Introduction to Computer Science

By
Dr. Ahmed Taha
Lecturer, Computer Science Department,
Faculty of Computers & Informatics,
Benha University
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Book Title:
New Perspectives on Computer Concepts,
2014, Comprehensive
Authors:
June Jamrich Parsons, Dan Oja
Publisher:
Course Technology;
Edition:
16 edition (January 30, 2013)

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Book Contents
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Chapter Title

Computers and Digital Basics

Computer Hardware

Computer Software

Operating Systems and File Management

Local Area Networks

The Internet

The Web and E-mail

Digital Media

The Computer Industry: History, Careers, and Ethics

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Information Systems Analysis and Design

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Databases

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Computer Programming

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Computer Programming

Contents
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Programming Basics

Programming Languages Classes

Programming Languages Generations

Programming Paradigms

Program Development Life Cycle

Programming Tools
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Programming
Basics

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Computer Program
A Computer program, is
series of instructions that tells
a computer how to carry out
processing tasks.

These programs form the

software that sets up a
computer to do a specific task.
When a computer runs software, it performs the
instructions to carry out a task.

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Computer Programming
Computer programming is
the craft of writing useful,
maintainable, and extensible
source code which can be
interpreted or compiled by a
computing system to perform
a meaningful task.
Programming a computer can be performed in one of
numerous languages, ranging from a higher-level language
to writing directly in low-level machine code.

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Computer Programming & Software Engineering

Computer programs are developed by computer
programmers or software engineers.
Computer programmers mainly focus on coding computer
programs, whereas software engineers tend to focus on
designing and testing activities.
Computer programming involves a broad set of activities
that include planning, coding, testing, and documenting.
Most computer programmers participate to some extent in
all of these phases of program development, but focus on
the coding process.
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Computer Programming & Software Engineering

Software engineering is a development process that uses
mathematical, engineering, and management techniques to
reduce the cost and complexity of a computer program
while increasing its reliability and modifiability.

It is used on large software projects where cost overruns

and software errors might have disastrous consequences.

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Programming Languages
A programming language is a set of keywords and
grammar rules designed for creating instructions that a
computer can ultimately process or carry out.
Computer programs can be compiled or interpreted.
A keyword, or command, is a word with a predefined
meaning for the compiler or interpreter that translates each
line of program code into machine language.

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Programming Languages
An instruction for a computer program consists of keywords
and parameters, formed into sentence-like statements
according to a set of syntax rules.

Keywords can be combined with specific parameters, which

provide more detailed instructions for the computer to carry
out.
Keywords and parameters are combined with punctuation
according to a series of rules called Syntax
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Programming Languages
Classes

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Programming Languages Classes

Programming
Languages

Low-level Languages

It includes commands specific to a

particular CPU or microprocessor
family.

Low-level languages require a

programmer to write instructions
for the lowest level of the
computers hardware.

High-level Languages

Examples: machine language

and assembly language

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It uses command words and

grammar based on human
languages to provide what
computer scientists call a level of
abstraction that hides the
underlying low-level assembly or
machine language.

Examples: BASIC, Java, Ada, and

C++

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Programming Languages Classes

Low-level assembly commands

High-level Pascal command

LDA 5
STA Num1
LDA 4
ADD Num1
STA Total
END

Total:=5+4

A single high-level command does the work of multiple lowlevel commands.

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Programming Languages
Generations

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Programming Languages Generations

5th generation

Natural language
4th generation

Very High level language

3rd generation

2nd generation

1st generation

High level language

Assembly language

Machine language
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Programming Languages Generations

1st Generation
Machine languages were the first languages available for
programming computers.
A machine language is specific to a particular CPU or
microprocessor family.
For example, the machine language for a modern Intel i7 processor
includes unique commands that were not included in the machine
language of earlier Intel 8088 microprocessors.

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Programming Languages Generations

2nd Generation
An assembly language allows programmers to use abbreviated
command words, called op codes, such as LDA for load, rather than
the 1s and 0s used in machine languages.
It is machine specificeach assembly language command
corresponds on a one-to-one basis to a machine language
Instruction.
An assembly language is useful when a programmer wants to
directly manipulate what happens at the hardware level.
Today, programmers sometimes use assembly languages to write
system software, such as compilers, operating systems, and device
drivers.
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Programming Languages Generations

3rd Generation
It used easy-to-remember command words, such as PRINT and
INPUT, to take the place of several lines of assembly language op
codes or lengthy strings of machine language 0s and 1s.

Examples:
COBOL and Fortran, were used extensively for business and scientific
applications
Pascal and BASIC were popular teaching languages
C and C++ remain popular today for system and application software
development
Objective-C is the programming language used to develop iPhone and iPad apps
Java is used for Android apps.

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Programming Languages Generations

4th Generation
It used more closely resemble human languages, or natural
languages, than do third-generation languages.
It eliminates many of the strict punctuation and grammar rules that
complicate third-generation languages.
Examples:
SQL and RPG

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Programming Languages Generations

4th Generation
A single command written in a fourth-generation language can
replace many lines of third generation code.
PUBLIC SUB Sort(Kids As Variant, inLow As Long, inHi As Long)
DIM pivot As Variant
DIM tmpSwap As Variant
DIM tmpLow As Long
DIM tmpHi As Long
tmpLow = inLow
tmpHi = inHi
pivot = Kids((inLow + inHi) \ 2)
WHILE (tmpLow <= tmpHi)
WHILE (Kids(tmpLow) < pivot And tmpLow < inHi)
tmpLow = tmpLow + 1
WEND
WHILE (pivot < Kids(tmpHi) And tmpHi > inLow)
tmpHi = tmpHi - 1
WEND
IF (tmpLow <= tmpHi) THEN
tmpSwap = Kids(tmpLow)
Kids(tmpLow) = Kids(tmpHi)
Kids(tmpHi) = tmpSwap
tmpLow = tmpLow + 1
tmpHi = tmpHi - 1
END IF
WEND
IF (inLow < tmpHi) THEN Sort Kids, inLow, tmpHi
IF (tmpLow < inHi) THEN Sort Kids, tmpLow, inHi
END SUB

SORT TABLE Kids on Lastname

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Programming Languages Generations

5th Generation
It allow programmers to use graphical or visual tools to construct
programs instead of typing lines of code.

What is the best programming language?

Hundreds of programming languages exist, and each has unique
strengths and weaknesses.
Although it might be possible to select the best language for a
particular project, most computer scientists would find it difficult to
agree on one all-around best language

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Programming Languages Examples

Language

Description

Ada

A high-level programming language developed under the direction of

the U.S. Department of Defense and originally intended for military
applications.

Alice

An object-oriented language that provides a drag-and-drop interface for

creating 3-D animations.

BASIC

(Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code): Developed by John

Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz in the mid-1960s, BASIC is a simple,
interactive programming language.

Visual Basic
C

Developed in the early 1970s by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Laboratories, C is

used today for a wide range of commercial software.

C++, C#, and

Objective-C

Languages derived from C that provide object-oriented (OO) capabilities

Pascal

Named in honor of Blaise Pascal, who invented one of the first

mechanical adding machines, Pascal is a third-generation language
developed to teach students programming concepts.

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Programming Languages Examples

Language

Description

Java

A C++ derivative developed by Sun Microsystems used extensively for

Web-based programming.

JavaScript

Not to be confused with Java, JavaScript is an interpreted language

most commonly used for client-side Web scripting.

LISP

(LISt Processing): Developed in 1959 by famed artificial intelligence

researcher John McCarthy, LISP is used for artificial intelligence
applications.

Prolog

(PROgramming in LOGic): A declarative language developed in 1972 and

used for artificial intelligence applications.

COBOL

(COmmon Business Oriented Language): A procedural language

developed in the early 1960s and used extensively for mainframe
business applications.

Fortran

(FORmula TRANslator): One of the original third-generation languages;

developed in the 1950s and is still used today for scientific applications.

Visual Basic

A Windows-based software development kit created by Microsoft in the

early 1990s and designed for developing Windows-based applications

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Programming Paradigms

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Programming Paradigm
Programming paradigm refers to a way of conceptualizing
and structuring the tasks a computer performs.
Some programming languages support a single paradigm.

Other programming languages-referred to as multiparadigm languages-support more than one paradigm.

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Programming Paradigm
Paradigm

Languages

Description

Event-driven

Visual Basic, C#

Focuses on selecting user interface

elements and defining event-handling
routines that are Triggered by various
mouse or keyboard activities

Procedural

C, BASIC, Pascal, COBOL,

Fortran, Ada

Emphasizes linear steps that provide

the computer with instructions on
how to solve a Problem or carry out
a task

Objectoriented

Smalltalk, C++, Java, Scratch

Formulates programs as a series of

objects and methods that interact to
perform a specific task

Declarative

Prolog

Focuses on the use of facts and rules

to describe a problem

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Program Development
Life Cycle

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Program Development Life Cycle (PDLC)

The Program Development Life Cycle is a process that
ensures good software is built.
Analyze the
problem
Maintain the
program

Design the
program

Formalize the
solution

Code the
program
Test and debug
the program
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Program Development Life Cycle (PDLC)

Step 1: Analyze the problem
Precisely define the problem to be solved, and write program
specifications descriptions of the programs inputs, processing,
outputs, and user interface.

Step 2: Design the program

Develop a detailed logic plan using a tool such as pseudocode,
flowcharts, object structure diagrams, or event diagrams to group
the programs activities into modules; devise a method of solution or
algorithm for each module; and test the solution algorithms.

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Program Development Life Cycle (PDLC)

Step 3: Code the program
Translate the design into an application using a programming
language or application development tool by creating the user
interface and writing code; include internal documentation
comments and remarks within the code that explain the purpose of
code statements.

Step 4: Test and debug the program

Test the program, finding and correcting errors (debugging) until it is
error free and contains enough safeguards to ensure the desired
results.

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Program Development Life Cycle (PDLC)

Step 5: Formalize the solution
Review and, if necessary, revise internal documentation; formalize
and complete end-user (external) documentation.

Step 6: Maintain the program

Provide training and support to end users; correct any unanticipated
errors that emerge and identify user-requested modifications
(enhancements). Once errors or enhancements are identified, the
program development life cycle begins again at Step 1.

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Program Design

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Program Design
In general, an algorithm is a set of steps for carrying out a
task that can be written down and implemented
An algorithm for a computer program is a set of steps that
explains how to begin with known information specified in a
problem statement and how to manipulate that information
to arrive at a solution.
Algorithms are usually written in a format that is not specific
to a particular programming language.
The most well-known methods used to write an algorithm
are: structured English, pseudocode, and flowcharts
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Program Design
Structured English is a subset of the English language
with a limited selection of sentence structures that reflect
processing activities.
Pseudocode is a notational system for algorithms that has
been described as a mixture of English and your favorite
programming language.
Flowchart is a graphical representation of the way a
computer should progress from one instruction to the next
when it performs a task.

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Program Design
Structured English

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Program Design
Pseudocode

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Program Design
Flowchart

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Program Design
Flowchart

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Program Coding

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Program Coding
The process of coding a computer program depends on:
The programming language you use
The programming tools you select
The programming paradigm that best fits the problem youre trying
to solve.

Programmers can use a text editor, program editor, or VDE

to code computer programs.

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Program Coding
A text editor is any word processor that can be used for
basic text editing tasks, such as writing e-mail, creating
documents, or coding computer programs. (Ex: Notepad ).
A program editor is a type of text editor specially designed
for entering code for computer programs. Features vary, but
can include helpful programming aids, such as keyword
colorizing, word completion, keyboard macros, and search/
replace.

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Program Coding

text editor such as

Notepad (top) allows
programmers to enter
lines of code using a
familiar word processing
interface

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Program Coding
A program editor (bottom) offers tools more targeted to programmers.

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Program Coding
A VDE (visual development
environment) provides
programmers with tools to build
substantial sections of a program
by pointing and clicking rather
than typing lines of code.
A typical VDE is based on a form
design grid that a programmer
manipulates to design the user
interface for a program

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Program Coding
VDE

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Program Testing &

Documentation

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Program Testing & Documentation

Testing often consists of running the program and entering
test data to see whether the program produces correct
results.
If testing does not produce the expected results, the
program contains an error, sometimes called a bug.
occurs when an instruction does not

Syntax errors

Error types

follow the syntax rules, or grammar

occurs when a program runs

Runtime errors

Logic errors

Ex: Division by zero

error in the logic or design of a program

Ex: using wrong formula to calculate the area
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Program Testing & Documentation

Programmers can locate errors in a program by reading
through lines of code, much like a proofreader.
They can also use a tool called a debugger to step through
a program and monitor the status of variables, input, and
output.
A debugger is sometimes packaged with a programming
language or can be obtained as an add-on.

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Programming Tools

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Programming Tools
Some programmers like to obtain programming tools a la
carte by picking up a compiler from one Web site, selecting
an interactive debugger from another Web site, and using
any handy editor, such as Notepad.

More typically, programmers download or purchase an

SDK or IDE that contains a collection of programming tools.

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Programming Tools
An SDK (software development kit) is a collection of
language-specific programming tools that enables a
programmer to develop applications for a specific computer
platform, such as Windows PCs.

A basic SDK includes a compiler, documentation about the

language and syntax, and installation instructions.
More sophisticated SDKs might also include an editor, a
debugger, a visual user interface design module, and APIs.

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Programming Tools
An IDE (integrated development environment) is a type of
SDK that packages a set of development tools into a
smooth programming application.
The modules in the applicationeditor, compiler, debugger,
and user interface development toolhave a uniform set of
menus and controls, which simplifies the programming
process.

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