CSEB114: PRINCIPLE

OF PROGRAMMING
Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer and
Programming
Objectives
In this chapter you will learn about:
Overview of PC components
The different types of language
Natural Language
Formal Language
Functional / Imperative Language
Programming Languages
C as an imperative language
C program at a glance
Overview of PC Components
Section 1
Computer Hardware
Components
Components of a PC
Input / Output Devices
Input Devices
Accepts information from the user and
transforms it to digital codes that the
computer can process
Example: keyboard, mouse, scanner
Output Devices
An interface by which the computer
conveys the output to the user
Example: monitor, printer

Main Memory
A semiconductor device which stores the
information necessary for a program to
run.
2 types
ROM (Read Only Memory)
Contains information that is necessary for the
computer to boot up
The information stays there permanently even when
the computer is turned off.
RAM (Random Access Memory)
Contains instruction or data needed for a program
to run
Got erased when the computer is turned off.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Does most of the work in executing a program
The CPU inside a PC is usually the
microprocessor
3 main parts:
Control Unit
Fetch instructions from main memory and put them in
the instruction register
ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)
Execute arithmetic operations
Registers
Temporarily store instructions or data fetched from
memory
Storage Devices
A magnetic device used to store a large
amount of information.
Store the software components or data
needed for the computer to execute its
tasks.
Could be read only or writable.
Example: Hard drive, CD ROM, floppy
disks
Network Devices
Connect a computer to the other
computers.
Enable the users to access data or
execute programs remotely.
Example: modem, Ethernet card
The different types of language
Section 2
Natural language
Our everyday-language; spoken and
written
Not 100% needed to understand:
Do you want to buy this computer ? remains
comprehensible
Depends on circumstances; the context:
Do you like one ? doesn't make sense on its own.
It needs a situation around it:
someone holding a bouquet of flowers: you
might take one
someone pointing to an expensive car: your
opinion is asked
someone 'offers' you an oily cloth to sneeze: you
don't take it
Semantics and Syntax
Semantics the meaning of the language
within a given context
Syntax - Syntax are the rules to join words
together in forming a correct expression
or phrase.
In natural languages it is often possible to
assemble a sentence in more than one
correct ways.
Formal Language
Language with limited, defined, words
Each concatenation of words ('phrase') has a
single, clearly defined meaning
no (miss-)interpretation possible
Sometimes called Context Free Language
To 'talk' to a computer; to instruct a computer;
our commands must be 100% clear and
correct.
Often there is only a single, correct syntax.
Functional / Imperative
Language
Functional Language:
Tell what to do, but not how:
sum [1...10]
Imperative Language:
Tell what to do, but mainly how:
Take number 1 and add the next number to it;
then add the next number to the sum; and so on;
until you have reached 10 as number to be
added. Then print the sum of all numbers

What is Programming?
Programming is instructing a computer to do
something for you with the help of a
programming language
The two roles of a programming language:
Technical: It instructs the computer to
perform tasks.
Conceptual: It is a framework within which we
organize our ideas about things and
processes.
In programming, we deal with two kind of things:
Data - representing 'objects' we want to
manipulate
Procedures -'descriptions' or 'rules' that
define how to manipulate data.
Programming Language
Formal Language used to communicate
to a computer.
A programming language contains
instructions for the computer to perform
a specific action or a specific task:
'Calculate the sum of the numbers from 1 to
10
'Print I like programming
'Output the current time'

Programming Language
Can be classified into as a special-purpose and
general-purpose programming languages.
Special-purpose : is design for a particular type
of application
Structured Query Language (SQL)
General-purpose : can be used to obtain
solutions for many types of problems
Machine Languages
Assembly Languages
High-Level Languages

Machine Language
The only language that the processor actually
'understands
Consists of binary codes: 0 and 1
Example: 00010101
11010001
01001100
Each of the lines above corresponds to a specific task to
be done by the processor.
Programming in machine code is difficult and slow since
it is difficult to memorize all the instructions.
Mistakes can happen very easily.
Processor and Architecture dependent

Assembly Language
Enables machine code to be represented in words and
numbers.
Example of a program in assembler language:
LOAD A, 9999
LOAD B, 8282
SUB B
MOV C, A
LOAD C, #0002
DIV A, C
STORE A, 7002
Easier to understand and memorize (called
Mnemonics), compared to machine code but still quite
difficult to use.
Processor and Architecture dependent

High-Level Language
Use more English words. They try to resemble English
sentences. Therefore, it is easier to program in these
languages.
The programming structure is problem oriented - does
not need to know how the computer actually executes
the instructions.
Processor independent - the same code can be run on
different processors.
Examples: Basic, Fortran, Pascal, Cobol, C, C++,
J ava
A high level language needs to be analyzed by the
compiler and then compiled into machine code so that
it can be executed by the processor.

C Programming Language
Why 'C' ?
Because based on 'B'; developed at Bell
Laboratories
Developed by Dennis Ritchie at Bell
Laboratories in the 1960s
In cooperation with Ken Thomson it was used
for Unix systems
The C Language was only vaguely defined, not
standardized, so that almost everyone had his
own perception of it, to such an extend that an
urgent need for a standard code was creeping
up

C Programming Language
In 1983, the American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) set up X3J11, a Technical
Committee to draft a proposal for the ANSI
standard, which was approved in 1989
and referred to as the ANSI/ISO 9899 :
1990 or simply the ANSI C, which is now
the global standard for C.
This standard was updated in 1999; but
there is no compiler yet

C as An Imperative Language
Section 3
C An Imperative Language
C is a highly imperative language
We must tell it exactly how to do what;
the means and functions to use;
which libraries to use;
when to add a new line;
when an instruction is finished;
in short: everything and anything
Hint: Observe the syntax in the next slide
C Program at a Glance
Section 4
A Simple Program in C

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
printf("I like programming in C.\n");
return 0;
}

A Simple Program in C -
explanation

#include <stdio.h>


int main()
{

printf("I like programming in C.\n");
return 0;
}

standard Library, input-output, header-file
Begin of program
End of statement
End of Segment
Start of Segment
Function for printing text
Insert a new line
C Output



I like programming in C.

Summary
We have looked at some underlying hardware
We have seen some different types of
languages;
the relevance of semantics and syntax.
We have observed the detail necessary in an
imperative language to instruct a computer
properly.
Finally, we examined the syntax to print a line
of text to the screen of our computer.