifying Algorithms – Example
Algorithm iii,iv
 Algorithm (iii)
 In method (i), only test up to the square root of the dividend (numbers)

 Algorithm (iv)
 Given a prior list of prime number till 100, divide the given number by each number in the list.
 If not divisible by any number, then the number is a prime else it is not prime

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 62
 Comparison of
Algorithm
 Algorithm (i) requires large number of calculations

 (means more processing time) as it checks for all the numbers as long as the divisor is less than the
number.
 If the given number is large, this method will take more time to give the output.

 Algorithm (ii) is more efficient than (i) as it checks for divisibility till half the number, and thus it reduces
the time for computation of the prime number.
Algorithm (iii) is even more efficient as it checks for divisibility till square root of the number, thereby
further reducing the time taken

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 63
 Comparison of
Algorithm
As algorithm (iv) uses only the prime numbers smaller than the given number for divisibility, it further
reduces the calculations.
 But in this method we require to store the list of prime numbers first.
 Thus it takes additional memory even though it requires lesser calculations.

Hence, algorithms can be compared and analyzed on the basis of the amount of processing time they
need to run and the amount of memory that is needed to execute the algorithm.
 These are termed as time complexity and space complexity, respectively.
The choice of an algorithm over another is done depending on how efficient they are in terms of
processing time required (time complexity) and the memory they utilize (space complexity).
 The best choice is Minimal time complexity with Minimal Memory usage

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 64
 Codi
ng
Once an algorithm is finalized, it should be coded in a high-level programming language as selected by
the programmer.
 The ordered set of instructions are written in that programming language by following its syntax.
Syntax is the set of rules or grammar that governs the formulation of the statements in the language,
such as spellings, order of words, punctuation, etc.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 65
 Codi
ng
The machine language or low level language consisting of 0s and 1s only is the ideal way to write a
computer program.
Programs written using binary digits are directly understood by the computer hardware, but they are
difficult to deal with and comprehend by humans.
 This led to the invention of high-level languages which are close to natural languages and are easier
to
read, write, and maintain, but are not directly understood by the computer hardware.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 66
 UNIT-1: Overall
Problem Solving
Summary
Algorithm

Pseudocode Basic idea behind problem solving, how to write

Flowcharts solution, the different methods pseudo code,
flowcharts, importance of algorithm, its control
flow and testing were learned. In the next part,
we will see how this can be implemented in
programming language.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 67
 WEEK – 3 / IMPORTANCE
Problem Solving OF PROGRAMMING IN
PROBLEM SOLVING,
using Computer EXPRESSING
ALGORITHMS IN
Programming PSEUDOCODE .
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3. Types of Computer

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Common Organization of Computer

Lesson 6.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 69
 Computer is an electronic device which is used to store the
data,
 as per given instructions it gives results quickly and accurately.
 Data : Data is a raw material of information.
 Information : Proper collection of the data is
called
information.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 70
 Characteristics of Computer
 Speed of Computer:
 Computers in general can work very fast.
For the calculations we do for hours, computers can easily
solve in few seconds.
Computers can execute millions of instructions ie., 1,00,000
instructions or even more in a second.
This is the reason why speed of the computers
are represented in milliseconds.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 71
 Characteristics of Computer

 Accuracy of a computer:
 The accuracy of the computers are very high. Each and every
calculations are done with same accuracy in minimal time.
The level of accuracy always depends on the design of the
computer.
 There may be some errors in the accuracy. This is mainly
due
to the improper data and logic fed to the computer
systems.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 72
 Characteristics of Computer

 Diligence of the Computer:

 A computer will never get tired! It doesn't have the problem
of tiredness, lack of attention, weakness, etc.
Computer works for long hours without creating any
problem.
 Even though if we give millions of instructions, It will
do all
the instructions with the same accuracy.
So it is very power full than a human being in terms of doing
the work. But remember it cannot think.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 73
 Characteristics of Computer

 Versatility of a computer:
 This the capability of a computer to do different kinds of
work following the same logic/solution.
 Assume you may use your computer to do some arithmetic.
 See the next time this same arithmetic operations may be
used in Mark average calculations, CGPA calculations, etc..
Same arithmetic module can be now reused in different
places in different applications.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 74
 Characteristics of Computer

 Power of Remembering:
 The big plus point of computer is its memory power. It can
store any amount od data.
Any kind of information can be stored and retrieved from a
computer even if you require it after years.
This entirely depends on how you store the information and
in what methods you retrieve and how frequent you access
the information.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 75
 Characteristics of Computer

 No IQ:
 As already discussed, computer cannot think by itself or it is
a dumb machine.
It can compete the tasks faster and accurate. But you have to
tell the machine how to do it!
So it is with the designer of the computer system to decide
how to give instructions, and in which sequence it need to be
processed.
So it cannot a decision by its own. You are the decision makes
of a computer.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 76
 Characteristics of Computer

 Storage Devices:
 A Computer system has built-in memory called RAM, ROM
where it can store a large amount of data.
The data can be also stored in secondary storage devices lik e
floppies, hard disc compact disc which can be kept outside
and even can be moved to other computers.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 77
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3. Types of Computer

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Common Organization of Computer

Lesson 6.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 78
  Computers in Education :
 Nowadays computer are playing a major role in
education.
 We use computers to learn classes through online mode
We use computers to search for learning courses
materials and videos resources in learning new
technology
 We use computer to register for courses
We use computers to check results and download
statements

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 79
  Computers in Health and Medicine
 Medical field is changing drastically with introduction to computer
devices.
 Nowadays all medical information are available in digital format.
Several softwares are available to analyze the information and
predict the diseases and cause of diseases.
 One example is treatment for a paralyzed patients. A paralyzed
patient is implanted with devices that can allow communication
between the brain of the patient and a computer systems; there by
the messages from the patient can be understood.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 80
  Computers in Science :
 Scientists are the users of computers for a long time.
The idea of scientists is doing collaborative works on the
same field. By doing so, researches all over the word can
participate and share their idea and views and work together
to find solutions to complex research problems.
One such example is the space research. To analyze the
ionosphere from all the parts of the world, a single
researcher sitting on s single location cannot solve the
problem. Now researchers from all over the world doing the
task and communicate through a web platform can solve the
problem very easily.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 81
  Computer in Business :
 All the business is now on the internet or on computers. This
enhances their productivity and enhance their business.
Some examples of business that are completed dependent
on computers are Banks, sales and marketing, retailing, stock,
trading, etc.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 82
  Computer in Government:
 Various departments of the Government use computer for
their planning, control and law enforcement activities.
To name a few – Police, Tourism, Information & Broadcasting,
Education, Aviation and many others.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 83
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3. Types of Computer

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Common Organization of Computer

Lesson 6.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 84
 Types of
Computer
TYPES OF COMPUTERS or Classification of Computers
 Super Computers
 Main Frame Computers
 Mini Computers
 Micro Computers

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 85
 Types of
Computer
 Super Computers
 Most powerful Computer system - needs a large room
 Minimum world length is 64 bits
 CPU speed: 100 MIPS
 Equivalent to 4000 computers
 High cost: 4 – 5 millions E.g.:-
 Able to handle large amount of data CRAY Research :- CRAY-1 & CRAY-2,
Fujitsu (VP2000),
 High power consumption
Hitachi (S820),
 High precision NEC (SX20),
PARAM 10000 by
C-DAC,
Anupam by BARC,
PACE Series by DRDO
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 86
 Types of
Computer
Supercomputer - Applications
petroleum industry – In order to explore where petroleum
products are rich in the earth, the volume the quality etc are
analyzed by super computers.
In Aerospace industry - to simulate airflow around an aircraft at
different speeds and altitude. This helps in producing an
effective aerodynamic design for superior performance
In Automobile industry – to do crash simulation of the design E.g.:-
CRAY Research :- CRAY-1 & CRAY-2,
of an automobile before it is released for manufacturing – for Fujitsu (VP2000),
better automobile design Hitachi (S820),
NEC (SX20),
PARAM 10000 by
C-DAC,
Anupam by
BARC,
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 87
PACE Series by
 Types of
Computer
Mainframe Computers
 Able to process large amount of data at very high speed
 Supports multi-user facility

 The no. of CPU varies from 1 to 6.

 Cost: 3500 to many million dollars

 These are placed in fully air conditioned room
E.g.:-
 Supports many I/O and auxiliary storage devices IBM 3000 series,
Burroughs B7900,
 Supports network of terminals Univac 1180, DEC

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 88
 Types of
Computer
Mainframe Computers - Applications
Used to process large amount of data at very high speed such
as in the case of Banks/ Insurance Companies/ Hospitals/
Railways
 Large number of requests can be processed at the same time
and Massive storage capability
 Used as controlling nodes in WANs (Wide Area Networks)
E.g.:-
 Used to mange large centralized databases IBM 3000 series,
Burroughs B7900,
Univac 1180, DEC

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 89
 Types of
Computer
Minicomputers
 Perform better than micros
 Large in size and costlier than micros

 Designed to support multi user environment

 Posses large storage capacities and operates at higher speed

 Support faster peripheral devices like high speed printers

The Commodore PET 2001, the Apple II, and the

TRS-80 Model 1

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 90
 Types of
Computer
Minicomputers – Applications
When there is a large requirement for processing large
volume of information. e.g. Data processing for a medium sized
organization
 Used to control and monitor production processes

 To analyze results of experiments in laboratories

 It is also used in in LANs (Local Area Networks) as servers
T
h
e

C
o
m
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING m 91
 Types of
Computer
Microcomputers
As compared to supercomputers, mainframes and minicomputers,
microcomputers are the least powerful.
 It is having single processor but these are very widely used and
rapidly gaining in popularity.
It comprises of a keyboard, mouse, monitor and system unit. The
system unit is also known as cabinet or chassis.
It is the container that houses most of the components such as
motherboard, disk drives, ports, switch mode power supply and
add-on cards etc.
The desktop computers are available in two models- horizontal
model and tower model.
E
.
g
.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING : 92
 Types of
Computer
Microcomputers - Applications
 Used in the field of desktop publishing, accounting,
analysis,
statistical graphic designing, investment analysis, project
management, teaching, entertainment etc
Personal computers:- The name PC was given by the IBM for its
microcomputers. PCs are used for word processing, spreadsheet
calculations, database management etc.
Note book or Lap Top:- Very small in terms of size – can be folded
and carried around – Monitor is made up of LCD and the keyboard
and system units are contained in a single box. Got all the facilities
of a personal computer (HDD, CDD, Sound card, N/W card, Modem
etc) and a special connection to connect to the desktop PC which
can be used to transfer data. E.g.:-
Normal Desktops / Laptops

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 93
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3. Types of Computer

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Common Organization of Computer

Lesson 6.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 94
 The first computer technology was Vacuum Tubes
designed by University of Pennsylvania.
 Vacuum tubes were used to perform logic operations
and also to store information.
Generations of computers has been divided into five
according to technologies used to fabricate the
processors, memories and I/O units.
I Generation : 1945 – 55
II Generation : 1955 – 65
III Generation : 1965 – 75
IV Generation : 1975 – 89
V Generation : 1989 to present

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 95
 I Generation : 1945 –
55
 Vacuum tubes were used – basic arithmetic operations took
few milliseconds
Bulky, Consume more power with limited performance, High
cost
 Uses assembly language – to prepare programs. These were
translated into machine level language for execution.
Mercury delay line memories and Electrostatic memories were ENIAC - Electronic Numerical Integrator And
Calculator
used
 Fixed point arithmetic was used ENIAC - Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator
EDSAC – Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator
EDVAC – Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer
UNIVAC – Universal Automatic Computer
IBM 701
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 96
 I Generation : 1945 –
55
 100 to 1000 fold increase in speed relative to the earlier
mechanical and relay based electromechanical technology
Punched cards and paper tape were invented to feed programs
and data and to get results.
 Magnetic tape and magnetic drum were used

 Mainly used for scientific computations.

ENIAC - Electronic Numerical Integrator And
Calculator
ENIAC - Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator
EDSAC – Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator
EDVAC – Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer
UNIVAC – Universal Automatic Computer
IBM 701

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 97
 II Generation : 1955 –
65
 Transistors were used in place of vacuum tubes. (invented at
AT&T Bell lab in 1947)
Small in size, Lesser power consumption and better
performance, Lower cost
 Magnetic ferrite core memories were used as main
memory
which is a random-access nonvolatile memory
Magnetic tapes and magnetic disks were used as secondary
IBM 7030
memory
Manufacturers – IBM 7030,
 Hardware for floating point arithmetic operations was Digital Data Corporation’s PDP 1/5/8
developed. Honeywell 400

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 98
 II Generation : 1955 –
65
 Index registers were introduced which increased flexibility of
programming.
Compilers were introduced to translate high level to machine
code. High level languages FORTRAN, COBOL were used
 1000 fold increase in speed.

Increasingly used in business, industry and commercial

organizations for preparation of payroll, inventory control,
marketing, production planning, research, scientific & IBM 7030
engineering analysis and design etc.
Manufacturers – IBM 7030,
Digital Data Corporation’s PDP 1/5/8
Honeywell 400

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 99
 III Generation : 1965 –
75
 ICs were used
Small Scale Integration and Medium Scale Integration
technology were implemented in CPU, I/O processors etc.
 Smaller & better performance Comparatively lesser cost,
Faster processors
In the beginning magnetic core memories were used. Later
they were replaced by semiconductor memories (RAM & ROM)
 Introduced microprogramming, Microprogramming, parallel IBM System 360
processing (pipelining, multiprocessor system System 360 Mainframe from IBM,
multiprogramming,
etc), multi-user system (time shared system) etc PDP-8 Mini Computer from Digital
were introduced. Equipment Corporation

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 100
 III Generation : 1965 –
75
 Operating system software were introduced (efficient sharing
of a computer system by several user programs)
A small memory in the chip called Cache and virtual memory
concepts were introduced
 High level languages were standardized by ANSI eg. ANSI
FORTRAN, ANSI COBOL etc
Database management, multi-user application, online systems
like closed loop process control, airline reservation, interactive
IBM System 360
query systems, automatic industrial control etc emerged during
this period. System 360 Mainframe from IBM,
PDP-8 Mini Computer from Digital
Equipment Corporation

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 101
 IV Generation : 1975 –
89
 Single Chip units called Microprocessors were ues as CPU
Tens of thousands of transistors can be placed in a single chip
(VLSI design implemented)
 Mani memory were developed using Semiconductor chips.

 Secondary memory was composed of hard disks – Floppy

disks
& magnetic tapes were used for backup memory
IBM PC AT
Parallelism, pipelining cache memory and virtual memory were Intel’s 8088,80286,80386,80486 ..,
applied in a better way Motorola’s 68000, 68030, 68040,
Apple II,
CRAY I/2/X/MP etc

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 102
 IV Generation : 1975 –
89
 Introduced C language and Unix OS
 Introduced Graphical User Interface

 Less power consumption

 High performance, lower cost and very compact

 Much increase in the speed of operation

IBM PC AT
Intel’s 8088,80286,80386,80486 ..,
Motorola’s 68000, 68030, 68040,
Apple II,
CRAY I/2/X/MP etc

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 103
 V Generation : 1989 to present
 Generation after IV and to current are Generation V computers.
 Computers based on artificial intelligence are available

 Parallel Processing, pipe lining and processing parallel on

multiple processor is introduced
Massive parallel machines and extensively distributed system
connected by communication networks fall in this category.
IBM notebooks,
 Introduced ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology – Pentium PCs-Pentium 1/2/3/4/Dual
Intel‟s Pentium 4 microprocessor contains 55 million transistors core/Quad core..
millions of components on a single IC chip. SUN work stations,
Origin 2000,
Superscalar processors, Vector processors, SIMD processors, 32 PARAM 10000,
bit micro controllers and embedded processors, Digital Signal IBM SP/2
Processors (DSP) etc have been developed.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 104
 V Generation : 1989 to present
Memory chips up to 1 GB, hard disk drives up to 180 GB and
optical disks up to 27 GB are available (still the capacity is
increasing)
 Object oriented language like JAVA suitable for internet
programming has been developed.
 Portable note book computers introduced
IBM notebooks,
 Storage technology advanced – large main memory and disk Pentium PCs-Pentium 1/2/3/4/Dual
storage available core/Quad core..
SUN work stations,
Introduced World Wide Web. (and other existing applications
Origin 2000,
like e-mail, e Commerce, Virtual libraries/Classrooms, PARAM 10000,
multimedia applications etc.) IBM SP/2

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 105
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3. Types of Computer

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Common Organization of Computer

Lesson 6.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 106
 Common Organization of
Computer
Basic Computer Organization
 Basic elements of a computer system are
 Mouse,
 Keyboard,
 Monitor,
 Memory,
 CPU,
 Motherboard,
 Hard Disk,
 Speakers,
 Modem,
 power supply and
 processor.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 107
 Common Organization of
Computer
Basic Computer Organization – The Block Diagram

Input unit accepts human inputs through

devices like the keyboard or Mouse
RAM is the primary memory of the
computer system.
Processor unit is the heart of the
computer system
ALU Most computer operations
(Arithmetical and logical) are executed in
ALU
Control Unit The operations of all the
units are coordinated

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 108
 Common Organization of
Computer
Basic Computer Organization – The Block Diagram

Input unit accepts human inputs through

devices like the keyboard or Mouse
RAM is the primary memory of the
computer system.
Processor unit is the heart of the
computer system
ALU Most computer operations
(Arithmetical and logical) are executed in
ALU
Control Unit The operations of all the
units are coordinated

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 109
 Course
Progress
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

Lesson 3. Types of Computer

Lesson 4.

Lesson 5. Common Organization of Computer

Lesson 6.
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 110
 As seen earlier, follow the initial steps:
Step 1: Identify and define the problem
State the problem as clearly as possible.
For example: “I have to register for my
upcoming semester courses.”
Analyze the behavior, situation, timing,
and circumstances that made it as a
problem.
For example: The number of slots available, courses available, maximum strength of a batch are
boundaries or conditions

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 111
 As seen earlier, follow the initial steps:
Step 2: Generate possible solutions
List all the possible solutions; don’t worry about the quality of the solutions at this stage.
Try to list at least 5-10 solutions, be creative and forget about the quality of the solution.
Always allow yourself creative and fid some solutions

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 As seen earlier, follow the initial steps:
Step 3: Evaluate alternatives
Eliminate less required or irrational solutions.
Find the best optimal solutions from the set of solutions
Take care of memory limits
Take care of Speed (No of lines for execution)

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 Modular Approach for Programming :
 The process of breaking a large problem into subproblems and then treating these individual parts
as different functions is called modular programming.
Each function behaves independent of another and there is minimal inter-functional
communication. There are two methods to implement modular programming :
 Top Down Approach
 Bottom Up Approach

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 Modular Approach for Programming :
 Top Down Design :
 In this method, the original problem is divided into subparts.
 These subparts are further divided.
The chain continues till we get the very fundamental subpart of the problem
which can’t be further divided.
 Then we draw a solution for each of these fundamental parts.

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 Modular Approach for Programming :
 Bottom Up Design :
In this style of programming, an application is written by using the pre-
existing primitives of programming language.
These primitives are then amalgamated with more complicated features,
till the application is written.
 This style is just the reverse of the top-down design style.

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 Pseudocodes:
Pseudocode is a way to represent the required steps to solve any problem in
a way that it is easy to understand any one with minimal programming
knowledge.
 Main constructs
 SEQUENCE this denotes linear tasks that need to be sequentially performed one after the other.
 WHILE a loop with a condition at its beginning.
 REPEAT-UNTIL a loop with a condition at the bottom.
 FOR another way of looping.
 IF-THEN-ELSE a conditional statement that can change the flow of the sequence.
 CASE the generalization form of IF-THEN-ELSE.

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 Pseudocodes - Examples:
Create a program to add 2 numbers together and then display the
result.
Start Program
Enter two numbers, A, B
Add the numbers together
Print Sum
End Program
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 118
 Pseudocodes - Examples:
Compute the area of a rectangle:
Get the length, l, and width, w
Compute the area = l*w
Display the area

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 Pseudocodes - Examples:
 Compute the perimeter of a rectangle:
Enter length, l
Enter width, w
Compute Perimeter = 2*l + 2*w
Display Perimeter of a rectangle

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 Overall
UNIT-1:
Summary
Basic of Computer

Problem Solving

Basic idea behind computers, generations and

problem solving methodology has been see. Net
module will have a in depth view on representing
data in computer systems.

© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 121
 Referenc
es
• https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc21_cs01/preview (Problem solving through Programming In C By Prof.
Anupam Basu, IIT Kharagpur )
• https://www.coursera.org/learn/computational-thinking-problem-solving (Computational Thinking for
Problem Solving By Susan Davidson, Penn University [coursera])

• Byron Gottfried, Schaum's Outline of Programming with C, McGraw-Hill

• E. Balaguruswamy, Programming in ANSI C, Tata McGraw-Hill
• Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie, The C Programming Language, Prentice Hall of India

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 Thank
You!
© Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education PROBLEM SOLVING USING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 123