Programming 1

Basics of C Language
Part I: Orientation and Principles of Programming
 Teaching & Requirements

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Your task is to study!

- 20 (40 hours of) lectures

- 12 (24 hours of) exercises
- Independent work
- H5P and VPL tasks
- Homework
- Moodle-quizzes.

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 Objectives
First programming course

Basic principles of
programming in C
language

Basics of designing
programs in C language
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 Course Book &
1. Basic Principles of Programming
Contents 2. C Language and Problem Solving
3. Control Structures
4. Step-by-step Refinement and
Deitel, Paul & Deitel, Harvey:
Modular Programming
”C How to Program”
(Pearson Education) 5. Data Types
6. Arrays
7. Strings
Course material is sufficient. 8. Pointers
You may use a book of your choice, if you like.
9. Structures
10. File Handling

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About 1. Principles of
Programming
Programming

2. Programming
Langugages

3. Designing
Algorithms
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Principles of
Programming

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 Waterfall Model
Requirements

Definition

Design

Implementation

Integration

Production
&
Testing Maintenance

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Analysis Phase
Preliminary Analysis of the requirements

WHAT the program needs to do? This is not about how

to write the software (=implementation)!

WHY program/system needs to be done?

What are the true needs of the customer?

Is there a solution available already?

What are the expected costs?

Collecting and understanding detailed, harmonious and

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perfect/complete requirements may not be possible…

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Definition Analysis of customer requirements
Phase Deriving requirements for the software (system
and technical requirements & properties)

Describe the functionality of the software, for

example…
• Different functionalities
• User Interface
• Communication with other systems

Clarify non-functional requirements and

restrictions, if needed, for example…
• Throughput
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay • Response time
• Usability
• Available memory
• Implementation with a specific programming language…

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Design Phase Design of specified functionalities
= HOW those will be done

Architectural design → modules

Module design → internal structure

of modules
• Data structures
• Algorithms
• Design can be done utilizing pseudocode
• Pseudocode = generic, compact, informal
way of writing an algorithm using the
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conventions of programming languages

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 Implementation
Phase Convert the designs to the programming
language to be used

Many times, considered as the most

important phase - although, in practice, in
this phase the designs should be
implemented according to the plans
(analysis & design phases rest on creativity)

During the implementation, attention should

be paid to coding style and documentation

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Integration & The purpose of testing is to find
Testing Phase errors, not to demonstrate
faultlessness

Debugging = analysis of the origin

of an error and attempt to fix the
error (the impacts of the fix need
to be tested, too)

Requirements and designs need

to be tested too

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 Production &
Maintenance Analysing customer problems

Fixing errors

Modifications to the software when

the existing requirements change

Implementation of new features

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Waterfall Model Specialization of common
problem-solving methods

- Analyze the problem so you

understand it properly
- Design the solution
- Implement the solution
- Test the solution
- Many times…
- Changes will be difficult and costly to
implement later on
- There are typically many alternative
solutions (no single way to solve a
problem)

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 ‒ Programming is problem solving in a
Important to designed & systematic way

Remember - A program cannot (and should not) be written

until the given task is understood and the related
problem has been solved by designing an
algorithm
- Such approach is programming language agnostic
= once the solution is available basically any
programming language can be used for the
implementation
- Systematic way of implementing the solution and
program
- In practice, the development of the software is
not as straightforward action as shown in the
model
- Some of the requirements may be defined or
clarified during the project
- Requirements may change during the project

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 A Computer
Main storage

Memory Unit Input Unit

CPU

Including ALU
Secondary
Output Unit
Storage Unit

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 Central Memory (example values)
Address Contents
… … …

2000 01001010 character ’J’

2001 01100001 character ’a’
2002 01110110 character ’v’
2003 01100001 character ’a’
2004 00000011 number ’3’

… … …
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Programming
languages

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 Programming
‒ Machine Language
Languages ‒ Each computer vendor has it own machine
language (defined by its hardware design, CPU)
‒ For example, piece of a payroll program adding
overtime pay to base pay, and storing the result in
gross pay:
+1300042774
+1400593419
+1200274027
‒ Or, 1101101010011010 could be an instruction to
add two numbers
‒ Such languages are cumbersome for humans,
error-prone and very slow to write programs
with.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

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 Assembley English-like abbreviations to
represent elementary operations
Languages & forming the basis of assembly
languages
Assembler
;The Hello World program in Assembly

section .text Assembler = Translator program

global main ;must be declared for linker (ld)
main: ;tells linker entry point
mov edx,len ;message length
mov ecx,msg ;message to write
mov ebx,1 ;file descriptor (stdout)
mov eax,4 ;system call number (sys_write)
int 0x80 ;call kernel
mov eax,1
int 0x80
;system call number (sys_exit)
;call kernel Program is incomprehensible to a
section .data computer until it is translated to
msg db 'Hello, world!', 0xa
len equ $ - msg
;our dear string
;length of our dear string machine language.

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 ‒ English-like instructions & commonly
High-Level used mathematical notations
Languages & ‒ One instruction may execute many
small tasks
Compilers ‒ Possible to produce portable programs
‒ E.g. Basic, Fortran, Cobol, Pascal, C,
C++, Ada, Java…
‒ Compiler = Translator program, gets
the program source code as input and
produces target code as output (target
code may be either instructions in
machine language or byte code)
‒ Examples of instructions
grossPay = basePay + overTimePay;
sqArea = cRadius * cRadius * 3.1415;
https://dribbble.com/shots/3135751-COBOL-Programming-
Class/attachments/663937?mode=media
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 Interpreter Compilation a large high-level
computer program into machine
language can take (computer) time

Interpreter programs execute high-

level language programs directly

No delay of compilation

Interpreted programs run slightly

slower than compiled programs
https://medium.com/from-the-scratch/stop-it-there-are-no-
compiled-and-interpreted-languages-512f84756664
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Designing
Algorithms

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 Many solutions to
Solution
a given problem #2

The idea is to analyze the

different proposed algorithms
and implement the best suitable
solution. Solution Solution
#1 Problem #3

Solution
#4

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 Syntax and ‒ Syntax of a programming language
defines how the symbols, reserved
Semantics words and lables can be combined to
create a program that follows the
rules
‒ Semantics of the programming
languages defines what a program
will do
‒ Having correct syntax does not
quarantee correct semantics for a
program – the functionality of a
program can be completely irrational
‒ The program will do what it is
instructed to do
- The program does not necessarily
function as expected or wanted
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 Errors Syntax errors = errors against the
syntax of the programming language,
recognized by the compiler (compiler
will not generage executable code)

Run-time errors = errors occurring

during execution of the program
(e.g., division by zero)

Logical errors = Program may

execute but the results are not
correct

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 High-Level
Languages - Algorithms = unambiguous & finite set of
instructions for completing a task
- Independent of the programming language
- Can be executed in a machine
- A task = statement = instruction
- An algorithm defines the tasks that
Data
Algorithms
Structures
Programs
handle data which are represented in
data structures => data processing
‒ When algorithms and data structures are
written in a programming language we
get a computer program

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 Functionalities In general, a programming language will provide
basic functionalities and ability to construct more
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complicated tasks

Basic functionalities

• Assignment statements
• Arithmetic operations
• Logical operations
• Reading texts
• Output

Control structures are used for constructing more

complicated tasks
• Sequential execution: statement1; statement2; …, statementN;
• Selection: if-then
• Iteration: while, repeat, for

Abstraction is achieved by using modules

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 Pseudocode ‒ An algorithm is a method for solving
a problem in terms of the actions to
be executed and the order in which
// Calculate average grade for 10 students
those actions are to be executed.
// Input one grade at a time ‒ An algorithm is just the sequence of
steps taken to solve a problem.
Set total to zero
‒ The steps are normally sequence,
Set grade counter to one
selection, iteration type statements.
While grade counter is less than or equal to ten
Input the next grade ‒ Pseudocode is an informal way to
Add the grade into the total outline a rough draft of a program.
Set the class average to the total divided by ten
‒ Pseudocode summarizes the flow of
Print the class average.
a program but excludes underlying
details.

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 Pseudocode Ask for the value of number1
Example Get the value of number1
IF number1 is greater than or equal to 0
Program to sum two numbers Ask for the value of number2
given by the user. Get the value of number2

The program will output the sum IF number2 is greater than or equal to 0
of the two numbers only if both Sum number1 and number2
of the given numbers have value
that is greater than or equal to Output the sum
zero. ELSE
Output error – number 1 is less than 0
In other cases, the program will
output zero. ELSE
Output error – number1 is less than 0

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 Step-by-Step Refinement
‒ The following examples will try to provide an intuitive
explanation for an algorithm using pseudo-language (a
mixture of a programming language and natural language)
‒ Constructing an algorithm may be difficult and error-prone
‒ For example, calculating the flight time based on the
schedules
1. Get departure time
2. Get arrival time
3. Subtract departure time from arrival time
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 ‒ A simple problem and a simple algorithm,
Step-by-Step which will normally provide the correct
answer.
Refinement ‒ There would be problems if the places of
departure and arrival were located in
different time zones
‒ Errors may be difficult to detect, we need to
have a systematic approach in designing
1. Get departure time the algorithms
2. Get arrival time ‒ A common approach is to refine the
3. Subtract departure time from algorithm step by step (destruct and
arrival time conquer)
- Stepwise refinement or top-down design
- More general tasks are iteratively refined into
sub-tasks
‒ As an example, an algorithm for instructing a
robot to make a cup of tea (instructing a
computer to complete the task)
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 Step-by-Step Algorithm for making a cup of tea

Refinement ‒ Initial version

‒ Would that be enough?
‒ Are the instructions clear enough?
1. Boil water
2. Put tea into a cup
3. Pour water into a cup

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

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 Step-by-Step ‒ Refining the instructions for
Refinement the robot to interpret those.
‒ Refining the 1st instruction
“Boil water”
1.1 Fill the kettle with water
1.2 Turn on the hotplate
1.3 Put the kettle on the hotplate
1.4 Wait until water boils
1.5 Take the kettle off the hotplate
1.6 Turn off the hotplate

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 Step-by-Step ‒ Refining the 2nd instruction
Refinement “Put tea into a cup”

2.1 Take the box of tea from the shelf

2.2 Open the box
2.3 Take a tea bag from the box
2.4 Put the tea bag into the cup
2.5 Close the box of tea
2.6 Put the box back to the shelf

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 Step-by-Step ‒ Two first instructions of the
initial algorithm have been
Refinement refined
‒ We have two sub-algorithms
‒ The robot is intended to
execute the instructions
sequentially, one after another
in a pre-defined order
‒ But we may have to refine the
algorithm(s) further
‒ For example, we may want to
refine the instruction
1.1 “Fill the kettle with water”
“Method 1: Boiling water on the stove, step 1"
by wikiHow is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
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 Step-by-Step ‒ Refining the instruction

Refinement 1.1 “Fill the kettle with water”

‒ We would need to continue with
refining until the level of accuracy
would be satisfactory for the robot
1.1.1 Place the kettle under the water tap to complete the task
1.1.2 Open the water tap
1.1.3 Wait until the kettle is full
‒ Hierarchical structure
1.1.4 Close the water tap

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 Step-by-Step /* Algorithm for making a cup of tea */
/* Algorithm for boiling the water */
Refinement

1.1.1 Place the kettle under the water tap

1.1.2 Open the water tap
1.1.3 Wait until the kettle is full
1.1.4 Close the water tap
1.2 Tun on the hotplate
1.3 Put the kettle on the hotplate
1.4 Wait until water boils
1.5 Take the kettle off the hotplate
1.6 Turn off the hotplate “Method 1: Boiling water on the stove, step 5"
by wikiHow is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

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 Step-by-Step /* Algorithm for putting tea into a cup */
2.1 Take the box of tea from the shelf
Refinement 2.2 Open the box
2.3 Take a tea bag from the box
2.4 Put the tea bag into the cup
2.5 Close the box of tea
2.6 Put the box back to the shelf

/* Algorithm for putting tea into a cup */

3 Pour water into a cup

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

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 Step-by-Step The algorithm can also be
Refinement shown with a flow chart,
see examples below… ☺
Boil water

‒ Software Ideas Modeler

Put tea into a Cup ‒ Creately – Making Tea
‒ What Making a Cup Of Tea Taught
me about Functional Programming

Add water into a Cup

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 Step-by-Step Part of the flow chart
Refinement could be refined further

Put the Take the

Turn on Turn off
kettle on Wait until kettle off
the the
the water boils the
hotplate hotplate
hotplate hotplate

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 Image by Shahid Abdullah from Pixabay

Sequential
Execution

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 Sequential ‒ Previous algorithm is
Execution straightforward, sequential
series of instructions for the
robot to complete the task
- The instructions will be executed
sequentially, one at a time
Task1 Task2 End - Each instruction will be executed
exactly once
- The order of writing and
executing the instructions is the
same
- The execution of the last instruction
will end the algorithm
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 Sequential
‒ A sequential series of
Execution instructions is inflexible
- What happens if the box of tea
bags is empty?
- There are no options for
possible different situations?
‒ Sequential execution is an
important and fundamental
structure, but way too simple for
covering all possible cases.

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Selection

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 Selection The algorithm needs flexibility
that is achieved by using
selection. For example, case of
empty box of tea bags…

2.1 Take the box of tea from the shelf

2.1.1 IF the box is empty
THEN take a new box from the cupboard
2.2 Open the box
2.3 Take a tea bag from the box
2.4 Put the tea bag into the cup
2.5 Close the box of tea
2.6 Put the box back to the shelf

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 Selection The algorithm needs flexibility
that is achieved by using
selection. For example, case of
empty box of tea bags…
2.1 Take the box of tea from the shelf
2.1.1 IF the box is empty Condition
THEN take a new box from the cupboard Conditional
2.2 Open the box instruction
2.3 Take a tea bag from the box
2.4 Put the tea bag into the cup
2.5 Close the box of tea
2.6 Put the box back to the shelf

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 Selection
‒ Common format
IF condition
THEN statement1 ‒ Selection structure can be
ELSE statement2 nested.
‒ We will design an algorithm
for choosing the largest of the
IF x > y
three number values, stored in
THEN choose x or z
ELSE choose y or z variables x, y and z.
‒ The initial version…

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 Selection ‒Refining the part of
choosing x or z
IF x > y
THEN choose x or z
ELSE choose y or z

IF x > z
THEN choose x
ELSE choose z

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 Selection ‒ The final algorithm…
‒ Choosing the largest of the
IF x > y number values stored in
THEN IF x > z variables x, y & z
THEN choose x
ELSE choose z ‒ Indentation is important
ELSE IF y > z for clarity, helping the
THEN choose y
ELSE choose z
reviewer to view the flow

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Iteration

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 Iteration ‒ Let’s focus on finding some
data. Let’s assume we have
a list of persons, where
each data entry (person) is
a combination of name &
address. Our task is to find
the address of a person
with a given name.
‒ One possible algorithm
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

could be as follows…
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 Iteration
check the name of the first data entry in the list
IF the name is the same as the given name
THEN read the address of the data entry
ELSE check the name of the next data entry in the list
IF the name is the same as the given name
THEN read the address of the data entry
ELSE check the name of the next data entry in the list
IF the name is the same as the given name
THEN read the address of the data entry
ELSE check the name of the next data entry in the list …

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 Iteration ‒ Do you spot the problem?
- How do we know when the
search will end?
- We do not know how many
times we would have to write
the selection sentences.
‒ Solution is iteration
structure: repeat – until
‒ By using iteration (loop) we
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay could reformat the algorithm
as follows…
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 Iteration
check the name of the first data entry in the list
REPEAT
IF the name is the same as the given name
THEN read the address of the data entry
ELSE check the name of the next data entry in the list
UNTIL the given name has been found OR the list has ended

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 Iteration ‒ The common format for iteration
‒ The body of the iteration will be
executed as long as the condition
is false.
repeat ‒ For example: “given name found” is
body false AND “the list has ended” is
until condition false.
‒ So, as long as the name has not
been found and the list has not
come to end, we can continue with
the search.
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 Iteration
The number of times to repeat the
instructions is not fixed for a finite
structure.
• How to ensure that the iteration will be stopped?
• What if we forget to check if we have reached
the end of the list

It is possible to have nested iteration

structures.

Remember simplicity!

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 Iteration
‒ The iteration structure repeat –
until is not suitable for all tasks
set the first number N in the list as the largest number
REPEAT
requiring iteration, because the
chcek the next number in the list N condition is at the end of the
IF N > the largest number so far structure.
THEN set N as the largest number
‒ For example, if we have a list of
UNTIL the list has come to its end
print the largest number found from the list
numbers and we need to find the
largest one…

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 Iteration ‒ Do you spot the problem in the
previous example?
‒ What happens if there is just one
number in the list?
- The numbers in the list will be handled
in sequence.
- The conditional statement is at the end
of the structure.
- We will need conditional statement for
ending the iteration to the beginning of
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay the iteration structure.
- One solution is iteration structure
while – do
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 Iteration ‒ The iteration structure
while – do…

set the first number N in the list as the largest number

WHILE the list has not come to its end DO Condition to stop
chcek the next number in the list N
IF N > the largest number so far
THEN set N as the largest number

print the largest number found from the list

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 Iteration
‒ Another common variation
for iteration
Repeat – for every element body
‒ For example, an algorithm
for calculating the factorial
of n first integers
n! = n * (n -1) * … * 1

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 Iteration An example, an algorithm for
calculating the factorial of N first
integers

/* the user will provide a number */

read N
factorial = 1
repeat – for every integer from 1 to N
factorial = factorial * integer
print factorial

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 Iteration And yet, another simple variation
for iteration – we know the
number of loops in advance…
set sum to zero

read N repeat N times

repeat N times body
read number
add number to sum

output sum

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MODULARITY

Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

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 Modularity ‒ By step-wise refinement, an
algorithm can be divided into
smaller pieces. By refinement,
we try to get to the level of
understanding the functionality.
‒ Many times the small pieces of
an algorithm may be
independent of one another
and the main algorithm.
‒ Thus, we may not have to know
the larger context in which the
pieces will be used. That is
modularity.
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

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 Modularity ‒ For example, algorithms for
instructing a plotter to draw
/* Move forward x cm */ squares.
moveForward(x) ‒ Let’s assume the plotter can
/* Turn left x degrees */ interpret the following
turnLeft(x) instructions…
/* Turn right x degrees */
turnRight(x)
/* Place the pencil on the paper */
putPencilDown
/* Lift the pencil up */
liftPencilUp

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 Modularity ‒ Let’s assume that the plotter will
have to draw two squares (A & B)
inside each other, as shown below.
‒ In addition, we assume the plotter
B
will initially be placed in the center
A x, having the pencil up and facing
the direction shown by the
x arrow…

68 University of Oulu
 Modularity
‒ In general, an algorithm could be
composed of four sequential instructions
‒ The 2nd and 4th instructions are
Move to point A independent functionalities, not depending
Draw a square having a side of 10 cm on the other instructions. Thus, those
Move to point B can be designed and implemented
separately as modules.
Draw a square having a side of 20 cm
‒ A module can be called differently in
different programming languages: e.g.,
procedure, routine, subroutine, function,
method…

69 University of Oulu
 Modularity ‒ To be useful, in general, the method
should be able to draw a square of
given size
‒ Now drawn with side length of 10
Move to point A cm and 20 cm
Draw a square (10)
Move to point B
Draw a square (20)

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 Modularity ‒ Then the module itself could be
written as follows, using the
instructions understood by the
module draw square (size) plotter
putPencilDown
repeat 4 times B
moveForward (size) A
turnLeft (90) x
liftPencipUp

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 Modularity ‒ A specification will describe the
functionality of the module.
‒ E.g, for our module, the
”This module will draw a square with ”size” specification could be as follows…
being the length of its side.
The drawing will start from the spot where
the pen is currently placed, to the current
direction. The drawing will be done
counterclockwise.
When the square is completed, the pen will be
uplifted, it will return to the location from
where the drawing started and have the same
direction as when the drawing started.”

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 Modularity ‒ A common format for a module
‒ Formal parameters are used in the
body of the module to perform
module draw square (size)
the given task in a general format
putPencilDown
‒ In our case the parameter ”size”
repeat 4 times will provide the length of the side
moveForward (size) for the square to be drawn.
turnLeft (90) module name (formal parameters)
liftPencipUp body

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 Modularity ‒ True parameters depend on the
case.
draw square (10) ‒ True parameters are defined in the
main algorithm, in the module call.
draw square (20)
Here our module has been called
twice…

f(x) = 2x + 1 ‒ Compare that to the concept of

function in mathematics…
f(5) = 11

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 Modularity
‒ The interface between the
module and its caller is
A side effect - when a function relies on, or
expressed
modifies, something outside its parameters to
do something.
- Explicitely (visibly) with parameters
e.g. in our case with ”size”
For example, a function which reads or writes
from a variable outside its own arguments, a - Implicitly (indirectly) with possible
database, a file, or the console can be
described as having side effects.
side effects
e.g., in our case having the pen lifted
up after completing the task

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 Modularity
turnLeft (45) module draw square (size)
‒ The drawing algorithm was
moveForward (√50) putPencilDown divided into two algorithms:
turnLeft (135)
repeat 4 times the main algorithm and the
draw square (10)
moveForward (size) module (sub-algorithm)
turnLeft (90) used by it.
turnRight (135) liftPencipUp
moveForward (√50) ‒ The final main algorithm
turnLeft (135) (after elaboration) uses the
draw square (20) sub-algorithm…

76 University of Oulu
 Modularity
‒ Modularity
- Central concept in programming and in designing the programs
- Fits well with the idea of step-wise refinement
- To make the design process easier, the design of a module and any modules
calling it can be done separately
- To use a module, you have to know how to call it (and what it does), not how
it completes the task
- Helps to understand algorithms, small tasks
- Helps with reusability and to reduce errors

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 Data Structure

Primitive Data Non-Primitive

Structure Data Structure

Non-Linear Linear

DATA Tree Static Dynamic

STRUCTURES Map Array Linked List

Stack

Queue
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 Data Structures
‒ Data handled by the algorithms is categorized
‒ Primitive data types
- boolean values (true, false)
- characters (e.g., ’A’, ’k’, ’1’, ’<’, …)
- integers (whole numbers, e.g., 1, 24, -100, 99999, …)
- real numbers (floating point numbers, e.g., 1.5,
-99.124, 4.9E2, -0.32e32, …)

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 Data Structures
‒Aggregate data types
- a character string e.g., ”cat”
- a record, e.g., (<firstname><lastname><id><tax>)
- an array
- a file
- and other more complicated types such as linked list,
queue, stack, tree, networks…
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 Data Structures
‒The control structures in algorithms and the
data handled by the algorithms are closely
related.
- The way the data is structured may impact the selection of the
control structures for an algorithm, i.e., structured data
- Structured data reflects the internal relations between the data
elements

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 Data Structures
‒ A common example, a list or a queue
- A list of person-address pairs
- A word in English is a queue of characters
- A sentence in English is a queue of words
- A numeric value is a sequence of numbers
- A phone book

‒ Later we will learn to implement simple data structures in C

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Learning to program = practice ! ☺

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