The programming process and its benefits

Programming process

Programming process

Developing a program involves steps similar to any problem-solving task.There are five main ingredients in the programming process;

1. Defining the problem
2. Planing the solution
3. Coding the program
4. Testing the program
5. Documenting the program

1.Defining the Problem

Suppose that, as a programmer, you are contacted because your services are needed. You meet with users from the client organization to analyze the problem, or you meet with a system analyst who out lines the project. Specifically, the task of defining the problem consist of identifying what it is you know(input-given data), and what it is you want to obtain(output-the result).Eventually, you produce a written agreement that, among other things, specifies the kind of input, processing and output required. This is not a simple process. It is closely related to the process of system analysis.

2.Planning the Solution

Two common ways of planning the solution to a problem are to draw a flowchart and to write pseoudocode, or possibly both. Essentially, a flow chart is representation of a step-by-step solution to problem It consist of arrows representing the direction the program takes and boxes and other symbols representing actions. It is a map of what your program is going to do it. 

Pseudocode is an English-like nonstandard language that lets you state your solution with more precision than you can in plain English but with less precision than  you can in plain English but with language. Pseudocode permits you to focus on the program  logic without having to be concerned just yet about the precise syntax of a particular programming language.

3.Coding the Program

As the programmer, your next step is to code the program-that is, to express your solution in a programming language. you will translate the logic from the flowchart or pseudocode-or some other tool-to a programming language. As we have already noted, a programming language is a set of rules that provides a way of instructing the computer what operations to perform. There are many programming languages: Basic Cobol, Pascal, Fortran, and C are some examples. you may find yourself working with one or more of these.

Although programming languages operate grammatically, somewhat like the English language, they are much more precise. To get your program to work, you have a follow exactly the rules-the syntax-of the language you are using. Of course, using the language correctly is no guarantee that your program will work, any more than speaking programmatically correct English means you know what you are talking about. the point is that correct use of the language is the required first step. Then your coded program must be keyed, probably using a terminal or personal computer, in a form the computer can understand.

Programmer usually use a text editor, which is same what like a word processing program, to create a file that contains the program. However, as a beginner, you will probably want to write your program code on paper first.

4.Testing the Program

Some experts insist that a well-designed program can be written correctly the first time. In fact, they assert that there are mathematical ways to prove that a program is correct. However, the imperfections of the world are still with us, so most programmers  get used to the idea that their newly written programs probably have a few errors. This is a bit discouraging at first, since programmers tend to be precise, careful, detail-oriented people who take pride in their work, Still, there are many opportunities to introduce mistaken into programs, and you, just as those who have gone before you, will probably find several of them.

Eventually, after coding the program, you must prepare to test it on the computer. This step involves these phases :

1. Desk-checking, This phase, similar to proofreading, is sometimes avoided by the programmer who is looking for a shortcut and is eager to run the program on the computer once it is written. However, with careful desk-checking you may discover several  errors and possibly self your self  time the the long run. In desk-checking you simply sit down and mentally trace,, or check, the logic of the program attempt to ensure that is error-free and workable. Many organizations take this phase a step further with a walkthrough, a process in which a group of programmers-your peers-review your program and other suggestions in a collegial way.
2. Translating, A translator is program that (a) Checks the syntax of your program to make sure the programming language was used correctly,giving you all the syntax-error messages, called diagnostics, and (b)then translater your program into a form the computer can understand. A by-product of the process is that the translator tells you if you have improperly used the programming language in some way. These types of mistakes are called syntax errors. The translator produces descriptive error messages. For instance, if in FORTRAN you mistakenly write N=2*(I+J)- which have two closing parentheses instead of one-you will get a message that says," UNMATCHED PARENTHESES".(different translators may provide different wording for error messages). Programs are most commonly translated by a compiler. A compiler translates your entire program at one time. The translations involves your original program, called a source module,which is transformed by a compiler into an object module. prewritten program from a system library may be added during the link/load phase, which result in a load module. The load module can then be executed by the computer.
3. Debugging, a term used extensively in programming, debugging means detecting, locating, and correcting bugs (mistakes), usually by running the program. These bugs are logic errors, such as telling a computer to repeat an operation but not telling it how to stop repeating. In this phase you run the program using test data that you devise. You must plan the test data carefully to make sure you test every part of the program.

5.Documenting the Program

Documenting  is an ongoing, necessary process, although, as many programmers are, you may be eager to pursue more exciting computer-centered activities. Documentation is written detailed description of the programming cycle and specific facts about the program. Typical program documentation materials include the origin and nature of the problem, a brief narrative description of the program, logic tool such as flowchart and pseudocode, data-record descriptions, program listings, and testing results. Comment in the program itself are also considered an essential part of documentation. Many programmers document as they code. In a broader sense, program documentation can be part of the documentation for an entire system.

The wise programmer continues to document the program throughout its design, development, and testing. Documentation is needed to supplement human memory and to help organize program planning. Also documentation is critical to communicate  with other who have an interest in the program, especially other programmers who may be part of a programming team. And, since turnover is high in the computer industry, written documentation is needed so that those who come after you can make any necessary modifications in the program or track down any errors that you missed.

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