McGraw-Hill

McGraw-Hill Technology Technology Education

Creating Computer
Programs

McGraw-Hill Technology Education Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 What Is a Computer Program?
• Computer programs
– Also called software
– Are a list of instructions
– Instructions are called code
– CPU performs the instructions
– Three types
• Operating system
• Utility
• Application

13A-3
 Software Is Stored In Many Files
• Executable files
– Contain the instructions for the CPU
– Have extensions of .exe, or .com
– An executable file (EXE file) is a computer
file that contains an encoded sequence of
instructions that the system can execute
directly when the user clicks the file icon

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 Software Is Stored In Many Files
• Dynamic link libraries
• A dynamic link library (DLL) is a
collection of small programs that larger
programs can load when needed to
complete specific tasks
– Partial executable file
– Used to support executable files
– Have .dll extensions

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 Software Is Stored In Many Files
• Initialization files
• A file, such as the sm. ini file or the
smstart script, which stores program
settings that provide overall
configuration and control information for
an application.
– Contain configuration settings for software
– Have a .ini extension
– Modern programs use the registry

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 Software Is Stored In Many Files
• Help files
– Contain information about the software
– Information is indexed and searchable
– Provides an online manual
– Have a .chm or .hlp extension

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 Software Is Stored In Many Files
• Batch files
– Used to automate tasks
– Hold a series of OS commands
– Have a .bat extension

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 Hardware/Software Interaction
• Program execution
– Software executes at the CPU level
– Code to play a sound
• Code generates an interrupt
• CPU tells the sound card to play
• Sound card plays the file
– Programmer creates the code

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 Hardware/Software Interaction
• Code
– Statements written in a programming
language
– Writing code can be tedious
• Code must be perfect
• Order of steps must be exact
– Writing code is quite exciting
• Problems are solved
• New ideas are formed

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 Writing Code

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 Hardware/Software Interaction
• Machine code
– Recall that computers think in binary
– Code is translated into machine code
• CPU executes the machine code
– CPUs have a unique machine code

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 Hardware/Software Interaction
• Programming languages
– Simplifies the writing of code
• English is used to describe the binary
– Original code is called source code
– Several hundred languages exist

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 Hardware/Software Interaction
• Compilers and interpreters
– Converts source code into binary
• Allows code to execute
– Checks source code for correctness

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 Hardware/Software Interaction
• Compiler
– Creates an executable file
• Contents are called object code
– Executable can run on its own
– Each language has its own compiler
– C++ and Java are compiled languages

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 Hardware/Software Interaction
• Interpreter
– Runs program one line at a time
– More flexible than compilers
– Slower than compilers
– Always needed to execute program
– Visual Basic and Perl are interpreted

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 Planning a Computer Program
• Plans
– The steps to solve a problem
– Describe the expected results
– Programming without a plan is difficult

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 Planning Tools
• Pseudo code
– Natural language statements that
resemble code
– Describes what must be done
– Can be written by non programmers
– Programmers develop unique versions

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 Planning Tools
• Input-processing-output (IPO) charts
– Determines what is needed
– Input column
• Data inputted by the user
– Processing column
• Pseudo code describing the problem solution
– Output column
• Desired output from the program

13A-19
 IPO Chart

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 How Programs Solve Problems
• Program control flow
– Order program statements are executed
– Typically executed in order
– Constructs can change the flow
• Decision statements
• Loops

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 How Programs Solve Problems
• Algorithm
– Set of steps
– Always leads to a solution
– Steps are always the same
– Flowcharts can describe algorithms
• Structured tool for drawing algorithms
– Algorithms appear in all programs

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 Flowchart

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 How Programs Solve Problems
• Heuristic
– Set of steps
– Solution is usually found
– Solution may not be optimal
– Used when algorithms fail
• Algorithm is nonexistent or too complex
– Appear in more complex applications
• Data mining
• Anti-virus software

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 Structured Programming
• Programming using defined structures
• Creates easy to read code
• Programs are efficient and run fast
• Several defined structures

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 Structured Programming
• Sequence structure
– Describes the flow of the program
– Typically executed in order
– Branching statements allow multiple flows

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 Structured Programming
• Selection statement
– Also called conditional statement
– Performs a true or false test
– Determines which code to execute next

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 Structured Programming
• Repetition statements
– Also called looping structures
– Repeats a section of code
• Until an exit condition is reached

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 Object Oriented Programming
• Also known as OOP
• Enhances structured programming
• Intuitive method of programming

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 Object Oriented Programming
• Code reuse
– Code used in many projects
– Speeds up program development
– Simplifies program development

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 Object Oriented Programming
• Develops objects
– All real world items are objects
– OOP develops code versions
– Contains data about the item
– Contains functionality
– Object encapsulates both into one package

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 Chapter 12A

End of Chapter

McGraw-Hill Technology Education Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.