Programming I

(PRG-211)

Program Design
Presented By:
Ramsy J. BANDA
Computing and Information Technology Department
The Polytechnic

:265 (0) 881208662 :[email protected]

Introduction
 After program requirements are clearly stated in terms of input, output,
process and storage, the next stage is to come up with a blue-print of
the program you intend to build.
 Program design phase shows the steps that should be taken in order to
build a program that meet requirements.
 Though taken for granted by novice programmers, design phase should
be given long time in developing a program.
 There are different program statements and they are presented
differently in design.
Program Statements
A program statement:
­Is a small unit of code with a complete programing thought i.e. that
makes sense.
­Is a sentence of programming language.
­Ends with semicolon (;) in many languages such as C++, Java, PHP.
Three basic types of statements are:
i.Declaration Statements
ii.Input / Output Statements
iii.Assignments Statements
Program Statements (Cont’d)
a). Declaration Statements
i.Statements for declaring variables/constants
­Specifies data type and a name of the variable
­Example in C++: int age;
ii.Statements for declaring functions
­Specifies return value data type, function name and list of
parameters.
­Example in C++: float average(int a, int b);
(To be covered when will be looking at Functions Next Semester)
Semester
Program Statements (Cont’d)
b). Input / Output Statements
­Input Statements for getting data from input device or file
­In C++, cin>> is used to get data from standard input device such as
a keyboard and put it into a variable;
­Example in C++: cin>>age;

(This gets data from keyboard (user) and puts it in a variable called age)
age
Program Statements (Cont’d)
Output Statements sending data to output device or file
­In C++, cout<< is used to send data (info) to a standard output
device such as a monitor.
­Example in C++: cout<<“Enter your age => ”;

(This sends data from program to monitor )

Program Statements (Cont’d)
c). Assignments Statements
­Statements for copying /setting values (data) to variables
•Equals sign (=) is used in assignment statement
•A variable where data is copied/set to is on the left side of the
equals sign (=)
•On the right side of equals sign (=) is a valued to be copied/set.
This can be a literal value, another variable or an expression .
Program Statements (Cont’d)
 Examples:
i. Literal value: age = 20;
(This copies/sets 20 to variable age)
age

ii. Another variable: number2 = number1 ;

(This copies value of variable number1 to variable number2)
number2

iii. Expression: sum = number1 + number2;

(This copies result of calculation of number1 + number2 to
variable sum)
sum
Algorithm
What is an Algorithm?
It is a step by step procedure to find a solution to a problem
It is a sequence of steps that should be followed to solve a problem
A sequence of precise instructions which leads to a solution.

Program
An algorithm expressed in a language the computer can understand.
Program Design
 Programming is a creative process
­No complete set of rules for creating a program
 Program Design Process
­Problem solving phase
•Result is an algorithm that solves the problem
­Implementation Phase
•Result is the algorithm translated into a programming language
Problem Solving Phase
 Be certain the task is completely specified
­What is the input?
­What information is the output?
­How is the output organized?
 Develop the algorithm before implementation
­Experience shows this saves time in getting your program to run
­Test the algorithm for correctness
Implementation Phase
 Translate the algorithm into a programming language
­Easier as you gain experience with the language
 Compile the source code
­Locates errors in using the programming language
 Run the program on sample data
­Verify correctness of results
 Results may require modification of the algorithm and program.
Algorithm notations
 An algorithm can be expressed in different notations:
­Natural language
­Pseudo code and flowcharts – Design phase
­Programming language – Coding phase.
Algorithm by Natural Language
 Steps to solve the problems are written using a natural language such
as English.
 Natural language tends to be ambiguous. Same statement can have
multiple meaning hence implemented different by different
programmers.
 Algorithms for complex problems should not be expressed using
natural language.
Algorithm by Natural Language (Cont’d)
 Example:
­Write an algorithm for a program that accepts two numbers and
displays their sum.
Solution
1.Enter/accept first number from a user
2.Enter/accept second number from the user
3.Add two numbers together
4.Display a result in (3)
Algorithm by Pseudocode
 A pseudocode is an algorithm written in something similar to
programming language but in a more understandable format. It
resembles a programming language.
 Mixture of C++ and ordinary English
 It cannot be executed by a computer
 There is no universal standard on how pseudocodes should be written.
Different programmer present them differently.
 Allows making algorithm precise without worrying about the details
of C++ syntax.
Algorithm by Pseudocode (Cont’d)
Declaration statement
- USE VARIABLES: list-of-variables As data-type
e.g. USE VARIABLE: age, grade As Integer (which in C++ is int age, grade)
- or USE VARIABLES: list-of-variables DataType data-type
e.g. USE VARIABLE: age, grade of DataType Integer (which in C++ is int age, grade)

Output Statement
- DISPLAY message
e.g. DISPLAY “Enter your age ” (which in C++ is cout<<“Enter your age”;)
Algorithm by Pseudocode (Cont’d)
Input Statement
- GET variable-name e.g. GET age (which in C++ is cin>>age;)
Assignment Statement
- COMPUTE expression e.g. COMPUTE sum = number1 + number2
Note:
You do not necessarily need to use COMPUTE for assignment
statements that do not involve arithmetic expressions such as age =
20).
Algorithm by Pseudocode (Cont’d)
Example:
­Write a pseudocode for a program that accepts two numbers and displays
their sum.
BEGIN
USE VARIABLES: num1,num2,sum As Real
DISPLAY “Enter first number”
GET num1
DISPLAY “Enter second number”
GET num2
COMPUTE sum = num1 + num2
DISPLAY “Sum of two numbers is ”, sum
END
Algorithm by Flowcharts
 A flowchart is a graphical expression of an algorithm
 It graphically shows how the steps are related to each other
 Diagram that shows the logical flow of a program
 There are many symbols used in drawing a flowchart.
 The final visualization can then be easily translated into a program
Algorithm by Flowcharts (Cont’d)
Flowcharting symbols
 Algorithm by Flowcharts (Cont’d)

The use of
decision
symbol will
be shown
later
Algorithm by Flowcharts (Cont’d)
Example:
Write a flowchart for a program that accepts two numbers and
displays their sum.
Algorithm by Flowcharts (Cont’d)
STAR
Solution T

DISPLAY "Enter first number”

GET num1

DISPLAY "Enter second number”

GET num2

sum = num1 + num2

DISPLAY sum

END
Exercise
 For a program that:
i. Calculates the weekly gross pay for a worker, based on the total
number of hours worked and the hourly pay rate.
ii.Accepts a unit price and quantity of items sold and displays total
amount and VAT. (NB: Unit price is VAT exclusive. VAT rate is 16.5%.).
a. Write a natural language algorithm
b. Write a pseudocode
c. Draw a flowchart
Recap: Running a C++ Program
 C++ source code is written with a text editor
 The compiler on your system converts source code to object code
 The linker combines all the object code into an executable program.
Recap: Running a C++ Program (Cont’d)
Linking
The object code of your C++ program must be combined with the
object code from routines (such as input and output routines) that your
program uses.
This process of combining object is called linking and is done by a
program called a linker.
For simple programs, linking may be done for you automatically.
Recap: Running a C++ Program (Cont’d)
To Run a Program
­Obtain code
­Compile the code
­Fix any errors the compiler indicates and re-compile the code
­Run the program
­Test it with sample data.
Recap: Testing and Debugging
Bug
A mistake in a program
Debugging
Eliminating mistakes in programs
Recap: Program Errors
i. Syntax Errors
­Violation of the grammar rules of the language
­Discovered by the compiler
•Error messages may not always show correct location of errors
ii. Run-time errors
­Error conditions detected by the computer at run-time
iii. Logic Errors (Warning)
­Errors in the program’s algorithm.
­Most difficult to diagnose.
­Computer does not recognize an error.