INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER PROGRAMMING

DATA
Are raw materials to be processed to produce information. It is a facts or an item considered as the root of information TYPES OF DATA ALPHANUMERIC DATA NUMERIC DATA

ALPHANUMERIC DATA
Can be used only as text for identification or labeling purposes and cannot be used in a formula. It consists of alphabetic characters LETTERS (A through Z), NUMERALS (0 through 9) and some especial symbols (such as # and $).

NUMERIC DATA
Can be quantified and represented by the set of numeric digits. It is used in computation.

INFORMATION
Is a collected and processed into a meaningful form. It is the result of manipulation of data and can be used again as data to provide another information.

COMPUTER COMPONENTS
INPUT DEVICES OUTPUT DEVICES STORAGE DEVICES CENTRA PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)

INPUT DEVICES
Device which enables all users to input data into a computer.

OUTPUT DEVICES
Device connected to a computer and used to transfer data out of the computer in the form of text, images, sounds or other media to a display screen, printer.

STORAGE DEVICES
A storage device is a device for storing processed information (data). NON-REMOVABLE Hard Drive an internal storage device REMOVABLE Floppy disk, or diskette, Compact Disc DVDs, Flash disk, Tape

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

Also called CPU, processor or microprocessor Is the brains of the computer Performs all computer operations The part of a computer that interprets and executes instructions

Memory
- Consists of RAM and ROM 1. RAM (Random Access Memory) - volatile; means the data exists only when power is ON 2. ROM (Read Only Memory) - non-volatile; means data permanently stored in and cannot be changed

SOFTWARE
Generic name of all programs Made up of code interpreted by the hardware Written in programming languages Two kinds of Software: System Application

SYSTEM SOFTWARE
Run fundamental operations Loading and running programs Saving and retrieving data Communicating with printers, modems, etc. Examples of systems software DOS, Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 2000, and XP, Unix, Linux

APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples Word processing - memos, reports, Spreadsheets - budgets, etc. Database - search, sort, select data

COMPUTERS ARE PROGRAMABLE

Computers respond to instructions in the form of programs Programs are written in order to make computers behave in specific ways.

COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
When we want a computer to perform a specific task, we have to create a sequence of instructions in a logical order that a computer can understand and interpret. This sequence of instructions is called a program.

COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
The process of writing programs is called programming. The person who creates computer program is called computer programmer.

COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
Set of ordered instructions that enable a computer to carry out a specific task. A program is prepared by first formulating the task and then expressing it in an appropriate Programming language

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
-An artificial language used for expressing computer programs. -Programming languages allow programmers to code software
Examples: JAVA, COBOL, FORTRAN, PASCAL, C++

A programming language is usually split into the two components of syntax (form) and semantics (meaning) and many programming languages have some kind of written specification of their syntax and/or semantics

SYNTAX the form of expressions, statements, and program units in a programming language.

concerned with the structure of language.

SEMANTIC

the meaning of the expressions, statements, and program in a programming language.

Developing a computer program

1. Define the problem: Examine the problem until you understand it thoroughly. 2. Outline the solution: Analyze the problem. Define exactly what
data we need to provide (input) and information we want the program to produce (the output)

Developing a computer program

3. Expand the outline of the solution into an algorithm: Write a step-by-step procedure that leads to the solution. 4. Convert the algorithm into a program: Translate the instructions in the algorithm into a computer program using any programming language.

Developing a computer program

5. Document the program clearly: Describe each line of instruction or at least some important portions in the program. This will make the program easy to follow when accessed later for corrections or changes.

Developing a computer program

6. Run the program: Instruct the computer to execute the program. The process of running the program differs from language to language.

A program is written as a series of human understandable computer instructions that can be read by a compiler and linker, and translated into machine code so that a computer can understand and run it.

Compiler is a computer program that transforms human readable source code of another computer program into the machine readable code that a CPU can execute.

Linker is a computer program that takes one or more objects generated by a compiler and combines them into a single executable program.

Machine Code is a system of instructions and data executed directly by a computer's central processing unit