COS 102/CSC 120:

Computer as a Problem-Solving Tool

Topic 1:
Concept of Problem Solving
Lecture 1 Week2:
Lecturer
Dr. Ufuoma C. Ogude

Department of Computer Sciences

University of Lagos
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Outlines of the Course
Wk2-7
 Concept of Problem solving
 Introduction to programming
 Concept & properties of Algorithm
 Fundamentals of programming (1): variable/variable
naming convention/data types in Python
 Fundamentals of programming (2): operators and
expressions
 Fundamentals of programming (3): control structures

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Concept of Problem
Solving
 Classes of problem
 Problem Solving Tools
 Debugging Strategies

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 Ask
Questions...
…to understand the problem
 What do I know about the problem?
 What is the information that I have to
process in order the find the solution?
 What does the solution look like?
 What sort of special cases exist?
 How will I recognize that I have found
the solution?

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 Problem
Solving
 Problem solving The act of finding a solution to a
perplexing, distressing, vexing, or unsettled question
 Computers can solve problems by performing
billions of operations per second.
A programmer's job is to find solutions. They do this by
breaking down problems into easy-to-follow steps for
a computer

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 Concept of Problem
Solving
 Problem solving is the act of
• defining a problem;
• determining the cause of the problem;
• identifying, prioritizing (ranking, ordering),
and selecting alternatives for a solution;
• and implementing a solution.

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 Problem Solving
Tools
 Problem-solving is the process of transforming the
description of a problem into a solution by using our
knowledge of the problem domain and by relying on our
ability to select and use appropriate problem-solving
strategies, techniques and tools.
 Programming is a problem solving activity. When we write
a program, we are actually writing an instruction for the
computer to solve something for us.
 Using a computer as a problem solving tool following steps
are involved.
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 Problems, Solutions,
and Tools
 The following basic process is important because it can be
used to solve a wide variety of problems, including ones
where the solution will be written in some other
programming language.
 A computer is a tool that can be used to implement a
plan for solving a problem.
 A computer program is a set of instructions for a
computer.
These instructions describe the steps that that the
computer must follow to implement a plan.
 An algorithm is a plan for solving a problem.
 A person must design an algorithm.
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 A person must translate an algorithm into a computer
Problem Solving
Process

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 Problem Solving
Process
 Problem-Solving Process
Step 1: Identify the Problem

Step 2: Analyze the Problem

Step 3: Develop the Solutions

Step 4: Implement a Solution.

Step 5: Evaluate The Results.

Step 6: Standardize The Solution (and Capitalize on

New Opportunities)
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 Design of
Algorithms
A person must translate an algorithm into a
computer program.

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 Debugging
 Debugging in problem solving
 Debugging is the process of fixing a bug in the
software.
It refers to identifying, analyzing and removing
errors.
This activity begins after the software fails to
execute properly and concludes
by solving the problem and successfully testing
the software.
 Debugging is the process of finding and resolving
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bugs (defects or problems that prevent correct
 Debugging and
Testing
 Debugging and Testing
Testing and debugging go together:
 Testing finds errors; debugging localizes and repairs
them.
 Together these form the “testing/debugging cycle”: we
test, then debug, then repeat.
 Any debugging should be followed by a reapplication of
all relevant tests, particularly regression tests. This
avoids (reduces) the introduction of new bugs when
debugging.
 Testing and debugging need not be done by the same13
people (and often should not be).
 Debugging Process
 Reproduce the problem.

 Describe the bug. Try to get as much input from the

user to get the exact reason.

 Capture the program snapshot when the bug appears.

...

 Analyse the snapshot based on the state and

action. ...
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 Fix the existing bug, but also check that any new bug
 Errors in Debugging
 A written program may have errors, some errors can be
detected by the language compilers and some errors cannot
be identified by the compiler and occured during the program
run. Common types of errors are
 Syntax Errors: Identified by compiler at the program
compilation time.
 Logical Errors: Not identified by the compiler at compile
time and identified at the execution time. e.g. misuse of
operators
 So testing is the process of checking the program for its
correct functionality by executing the program with some
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input data set and observing the output of the program.
 Why Debugging is
Hard
 There may be no obvious relationship between the
external manifestation(s) of an error and its internal
cause(s).
 Symptom and cause may be in remote parts of the
program.
 Changes (new features, bug fixes) in program may mask
(or modify) bugs.
 Symptom may be due to human mistake or
misunderstanding that is difficult to trace.
 Bug may be triggered by rare or difficult to reproduce
input sequence, program timing (threads) or other16
Assignment
 Explain with a detailed
example the Classes of
problem.

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Computer Problem-Solving
Process

1. Understand the
Problem
2. Formulate a Model
3. Develop an Algorithm
4. Write the Program
5. Test the Program
6. Evaluate the Solution 18
Computer Problem-Solving:
Example
Example: Calculate the average grade for all
students in a class.
1. Input: get all the grades … perhaps by typing
them in via the keyboard or by reading them from
a USB flash drive or hard disk.
2. Process: add them all up and compute the
average grade.
3. Output: output the answer to either the monitor,
to the printer, to the USB flash drive or hard disk …
or a combination of any of these devices.

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PS Step 1: Understand
Problem
 What input data/information is available ?
 What does it represent ?
 What format is it in ?
 Is anything missing ?
 Do I have everything that I need ?
 What output information am I trying to produce
?
 What do I want the result to look like … text, a
picture, a graph … ?
 What am I going to have to compute ?
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PS Step 2: Formulate a
Model
Assuming that the input data is a bunch of
integers or real numbers x1,x2,…,xn representing
a grade percentage, we can use the following
computational model:
Average1 = (x1 + x2 + x3 + … + xn) / n
where the result will be a number from 0 to 100.

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PS Step 3: Develop an
Algorithm
 it is time to
come up with a
precise plan of
what we want
the computer to
do.
 An algorithm is a
precise
sequence of
instructions for
solving a
problem.
 Easy here! 22
PS Step 4: Write the Program

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PS Step 5: Test the Program

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PS Step 6: Evaluate Solution

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