WEEK 10 AND 11
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT (SDC)
Content: User-Friendly
Definition of a Program Generality
Characteristics of a Good Program Clarity
Precautions to be taken when writing a good
PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN WHEN WRITING
program
PROGRAMS
Steps in Program Development
Compilation and Interpretation of Program Precautions to take when writing program
Steps on how a compiler and an interpreter include being emotionally stable, steady and patient
works enough to:
LESSON CONTENT Separate the steps into phases or steps
Complete one phase before moving on to the
The computer program (software) is an
next
organised set of instructions, which computers use to
Produce a document that defines what to do at
solve problems. These instructions are written by
the start of each phase
humans and it is used to direct the hardware component
Go back to previous steps
on what, when and how to accomplish (solve) a given
problem. Without programs, computers are useless. STEPS INVOLVED IN PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD PROGRAM Program development is the steps involved in
creating a computer program from the first ideas to
Characteristics of a good program are list of goals
initial writing of the codes, debugging and the final
that a software developer should try and have in their
product.
software design. Below are the characteristics of a good
program: The process of developing software, according to
the desired needs of a user, is carried out by following a
Accuracy and Correctness: It ensures the
basic set of interrelated procedures known as Program
software does what it is meant to do according
Development Cycle (PDC). The basic set of procedures
to the design specifications. A good soft is meant
that are followed by various organisations in their
to be accurate, stable and doesn’t crash.
program development methods are as follows:
Readability: This means that the program must
be easily read and understood by any Program Definition
programmer. This includes putting proper and Problem Analysis
adequate comments and aligning the codes Flowcharting
properly. Desk Checking
Ease of Maintenance: This is making your code Program Coding
(software) easy to be updated. Program Compilation
Portability: A designed software must be easy Program Testing/Debugging
moved to other storage locations. Program Documentation
Efficiency: A programmer must ensures that the
software makes good use of necessary resources DESCRIPTION OF THE STEPS IN PROGRAM
(i.e storage, disk, network etc). DEVELOPMENT
Security
Simplicity
1
1. PROGRAM DEFINITION: This step is very COMPILATION AND INTERPRETATION OF PROGRAM
important for the completion of a satisfactory program.
A compiler translates the entire program written
It is impossible to solve a program without a clear
in a high-level language into a low-level language, which
understanding and identification of the program.
can be the assembly or even the machine language of a
Inadequate identification of problem leads to poor
particular computer. In the process of this translation,
performance of the system. In this stage, the
the low level language is called the Source Program
programmer will put his significant portion of time in
while the translated version is the Object Program.
problem identification. If he does not spend enough
time at this stage, he may find that His well-written Examples of some compiled programs are as follows:
program fails to solve the real program. Ada, Algol, C, C++, COBOL, Cobra, Pascal, Visual, Fortran,
ProLog.
2. PROBLEM ANALYSIS: This stage is the formal
description of the task. It includes the specification of Examples of some interpreted programs are as follows:
inputs and outputs processing requirements, system APL, BASIC, JavaScript, Jscript, Mathematica, MATLAB,
constraints and error-handling methods. JRuby, Spreadsheets (e.g Excel)
3. FLOWCHARTING: This involves putting the steps
in program development in diagrams.
4. DESK CHECKING: This involves manual checking
of the logic of a program for correctness.
5. CODING (PROGRAM WRITING): This stage
translates the program design into computer
instructions. These instructions are the actual program
or the software product. During this step, the
programmer follows particular language syntax to write
(algorithm or flowchart) using the language rules
(syntaxes) to write the instructions.
6. PROGRAM COMPILATION/INTERPRETATION:
The codes (instructions), which are usually written in
high-level or object-oriented language, are in the human
readable form. Here, the codes are translated into
computer-executable instructions (machine language)
through compilation/interpretation.
7. PROGRAM DEBUGGING: This stage is the
validation of the program. Program debugging/testing
ensures that the program performs correctly the
required task. Debugging is the discovery and correction
of programming errors (bug).
8. DOCUMENTATION: This stage is the
documentation (recording explanation) of the program
features so that those who use and maintain it can
understand it, and the program can be extended to
other applications.
