Fundamentals of Programming

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Fundamentals of Programming

• Week 1

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Our teaching assistant is

• Feng Zou, Fanny
• Please feel free to contact her or myself by
  e-mail with any questions.
• Her e-mail address is
• phenix_at_cs.cityu.edu.hk

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The Skill of programming

• Programming is a skill that must be developed
• Driving a car cannot be learned by reading a book
  only, you must practice
• Programming is also a skill and cannot be learned
  by reading a book only, YOU MUST PRACTICE
• Attend class sessions and do assignments

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Objectives of Todays Lecture

• Brief introduction to the Course
• Brief introduction to Computers
• Fields, Records, Files and folders
• Visual Basic

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CS2372 Fundamentals of Computer programming

• On-line textbook
• Microsoft Visual Basic 6, VB6
• Course Aims Objectives This course aims to
  introduce the concepts and techniques of problem
  solving using a commonly used programming
  language, such as Visual Basic, with emphasis on
  record-keeping systems and user interfaces.

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Course objectives

• Upon completion, students should be able to
• analyze simple problems and formulate solutions
• develop computer programs for quality problem
  solving
• practice good programming discipline and style.

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Keywords from Syllabus

• Software development process environment
• analysis,
• conceptualization,
• design,
• Programming,
• debugging,
• testing,
• editor,
• compiler,
• interpreter.
• Problem solving techniques
• simplification and organization,
• abstraction, hierarchy,
• top-down problem decomposition.
• Programming techniques
• basic data types, control structures, iteration,
  recursion, division of programs.
• Elements of good programming style
• programming for change,
• extensibility,

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Assessment Pattern

• Percentage distribution of marks for coursework,
  examination, other
• 30 Coursework Work, Course work will consist of
• assignments 15 and a
• individual project 15
• 70 Exam (Examination duration 2 hours)
• Grading pattern Standard (AAA-...F) For a
  student to pass the course, at least 30 of the
  maximum mark for the examination must be
  obtained.

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Major Components of a Computer System

• Hardware
• The physical devices
• Software
• Computer programs in the form of instructions for
  the Hardware

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Hardware

• Input
• Keyboard, Mouse, Etc.
• Systems Unit
• Memory (RAM), Central Processing Unit (CPU)
• Output
• Monitor, Printer, Etc.
• Secondary Storage
• Disk Drives

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Random Access Memory (RAM)

• Holds both programs and data
• Stores both intermediate and final results of
  Processing.
• Is Volatile, that is, losses all content once
  power is off!

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Programming Languages

• Machine Language (0s and 1s)
• Assemblers (one level above machine language)
• High level languages (problem oriented)

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Machine Language

• The language used by the computer to execute the
  program
• All assembler and High Level languages must be
  converted into machine language prior to being
  executed.
• Assembled
• Compiled
• or interpreted

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High Level Languages

• Computer programming languages that are easier to
  learn
• Could use English like statements, graphic,
  fomulas, Etc.
• Some examples are Java, C, and Visual basic

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Software

• Instructions direct the hardware
• A grouping of instructions to solve a problem is
  called a program

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Programming

• Using Visual Basic

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What is Programming?

• A program is a set of instructions to tell the
  computer what to do.
• A programmer or Software Engineer writes programs
  or software

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Programming Languages

• We cannot program a computer using Natural
  languages such as Chinese or English too
  ambiguous
• Programming languages are very structured to
  eliminate ambiguity
• A Computer Programming Language provides an
  unambiguous and precise way of specifying a set
  of instructions to a computer

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Programming languages

• The set of instructions created by the software
  engineer is passed through a program that will
  convert the High Level Programming Language into
  machine instructions!
• Types of Translations
• Assemble (assembler Language)
• Compile (High Level Language)
• Interpret

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Some Elements of a High Level Language

• Variables
• Operators
• Boolean Type operations
• Relational operations
• Objects

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Variables

• A variable is a place to store values being used
  in the program
• As the name implies, the value stored can change
  during the execution of the program

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Setting variables

• Setting a variable means that we put a value in
  the variable
• Gender female
• Interest .12
• Balance 200
• Balance Balance Interest (note that the
  variable changes after this statement
  (instruction))

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Fields, Records, Files and Folders

• Folders are like folders in a file cabinet a
  folder will hold files.
• Files can be of many types, the could be a
  program, text, picture etc.
• Records are structured groups of items relating
  to an application payroll record
• Fields are the individual items of data Name,
  student number, program, etc.

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Folder Terms

• Root Folder
• Path
• File Specification

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V Basic Background

• BASIC stands for Beginners All-purpose Symbolic
  Instruction Code.
• BASIC was developed by John Kemeny and Thomas
  Kurtz in mid-1960s at Dartmouth.
• Visual Basic was released in 1991 by the
  Microsoft Corporation

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V Basic Terminology

• Form
• Control
• Object
• Properties
• Event

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Designing a V Basic Program

• Design the appearance of the window that the user
  sees.
• Determine the events that the controls on the
  window should recognize.
• Write the event procedures for those events

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V Basic

• A language used to create windows applications.
• Programs are developed with a Graphical User
  Interface or GUI.
• The instructions executed in the program are
  controlled by events

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Problem Solving

• Two aspects
• Program Development Cycle
• Programming tools

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major steps in the Program development Cycle

• Analyze Define the problem
• Design Plan the solution to the problem
• Develop the Interfaces to the program
• Code Translate to programming language
• Debug and Test Make sure program is error free
• Documentation Organize all the requred materials
  to describe the program.

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Some Programming Tools

• Flowcharting
• Pseudo code
• Hierarchy Charts

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Flowcharting

• A visual representation of the program using
  predefined symbols
• One of the first tools used to examine the logic
  of a program graphically

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Flowcharting

• Programmer draws flowchart before coding.
• The 5 flowchart symbols are
• Flow line
• Terminal
• Input/Output
• Processing
• Decision
• Off page connector

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Why Flowcharting?

• An aid in developing the logic of a program.
• Verification that all possible conditions have
  been considered in a program.
• Provides means of communication with others about
  the program.
• A guide in coding the program.
• Documentation for the program.

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Flowcharting Tutorial

• The hyperlink below describes flowcharts
• Go to it and study the concepts.
• Flowchart a program that will take a temperature
  in Either Fahrenheit (F) or Centigrade (C) grade
  and convert it to the other The formulas are
  below.
• C ( F - 32) / 1.8
• F  C 1.8 32
• The user will input either an F to indicate
  that the input temperature is Fahrenheit or a C
  to indicate that the input temperature is
  Centigrade.
• If the temperature is F covert it to C if C
  Convert to F.
• Output the results with a message that states
• ___ degrees C is equal to ___ degrees F
• FLOW CHARTS

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Programming Tutorial

• Go to the site
• Small basic compiler
• Download the free basic compiler from one of the
  sites.
• Write, compile and debug your program that you
  flowcharted in the flowchart tutorial.
• execute the program.
• Email the listing of your program to
• phenix_at_cs.cityu.edu.hk