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Chapter 1 One

Chapter One introduces programming languages, defining them as a means of communicating instructions to computers, with classifications into machine, assembly, and high-level languages. It outlines the attributes of a good programming language, the programming development cycle, and tools like pseudocode and flowcharts for program design. Additionally, it discusses the generations of programming languages from machine language to fifth-generation languages.

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Hidra Ramadhani
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3 views20 pages

Chapter 1 One

Chapter One introduces programming languages, defining them as a means of communicating instructions to computers, with classifications into machine, assembly, and high-level languages. It outlines the attributes of a good programming language, the programming development cycle, and tools like pseudocode and flowcharts for program design. Additionally, it discusses the generations of programming languages from machine language to fifth-generation languages.

Uploaded by

Hidra Ramadhani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Computer

Programming
Chapter One

Created by:
Mr. Hidra
Introduction to Programming language
A programming language is a language designed to communicate
instructions to a computer.
Thus, Programming language is a set of commands, strings or characters
readable by programmers but easily translatable to machine code.
It has the following
❖ Syntax: Is a set of rules that define how the commands have to be
arranged to make sense
❖ Grammar: Is a set of rules of using different punctuation, quotation
marks, semicolons,
❖ Semantics: Is a set of meanings assigned to every command of the
language and is used to properly translate the program to machine
code.
Classification of Programming language
Programming Language can be grouped into
three namely;
1)Machine Languages,

2)Assembly Languages and

3)High level Languages.


1: Machine Language:
Machine language is a collection of binary digits
or bits that the computer reads and interprets.
Machine language is the only language a computer
is capable of understanding.
Machine level language is a language that supports
the machine side of the programming or does not
provide human side of the programming. It consists
of (binary) zeros and ones.
2: Assembly Language:
Assembly language is easier to use than machine
language.
An assembler is useful for detecting programming errors.
Programmers do not have the absolute address of data
items.
Assembly language encourage modular programming.
3: High level language
High level language is a language that supports the human and the
application sides of the programming.

Consequently more programming is now done in high level


languages.

Examples of high-level languages are

✓ BASIC,

✓ FORTRAN etc.
Attribute of good Programming Language
Some of very good characteristics of a good programming language are,
❖ Clarity, Simplicity and Unity:
❖ Orthogonality:
❖ Support for Abstraction:
❖ Programming Environment:
❖ Ease of program verification/Reusability:
❖ Portability of programs:
Program performance and features of programming
languages
Performance of a program, including
❑ Reliability,
❑ Readability,
❑ Writability,
❑ Reusability and
❑ Efficiency.
Programming Development Cycle:
The various stages in the development of a computer
program are:-
▪ Problem Definition.
▪ Program Design.
▪ Coding.
▪ Debugging.
▪ Testing.
▪ Documentation.
▪ Maintenance.
Cont..
1) Problem Definition:
In this step the problem has to be defined formally, by being sure
understanding what the program should do, that is, what the
output should be.

2) Program Design:
The next stage is the program design. The software developer
makes use of tools like algorithms and flowcharts to develop the
design of the program.
✓Algorithm.
✓Flowchart.
Cont..
3) Choose the interface: Select the objects.
Determine how the input will be obtained and how the output will be
displayed. Then create appropriate commands to allow the user to control the
program.

4) Coding:
Coding is the technical word for writing the program, by translate the
algorithm into a programming language.
For effective coding some of the guide lines which are applied are :
✓ Use of meaningful names and labels of variables,
✓ Simple and clear expressions,
✓ Making use of comments and indenting the code properly,
✓ Avoiding jumps in the program to transfer control.
Cont..
5) Debugging:
At this stage the errors in the programs are detected and corrected.
Debugging is also known as program validation.
Some common errors which might occur in the programs
include:
✓ UN initialization of variables.
✓ Reversing of order of operands.
✓ Confusion of numbers and characters.
✓ Inverting of conditions. Eg: - Jumping on zero instead of on not
zero.
Cont..
6) Testing:-
The program is tested on a number of suitable test cases.
A test plan of the program has to be done at the stage of
the program design itself.
This ensures a thorough understanding of the
specifications.
The most trivial and the most special cases should be
identified and tested.
It is always useful to include the maximum and minimum
values of all variables as test data.
Cont..
7) Complete the documentation: Organize all the material that
describes the program.
Documentation is intended to allow another person, or the programmer
at a later date, to understand the program.
Internal documentation consists of statements in the program that are
not executed, but point out the purposes of various parts of the
program.
Documentation might also consist of a detailed description of what the
program does and how to use the program (for instance, what type of
input is expected).
For commercial programs, documentation includes an instruction
manual.
Other types of documentation are the
✓Flowchart and
✓Pseudocode
Programming Tools
Tools used to convert algorithms into computer programs:

1: Pseudocode: An informal high-level description of the


operating principle of a computer program.

It uses the structural conventions of a programming language, but


is intended for human reading rather than machine reading.

2: Flowcharts: Graphically depict the logical steps to carry out a


task and show how the steps relate to each other.
Pseudocode vs Flowcharts
Pseudocode Flowcharts
• Artificial and Informal • A graphical way of writing
language pseudocode
• Helps programmers to • Rounded rectangle –terminal
plan an algorithm • Parallelogram –input / output
• Similar to everyday • Rectangle –actions
English • Diamonds –decision /
conditional
• Not an actual
programming language • Circles –connector
Flowchart Symbols
Example Flowchart
Programming Language Generations

1GL or first-generation language: This was (and still is) machine


language or the level of instructions and data that the processor is actually
given to work on.
2GL or second-generation language: Is assembler(sometimes called
"assembly") language.
3GL or third-generation language: Is a "high-level" programming
language, such as HTML, C, or Java. A compiler converts the statements of a
specific high-level programming language into machine language. A 3GL
language requires a considerable amount of programming knowledge.
4GL or fourth-generation language: Is designed to be closer to natural
language than a 3GL language. Languages for accessing databases are often
described as 4GLs.
5GL or fifth-generation language: Is programming that uses a visual or
graphical development interface to create source language that is usually
compiled with a 3GL or 4GL language compiler.
This Makes and End of Chapter One

Questions…..?

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