ICT 102: INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING CONCEPT USING QBASIC ND II SECOND SEMESTER LECTURE NOTE, 2022 ea en Om a el (ele ee rd Gee cee Ot elt Oe MWe ce naaen eon DLecIOBy Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI INTRODUCTION It is of paramount important for every individual who uses a computer to be familiar with at least one programming language in order to enable him/her the ability to solve problems using the computer. This note is intended for Civil engineering students in Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri with little or no programming skills. It explains the basic structures involved in programming using QBASIC. Knowledge acquired here will help the student to understand other programming languages easily. PROGRAMMING WITH QBASIC BASIC is an acronym for Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. BASIC was developed By John Kemmeny and THomaz. Kutz, Various vastion of BASIC has evolved since invention. Examples of some BASIC versions are; GW- BASIC, BASICA, True- BASIC, QBASIC, Visual Basic. QBASIC (Quick BASIC) is an evolution from BASIC. There are different versions of QBASIC, Example QBASIC 1.0, QBASIC 1.1, QBASIC 4.0, QBASIC 4.5, ete. ‘The illustrations on this booklet has been tested on QBASIC 1.1 and QBASIC 4.0 COMPUTER PROGRAMS, PROGRAMMERS AND PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES: Everything that happens within a computer is as a result of instructions given to that computer. Computer Programs are set of instructions given to a computer in other to perform a particular task. These instructions are written by Programmers. A computer programmer could be anyone who can interact with the computer using programming languages. Programming Languages are not plain English or native language. But online every other languages, each programming language has its syntax (set of rules that govern a particular language).Programming Languages are divided into three categories as follows: 1. Machine Languages 2. Assembly Languages 3. High Level LanguagesBy Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI Machine Language is the natural language of the computer, each of computers has its own language. This language is difficult for human to understand. Assembly language was developed due to the complexity of machine language. Computers could only understand assembly languages with the aid of computer programs called translators. High Level Language was developed to ease the burden of programming. These types of languages seem closely similar to human languages as compared to assembly languages. Low Level Languages (LLL): The term low level means closeness to the way in which the machine has been built. Low level languages are machine oriented and require extensive knowledge of computer hardware and its configuration. Machine language: is the only language that is directly understood by the computer. It does not needs any translator programme. We also call it machine code and it is written as strings of 1s (one) and 0s (zero). When this sequence of codes is fed to the computer, it recognizes the codes and converts it into electrical signals needed to run it. e.g., a programme instruction may look like this 1011000111101. Assembly Language: The set of symbols and letters forms the assembly language, this set of symbols and letters is called mnemonics and a translator programme is required to translate the assembly language to machine language. This translator programme is called assembler. It is considered to be a second generation language. High Level Languages (HLL): Higher level languages are simple languages that use English and mathematical symbols like +,- ,% , /, ete. ‘ for its programme construction. STEPS TO SOLVE A PROGRAMMING PROBLEM. ‘A good program must undergo the following stages of development; these stages must be followed orderly as listed below 1. Problem Analysis 2. Algorithm Development 3. Program Coding 4. Compilation and ExecutionBy Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | AMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGUR! 5. Debugging and Testing 6. Documentation PROBLEM ANALYSIS. It is a good programming practice for a programmer to analyze a given task, checkout for what is involved, understand it before any other action is implemented. ALGORTHM DEVELOPMENT After a given task has been successfully analyzed , the programmer is expected to develop an algorithm which will help during the program coding. An algorithm is an illustrations that gives the guideline about the flow of any Program. An Algorithm can be a flowchart or a pseudocode. STEP 1: PROBLEM ANALYSIS The first step towards solving this problem is the analysis stage. A good programmer should be able to ascertain the following: How many inputs are expected? What are the operations which these inputs must undergo Is there any expected output? Ifyes, then what form should the expected output take. And so on. From the above problem, after the analysis, notice that + two input values are expected from the user, and this your inputs are integers + These integers are added together + The output of this is integer will be displayed After I have noted this, you can now proceed to the second stage, which is Algorithm Development. STEP 2. ALGORITHM DEVELOPMENT Using a pseudocodes Remember, It is not strictly recommended that a pseudocode should take the form of any programming language. Pseudocodes are false codes because they could not be executed in any programming environment. The example below is a pseudocode for the problem in case1 1. Declare Num1 as an IntegerBy Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT O COMPUTER CENCE | AMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGUR 2. Declare Num? as an Integer 3. Declare Result as an Integer 4, Input a Value for Num! 5. Input a value for Num2 6. Let Result = Numl + Num2 7. Display the output 8. End of Program The above statements are not programming languages, they cannot be executed on any programming environment because they do not follow any language syntax. (Syntax are set of rules that govern a particular language.) Also note that declaration of variables is not mandatory in all programming languages. The algorithm for the above problem can also be developed using a flowchart as follows: INPUT Numi , Num2 as Integers | Result= Numi + Num2 J 4 STEP 3. CODING This involves transcribing the algorithm. This involves the use of programming languages. In the course of our study, we will be writing of programs using a version of BASIC called QBASIC.By Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI The recent problem could be written using QBASIC as follows: CLS DIM Num] AS INTEGER DIM Num2 AS INTEGER, DIM Result AS INTEGER INPUT Num1 INPUT Num2 Result = Num] + Num2 PRINT Result END The above QBASIC program will prompt the user to enter a value for the first integer, NumI, And then Num2. After which it will process the operation and print the Result. STEP 4: PROGRAM COMPILATION AND EXECUTION During this stage, the computer will run through the lines of codes, to check if there are errors, Execution will only be successful if there are no error(bugs) on the program. In most cases, compilation and execution can be completed in less than a second. STEP 5: PROGRAM DEBUGGING AND TESTING. Mostly, computer programs, no matter how simple they look, may not be executed properly, they may contain few errors or bugs at first instance, these programs are debugged (i.e errors are eliminated gradually until desired target is achieved. These errors can either be syntax or semantic errors). STEP 6: PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION Program documentation presents the detail description of each step in a program. This is the final step of software development. It is very important because It gives vital information about your program which could be useful in the future. Other programmers will be able to understand your programs if it is well documented. ALGORITHM Algorithm is a step-by-step procedure, which defines a set of instructions to be executed in a certain order to get the desired output. Algorithms are generally created independent of underlying languages, i.e. an algorithm can be implemented in more than one programming language.By Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI Characteristics of an Algorithm Notall procedures can be called an algorithm. An algorithm must have the following characteristic: Unambiguous — Algorithm should be clear and unambiguous. Each of its steps (or phases), and their inputs/outputs should be clear and must lead to only one meaning. Input — An algorithm should have 0 or more well-defined inputs. Output — An algorithm should have 1 or more well-defined outputs, and should match the desired output. iteness — Algorithms must terminate after a finite number of steps. Feasibility — Should be feasible with the available resources. Independent — An algorithm should have step-by-step directions, which should be independent of any programming code. Flowchart is a diagrammatic representation of sequence of logical steps of a program. Flowcharts use simple geometric shapes to depict processes and arrows to show relationships and process/data flow. Pseudocodes (also called false codes )could be English-like statements used to illustrate every step involved in the design of a particular program. A Flowchart is a diagram of statements of an algorithm showing the relationship among the statements. Some of the symbols used in a flowchart include the following Symbol Symbol Name Purpose Start/Stop | Used at the beginning and end of the algorithm to show start and end of the program. Process Indicates processes like mathematical operations. outputs. [TJ [Input Output Used for denoting program inputs and Decision | Stands for decision statements in a program, where answer is usually Yes or No.By Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI Arrow Shows relationships between different shapes. Cy On-page ‘Connects two or more parts of a flowchart, Connector__| which are on the same page. Offpage | Connects two parts of a flowchart which are LJ Connector spread over different pages. Example Flowcharts Here is a flowchart to calculate the average of two numbet Start Take nut, num2 Average = (numtsnum2)/2 pi Print Average / End Difference between an identifier and a variable. Identifier + All of them are not variables. + They are used to name a variable, a function, a class, a structure, a union. + Itis created to give a unique name to an entity. + They can consist of alphabets, digits, and underscores. + There is no punctuation or special symbol, except the underscore.By Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI + It can be upper case or lower case. + It can start with lower case letter, upper case letter or an underscore. + Ithelps locate the name of the entity which is defined along with a keyword. Example enum geeks_artiles_in {Jan=1, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June, July} Variable + Its used to give a name to a memory location. + Itholds a value. + The names of variables are different. + They help allot a unique name to a specific memory location. Example int a= 6; SOME QBASIC KEYWORDS There are a number of keywords in QBASIC, This keywords are reserved for specific functions and could not be used as variables in any instance. Some of the frequently used Keywords in QBASIC are shown on the table below: KEYWORD NAME USAGE CLS Clear Screen To clear the Output Screen. REM Remark For insertion of Comments DIM Dimension To Declare variables PRINT PRINT To Display an output END END Shows the End of an Program INPUT INPUT Accepts values from a user LET LET Assigns a value to a variable IF IF Begins a conditional statement INTEGER _| INTEGER Positive and negative whole numbersBy Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPART OF COMPUTER SCIENCE |RAMAT POLYTECHNC AIDUGUY BASIC’S FUNDAMENTAL DATA PROCESSING ELEMENT An important first step in learning a programming language is to understand the types of data that can be processed, the data structures that are allowed, and the data operations that can be performed. Data Types Every programming language has a character set. These are the only admissible characters that can be used in the language. Basic allows the use of both numeric (0-9) and alphabetic (A,B, ...Z) characters as well as some special symbols such as /,=,;,*, ete. Data Structures: All version of BASIC enable programmers to make use of the following four data structures: Constants, Variables, arrays, and files. These four data structures can handle almost any business data processing task. Constants: A constant refers to a data item that cannot change its value when a program is run. It is either a numeric constant or string constant. Numeric Constant: These are numbers used in BASIC. Numeric constants can be integers or real integer constants are numbers without decimal pump eg. 4, 2000, - 186 etc. while real constants are numbers with decimal point eg. 2.006, 0.21, 6., 10, -14.929, 13569.1 ete. One of the nice features of BASIC is that integer and decimals are handled in the same array. You do not have to distinguish between them. Here are two important rules to follow when keying in numbers. 1. Always precede a negative number with a minus sign 2. Never use commas to indicate “thousands”, millions” and so on. All versions of BASIC also use another means to represent real numbers — scientific, or engineering notation. These real numbers are broken into two parts; the first part indicates the number’s actual digits and the second part notes the power of 10 to which these digits are being taken. Below are some examples to illustrate. Regular Notation, Scientific Notation 20.334 2.0334E+01 0.567 35.67E-03 -62939.6 -6.29396E+04By Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | AMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGUR! String Constant: Any set of characters enclosed within a quotation marks are identified by BASIC as string constants. Examples: “234629095”; “sales volume”; “Enter yes or No”; etc. Variables: A variable refers to a data item that can change its value during program execution. In another words, it is a name given to memory location s for storing constants. It can be numeric variable or string variable. Numeric variables: Are names given to memory location for storing numeric constants (numbers). It is formed either by a single alphabetic character or a single alphabetic character followed by a single digit e.g. B or B2. String Variables: These are variables whose contents are string constants. It is formed by adding a dollar sign ($) to a numeric variable e.g. BS or B2$. Note: Arrays will be discussed later. DATA OPERATIONS: Data values are transformed or created in BASIC by using three types of data operations: arithmetical operations, relational operations and logical operations. Specific operator within each type of data operation actually indicates the nature of the operation to be transformed. These operations are normally represented in expressions, which can be regarded as specific combinations of constants, variable and operations. This system should become clear to you through the examples used to explain the different types of operations SIMPLE MATHEMATICAL OPERATIONS IN QBASIC Like other programming languages, mathematical operations can be carried out in BASIC using the following Operators OPERATOR MEANING EXAMPLE * Multiplication 24 + Addition 2+4 / Division 4/2 % Modulus 4%2 “or ** Exponentiation 42 10By Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI The above operators are called Arithmetic Operators. They are used to perform simple algebraic operations. Arithmetic expression Equiv. BASIC expression (a+by (A+B)**3 or (AFBYS ath? AtBY2 alth (AM+BY/IC c 2,04 A/BH(C*D)(E*G*H) b fgh yYd--+y 0.5*(QIK-KAQ*Z"2)) Ak oqz’ Relational operators: There are six relational operators: Operator operation Example Meaning > greater than ADB A is greater than B > preater or equal to ADB Ais greater than o equal to B less than AB Ais less than B less than or equal to. ASB Avis less than ot equal to B = equal to A=B A is equal toB <,F¢ not equal to AB A is not equal to B The relational operators are used to form simple relational expressions. In any simple relational expression, the value can be either true or false. This depends on the nature of the relationship between the two arithmetical expres Logical operations:-There are three logical operators: Operator Operation NOT changes the value of a relational expression (i.e. a true Expression is evaluated as being “false” or a “false expression is evaluated as being “true”). AND Evaluated as “true” only when both relational expressions are true. OR Evaluated as “true” when either or both relational expressions are true, Below are illustration for the above discussions: Consider the case where A=3, B=4 and C=2 1By Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI Expression ‘A=3 AND B=4 ‘A=3 AND B=4 3=3 AND 4=4 TRUE AND TRUE TRUE B+2<4 AND 2*C>A B+2<4 AND 2*C>A 4+2<4 AND 2*2>3 6<4 AND 4>3 FALSE AND TRUE FALSE AtC=5 OR B>=3*A AtC=5 OR B>=3*A 3+2-5 OR 4>=3%3 5=5 OR 4>=9 TRUE OR FALSE TRUE NOT 2*C>BHA NOT 2*C >B+A NOT 2*2>4+3 NOT 4>7 NOT FALSE=TRUE These logical operators are used to construct compound relational expressions. Ab compound relational expressions can contain more than one logical operator. With compound relational expressions, NOT operations are performed before AND operations, which are performed before OR operations. FUNCTION A funetion is a built-in formula to accomplish a certain task such as mathematical, statistical, financial, logical/data calculations, etc. Functions in QBASIC are readymade programs that take some data, manipulate them and return the value, which may be a string or numeric type. TYPES OF FUNCTIONS: — QBASIC supports two types of functions. They are: — A) USER-DEFINED FUNCTIONS: — A function that is written and stored by the programmer to perform a specific task is known as User Defined Functions. When QBASIC does not provide a built-in 2By Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT O COMPUTER CENCE | AMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGUR function to solve any particular problem required by the programmer in that case only programmers define this type of function. FUNCTION, ND FUNCTION statement can be used to define the function. DECLARE FUNCTION area(1,b) <—— Declaration Part cLS INPUT "Enter Length Ta ata Tec a ee Nea) Aree Calling Function rat} gota tao FUNCTION area (1, b) a=1*b Defining Function lias procedure PND easton) Oe 1. Greatest among two number FUNCTION PROCEDURE DECLARE FUNCTION MAX(A,B) CLS INPUT "Enter any two number"; A, B PRINT "The greater number is"; MAX(A, B) END FUNCTION MAX (A, B) IF A> B THEN MAX=A END FUNCTION, BBy Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI 2. Using user defined function, write a program to input monthly income in parameter then computer annual tax to be paid. The tax rate is 15% if annual income is above Rs. 200000, otherwise tax rate is 1%. FUNCTION PROCEDURE DECLARE FUNCTION TAX(I) CLS INPUT "Enter monthly income"; I PRINT "Tax to be paid="; TAX(I) END FUNCTION TAX (1) A=I*12 IF A> 200000 THEN TAX=15/100* A ELSE TAX=1/100* A END IF END FUNCTION 3 Given Number is perfect Square or Not CLS INPUT "enter any number"; n A=SQR(n) IF A= INT(A) THEN PRINT "perfect square" ELSE PRINT "Not perfect square" ENDIF END B) BUILD-IN OR LIBRARY FUNCTIONS: - Predefined functions: these are functions that are “built into” BASIC (in the library of BASIC). This means they are available for use in any BASIC program being written, Below are some examples of predefined functions: Funetion Description SING) returns the sine of an angle COS(x) returns the cosine of an angle 4By Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI TAN(x) retums the tangent of an angle ATN(x) returns the arc tangent of an angle LOG(x) returns the natural logarithm of a number EXP(x) raises the mathematical number “e” to a power given by the Argument x SER) returns the square root of a number STATEMENTS in QBASIC A statement is a collection of instructions written in QBASIC using keywords and commands. There are three types of statements in basic: IF Statement The IF statement always asks a question (usually about the number in a variable.) If the answer is TRUE the true branch is executed. If the answer is FALSE the true branch is skipped. In both cases, execution continues with the statement after the END IF. Example: CLS IF 5>2 THEN PRINT “5 is greater than 2” END IF SE Statement The else statement is a conditional statement that runs a block of code if'a certain condition is met. If the Boolean expression is false, the if statement might be followed by an optional else statement. 15By Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI Example: CLS INPUT "Enter any number “; N IF N MOD 2 =0 THEN PRINT "The number is EVEN "; ELSE PRINT “The number is ODD"; END IF END IF ELSE IF: Statement: if else if statement is a conditional control chain of statement in Qbasic, here first the program check the first expression of the program and if the requirement is false, it sends you back to the if-else condition. In simple words, it will simply check the first expression and if the first expression is an error it moves to the second, And finally, need to end the statement using end if. CLS INPUT "ENTER ANY THREE NUMBERS "; A, B, C IF A= 10 END d. Nested Loop ‘The Loop inside the loop structure is called Nested loop. It contains an outer loop and an inner loop. 77777777 6666666 555555 44444 333 22 1 wvBy Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURI CLS FOR A=7TO 1 STEP -1 FOR 1TOA PRINT A; NEXT B PRINT NEXT A END ARRAYS Arrays hold a list of variables of the same data type. Syntax DIM ArrayName(Size) AS DataType e.g DIM MyCar(5) AS STRING The example above can be illustrated using a diagram 0 1 2 3 4 Honda It simply Shows that Volvo is stored in the myCar(1) We are going to write a program that will store the following their respective array Locations. 0 1 2 3 4 Honda BMW Toyota Lexus Ferari Note that the first index of an array is always 0. Array can also be used to store numbers, which could be used for calculations. Consider the example below ‘The Array myNum(5) 18By Ibrahim Isa Wadda, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER CENCE | RAMAT POLYTECHNIC MAIDUGURL 23 nL iL. | PRINT Num(0) + Num(3) The Computer will calculate and Print 34 as the result. Ey The above will print “Ferari” as output. If you change to PRINT myCar(3) , the Output will Be “Lexus” and so on. ... Wishing you guys best of Luck! 19