Which of the following is a structured programming technique that graphically represents the detailed steps required to solve a problem?

Summary Points

• A sequence of steps, collectively referred to as the software development process, is used to efficiently develop a programming problem solution. The steps are: (1) Define and document the problem. (2) Design and document a solution. (3) Write and document the program. (4) Debug and test the program and revise the documentation as necessary.
• When a programming problem is defined, it is necessary to state the desired output, the needed input, and the processing requirements. These three items collectively are referred to as the program specifications.
• After the problem is defined, a solution can be designed. When designing a solution, the programmer must realize that the computer is capable of executing only four basic logic patterns: a simple sequence (in which statements are executed in the order in which they occur), a selection pattern (in which a comparison is made), a loop (which allows for the repetition of a sequence of statements), and a branch (which allows for program execution to skip over statements). The branch pattern is controversial because its overuse can lead to programs with difficult-to-follow logic.
• Numerous problems were encountered in the early days of software development. Some of these problems were that programmer productivity was low, programs often were not reliable and did not correctly handle invalid input, and programs were not easy to maintain. Consequently, structured programming techniques were developed. Structured programming can be divided into two categories: structured design tech-niques and structured coding.
• When using structured design, top-down design is used to break a problem into smaller and smaller subproblems. Structure charts are used to graphically illustrate the result of the top-down design process. Each box in the structure chart can be written as a separate module when the program is coded.
• HIPO packages are visual aids that supplement structure charts. Typically, an HIPO package consists of three types of diagrams: a visual table of contents, an overview diagram, and a detail diagram.
• Pseudocode consists of an English-like description of the logic of a program.
• Flowcharts graphically represent the logic of a programming problem solution. Each symbol has a specific meaning; flowlines and arrows indicate the direction of flow.
• In business and industry, a number of programmers are typically assigned to work together on large programming projects. Several structured design techniques are often used in developing these large projects. Two of these are chief programmer teams and structured review and evaluation.
• The chief programmer team (CPT) is a small group of programmers under the supervision of a chief programmer. Usually the chief programmer is assisted by a highly qualified backup programmer. A librarian is responsible for maintaining up-to-date documentation on the project. Other programmers are included on the team according to the needs of the particular project.
• Software designs must be reviewed before they are implemented. In an informal design review, the design documentation is reviewed before coding takes place. Later, a formal design review may be held to discuss the overall completeness, accuracy, and quality of the design.
• The process of writing the program in a programming language is referred to as coding. In structured coding, a number of rules are followed, including avoiding branch (GOTO) statements, dividing the program into independent modules of manageable length, each working together to form the entire program, writing each module so that it is a proper program (that is, containing only one entrance point and one exit point), and fully documenting the program.
• Some of the general types of statements in a program are: comments, declarations, input/output statements, computations, comparison, and loops.
• Although using structured programming techniques encourages the development of programs that are less error-prone than unstructured programs, programs of any length nearly always contain some bugs, or errors. Debugging is the process of locating and correcting these errors.
• Testing programs involves running them with a variety of data to determine if they always obtain correct results. It is difficult to locate all program errors through testing. Therefore, program verification, which involves mathematically proving the correctness of a program, is an area of increasing interest in the software development field. Although program verification is not yet practical on a large scale, it is likely to prove useful in the near future.

For the Unit Examination you should be able to:

• List and explain the 4 steps in the Software Development Process.
• List and explain the 3 items referred to as the program specifications (ie. input, processing requirements and output).
• Explain each of the 4 basic logic patterns:
  • simple sequence
  • selection
  • branch
  • loop
• Explain why structured programming techniques were developed.
• What is meant by the term Debug?

Last Updated Jan.7/99

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