Introduction to Programming

2.  Program is a set of a step-
by-step instructions that
tells or directs the
computer what to do.
 Programmer designs the
program, decides which of the
programs or set of instructions
to use and tests the program to
see if it is working as designed.

3. 2. Planning
the
Solution
3. Coding
the
Program
4. Testing
the
Program
5. Documentation
1. Identifying
the Problem

4. 1. Identifying the Problem
 It involves determining the requirement of the program.
You have to analyze the need to be able to come up with a
suitable programming solution.
2. Planning the Solution
 There are two ways of planning the solution to a problem,
they are flowchart and pseudo-code.
 Flowchart – graphical representation of the step by step
instruction.
 Pseudo-code – listing down the set of instructions.
3. Coding the Program
 Visual Basic - is used as the programming language.
 Syntax – Set of rules of programming language.
 Syntax Error – If a rule is violated, it will produce error
like misspelling.

5. 4. Testing the program
 Desk checking – The programmer just mentally traces or
checks the program to make sure that it is error free.
 Translation – The programming language uses a translator
to ensure that the programmer did not violate any language
rules.
 Debugging – This means detecting, locating and correcting
bugs.
5. Documentation
 The programmer makes a detailed description on how the
program was created.
 It contains a brief narrative process undergone by the
program from the first step up to the fourth step

6. Symbol
Name
Action
RepresentedPicture Shape
Oval Terminal
Symbol
Represents start
and end of program
Parallelogram Input/
Output
Indicates input
and output
Rectangle Process
This represents
processing of action
e.g. mathematical operator
Diamond Decision
Answer the
question yes/ no
Hexagon Initialization
/ Preparation
Prepare memory
for repetition of
an action

7. Symbol
Name
Action
RepresentedPicture Shape
Arrow Lines &
Arrow Heads
Direction Shows the flow
of the program
Annotation Used to
describe action
or variables
Circle On page
connector
Connector or
part of
program to
another part
Pentagon Off-page
connector
Connect part of a
program to
another part on
the other page
or paper

8.  Sequence – process is executed from one to another
in a straight forward manner.

9. Flowchart: Algorithm:
Step 1: Read the value
of N
Step 2: Print the value
of N
Start
Read N
Print N
End

10. Procedural Languages – programming
languages which are considered procedural
uses a series of instructions or statements
which are sequential from beginning to the
end.
Example:
 BASIC (Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code)
 COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language)
 PASCAL
 FORTRAN (Formula Translator)
 C
 PL1 (Programming Language 1)

11. Non-Procedural Languages – programming
languages are considered as object-oriented
programming languages. They are event-
driven which means that a programmer
selects an event that needs to occur before
the instruction or statement is executed.
Example:
 VISUAL BASIC
 C++
 JAVA
 DELPHI

12. Flowchart – is one of the processes used in designing
or planning the solution to a problem. It is a graphical
representation to the solution of a problem. It uses
shapes to show instructions and arrow lines and
heads to display the flow.

13. Machine Language or First Generation
Programming Language
Assembly Languages or Second
Generation Programming Language
High Level Language or Third
Generation Programming Language
(3GL)
Very High Level Languages or Fourth
Generation Languages (4GL)
 Natural Languages

14.  This is considered to be the lowest level of programming
language. The program is represented by 1s and 0s. We all
know that 1s and 0s or binary number is the only language
the computer understands. Machine language programming
is a very tedious task because for just a simple task, the
program code required would be very long.

15.  This is also considered as low level language. However,
programmers would find this language easier to use than machine
language. Instead of using 1s and 0s, assembly language uses
mnemonic codes. Mnemonic codes are abbreviations that are easy
to remember. Each type of computer has its own assembly
language. This means that once you have started your
programming, you cannot use a different computer to continue
your work.

16.  This language transformed programming in the early 1960s.
It makes programming easier since the language is now
written in English like manner. If assembler is used by
assembly language, third generation languages use
translator to convert the program into a machine language.

17.  Fourth generation languages (4GL) simplifies further the third
level generation languages (3GL) because there is a reduction in
the number of instructional statements. One hundred (100) lines
of instructions in 3GLs can be reduced to five (5) to twenty (20)
lines of instructions in 4GLs.

18.  These languages are considered to be that fifth generation
languages. These programming languages are called natural
languages because of their resemblance to English language.
Natural Languages have the capability to translate human
instructions into code that a computer understands. If it
gets confused with the user’s instructions, it asks for
further explanation.