Using pseudocode and a flowchart, develop the logic for a program that accepts two numbers as input and displays the product of the numbers. You may use a free online tool or other available tool to draw the flowchart.
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Fourth Edition
Chapter 1
An Overview of Computer Programming
Objectives
In this chapter, you will learn about:
Computer components and operations
Simple program logic
The evolution of programming models
The steps in the programming process
Pseudocode and flowcharts
Program comments
Programming and user environments
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
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Understanding Computer Components and Operations
Computer system
Combination of all components required to process and store data using a computer
Two major computer system components
Hardware
Physical devices associated with the computer
Software
Computer instructions that tell the hardware what to do
Programs (sets of instructions) written by programmers
Application software: programs applied to a task
System software: programs that manage computer resources
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding Computer Components and Operations (cont’d)
Three major hardware and software operations
Input
Processing
Output
Input operation
A means for data to enter a computer through an input device such as a mouse or keyboard
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding Computer Components and Operations (cont’d)
Processing data operation
Organizing or sorting data
Checking for accuracy
Performing mathematical operations
Tasks occur in central processing unit (CPU)
Output operation
Means to view, print, or store data using output devices
Printer or monitor
Storage devices (e.g., disks, flash media)
Information: data that has been processed
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding Computer Components and Operations (cont’d)
Programming language
Instructions controlling data manipulation
Examples include Visual Basic, C#, C++, or Java
Syntax
Rules governing word usage and punctuation for a programming language
Syntax errors: mistakes in a language’s usage
Program code
Instructions written in a programming language
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding Computer Components and Operations (cont’d)
Computer memory (RAM)
Temporary, internal storage
Executable statements
Statements that carry out a program’s actions
Compiler or interpreter
Translate high level programming language statements into low-level machine or binary language
Point out syntax errors
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding Computer Components and Operations (cont’d)
Compiler
Translates entire program before execution
Interpreter
Translates an instruction just prior to execution
Source code
Program statements written in a programming language
Object code
Code translated into machine language statements
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding Simple Program Logic
Logic errors
Program may execute but produces incorrect results
Can be avoided by
Writing program instructions in specific sequence
Removing extraneous instructions
Including all required instructions
Example of logic errors in cake-making instructions
Stir
Add two eggs
Add a gallon of gasoline
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes
Add three cups of flour
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Danger:
Do not follow these cake-baking instructions!
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding Simple Program Logic (cont’d)
Computer programs include steps that perform input, processing, and output
Sample instructions written in English-like language
Program doubles any given number
Requires three operations: input, processing, and output
input myNumber input
myAnswer = myNumber * 2 processing
output myAnswer output
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding the Evolution
of Programming Models
Modern computer programs
Around since 1940s
Oldest programming languages
Programmers worked with memory addresses
Memorized awkward codes associated with machine languages
Written as one piece
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding the Evolution
of Programming Models (cont’d)
Newer programming languages
Look like natural language
Use meaningful names for memory locations
Allow creation of self-contained modules or program segments
Can be pieced together
Can be reused
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding the Evolution
of Programming Models (cont’d)
Major program development techniques
Procedural programming
Focuses on actions that are carried out
Breaks down processes into manageable subtasks
Object-oriented programming – focuses on objects
Objects: entities that have attributes, behaviors, and states
Attributes: object features
Behaviors: what object does
States: set of all values of attributes
Primary difference is focused on early planning stages
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding the Evolution
of Programming Models (cont’d)
Object-oriented approach
Defining the objects needed to accomplish a task
Each object maintains its own data and carries out tasks
“Natural” way of thinking about the world
Types of object-oriented approach applications
Computer simulations
Mimic real-world activities
Users apply programs to tasks after the programs are written
Graphical user interfaces (GUIs)
Users interact with program in graphical environment
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding the Steps
in the Programming Process
System program
A group of many programs
Object-oriented approach involves
Analyzing the system
Designing the system
Writing the programs
Programmer may do all tasks or use systems analysts and/or software testers
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding the Steps
in the Programming Process (cont’d)
Types of software testing
Black box
Tester provides input and checks for valid output
White box
Tester looks at code, tests all logical paths
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Analyzing the Program or System
Programmers provide a service to users
Object-oriented analysis (OOA)
Understand the users’ needs
Needs are often not well defined
Can be difficult and time consuming
Frequently, several program revisions are necessary to satisfy the user
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Designing the System
Designers using object-oriented design (OOD)
Envision the objects needed
Determine objects’ attributes and behaviors
Decide the relationship between objects
Describe how objects communicate with and react to each other
Expressed as verb phrases
Examples of relationships: “Has a,” “is a,” “creates a”
Class
A general category that describes entities
May be reused from other programs or modified
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Writing and Testing Programs
Writing a program involves several subtasks
Developing the program logic
Coding the program
Translating the program into machine language
Testing the program
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Writing and Testing Programs (cont’d)
Planning the logic
Heart of the programming process
Also referred to as developing an algorithm
Decide steps to include and their order
Planning tools
Flowcharts and pseudocode
Both use English-like code
Language syntax not a concern
Desk-checking
Reviewing program logic on paper
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Writing and Testing Programs (cont’d)
Coding the program
Writing program statements in a programming language
Object-oriented languages
C++, C#, Java, Visual Basic, SmallTalk, OO COBOL, and Simula
Create objects and establish communication between them
Language chosen determines syntax
Coding usually less difficult than planning step
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Writing and Testing Programs (cont’d)
Use software to translate program into machine language
Many programming languages
Computer knows only machine language (1s and 0s)
Compilers or interpreters
Translate English-like, high-level programming language into low-level machine language
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Writing and Testing Programs (cont’d)
Syntax error
Occurs when translator cannot translate the code
Causes: misspellings, illegal grammar, non-existent words
Programmer must correct code and recompile the program before it can execute
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Creating an executable program
Figure 1-1
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Writing and Testing Programs (cont’d)
Testing the program
Program that is free of syntax errors is not necessarily free of logical errors
Must test for logical errors
May require entering of sample data
Select test data carefully
Error discovery may require changes to program logic
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Writing and Testing Programs (cont’d)
After the program is written and tested
Ready to be used
Additional tasks associated with programs written for organizations
Preparing manuals
Training users
Converting existing data to new system’s format
Conversion
Actions an organization take to switch to a new program
Can take months or years to accomplish
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Writing and Testing Programs (cont’d)
Maintenance
Process of making required changes after program is put into production
Reasons why maintenance may be necessary
Fixing previously undiscovered errors
Updating values such as a tax rate
Changing format of input data
Input data may no longer be available
User wants additional functionality
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Using Pseudocode and Flowcharts
Pseudocode
English-like representation of logical program steps
Looks like programming language but is not
Flexible planning tool
Example
Starting and ending statements often used
Punctuation and syntax are not important
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
start
input myNumber
myAnswer = myNumber * 2
output myAnswer
stop
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Drawing Flowcharts
Flowchart
Pictorial representation of logical program steps
Helps programmer visualize how statements connect
Uses geometric shapes connected with arrows (flowlines)
Common flowchart symbols
Input symbols (parallelograms)
Processing symbols (rectangles)
Output symbols (parallelograms)
Terminal symbols (lozenges – flattened ovals)
Decision symbols (diamonds)
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Drawing Flowcharts (cont’d)
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Flowchart and pseudocode of a program that doubles a number if it is less than 10
Figure 1-3
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
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Drawing Flowcharts (cont’d)
Software applications with flowcharting tools
Microsoft Word
Microsoft PowerPoint
Visio
Visual Logic
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding Program Comments
Program comments
Non-executing statements in a program added for documentation
Programmers write comments for themselves and others who read program
Minimally, comments should include author, date, and purpose of the program
C++, Java, and C# use two forward slashes
// This is a comment
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Annotation symbol used for comments on a flowchart
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Three-sided box with dashed line connects to the step it explains
Figure 1-4
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding Programming
and User Environments
Flowcharts created by hand or with software
Pseudocode written by hand or with a word processor
Plain text editor
Text editor in an integrated development environment (IDE)
Text editor
Program used to create simple text files
Similar to a word processor, but less robust
Example: Notepad in Microsoft Windows
Complete program does not require much disk space
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Understanding Programming and User Environments (cont’d)
Integrated development environment (IDE)
Software package that includes an editor, compiler, and other programming tools
Advantages of using IDE
Uses colors to display various language components
Highlights syntax errors visually
Employs automatic statement completion
Provides tools to step through a program to find errors
Disadvantages of using IDE
Requires much more storage space than plain text editor
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
A user might execute program in different environments: command line, GUI
The logical process is the same regardless of the environment
Understanding User Environments
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Executing a number-doubling program in a command-line environment
Executing a number-doubling program in a GUI environment
Figure 1-7
Figure 1-8
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Summary
Hardware and software accomplish three major operations: input, processing, and output
For a program to work properly, you must develop correct logic
Logical errors are more difficult to locate than syntax errors
Developing a system involves analyzing the system, designing it, and writing the programs
Writing programs involves logic planning, coding the program, translating into machine language, and testing
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Summary (cont’d)
Flowcharts and pseudocode are tools for planning a program’s logic
Pseudocode is an English-like representation of a program’s logical steps
Flowchart is a pictorial representation of a program
Program comments document a program
Plain text editor or an integrated development environment (IDE) can be used to type a program
A program’s data input can be at a command line or a graphical user interface (GUI)
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An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
An Object-Oriented Approach to Programming Logic and Design
Visual Logic Instructions and Assignments
Visual Logic can be installed from the CD that accompanies our textbook. It is a nifty tool
for creating program flowcharts, but that is only half of the story. Until this software
came along, flowcharts were static diagrams that outlined the flow of execution of a
computer program. When a Visual Logic flowchart is done, you can run the program
“behind” the flowchart. This is a great learning resource for budding programmers.
You can even create interactive programs that allow the user to input values for
variables
at runtime. Visual Logic is a terrific tool for grasping basic programming concepts such as
variables, operators, expressions, branching, and looping. It is excellent preparation for
more sophisticated programming with Visual Basic.NET. We hope you like it!
Install Visual Logic on your home PC by accepting all defaults in the installation wizard.
Then, put the CD away in a safe place.
Once installed, Visual Logic can be started in the usual
way from the Windows Start menu. On the “splash
screen” shown here, click on “Continue” to produce the
starting flowchart. The starting
flowchart displays a “Begin” and “End”
symbol as shown. To create a flowchart,
you add symbols between these starting
symbols.
Lesson One : Sample Visual Logic Program
( perform the actions that are in boldface )
Hover your mouse over the red arrow between the Begin and
End symbols. It will turn green, indicating that you can click on it
to get a popup window. This popup window has the other symbols
we will need to create programs.
Click on the green arrow and select the Output symbol.
This inserts the Output symbol into the
flowchart as shown. The Output symbol produces
output on the display screen. Next, we will
specify what the program should output.
Double click on the Output symbol to get the
Output dialog box.
Output that consists of a
text message must be
enclosed in quotes. This
is called a string.
The button in the lower left corner of the Output dialog toggles between More >> and
<
as “Dialog Box” as shown.
Enter your own name and be sure to enclose it within quotes. Later, we will use
variables that don’t use quotes. Click on the “OK” button when done, and the Output symbol
will change to show your intended output.
Run the program by clicking on the button on the toolbar, or by pressing the F5
function key.
Your name should appear in a popup dialog box as shown above on
the right. If you got red error windows like the one on the left,
you likely forgot one, or both, quotes. We all do this now and then
but, no problem, it’s easy to debug. Just close the error windows,
double click on the Output symbol, and add
the quotes around your name. Run it again
and it should work fine.
Click on the green arrow below the first Output symbol to add
another Output symbol. Make this second Output generate the
output “Visual Logic is fun”.
Run the program again. Did you remember the quotes? You should
get two popup dialogs, one after the other.
Edit the first Output by clicking the More >> button. Select “console”. An odd looking
“line feed” symbol, §, will be appended to your name. This is normal for console output.
Summary Click on OK. Note: the small white rectangle Run the program again. It may seem that nothing happened, but if you look on the taskbar at the bottom of your Click to open this console window. You should see a window as But the output needs more work. We need
Double click the first Output symbol. Position Run the program once more. You should now get
Save this program as example1 on your PC. Visual Logic Assignment One This is the console This is the popup dialog window. Save the program as VLogic1.vls Lesson Two ( perform actions in boldface ) Start a new Visual Logic program with File | New on the menu. Double click on the Input symbol and click More>> to expand the window. Inputs are special because they enable a user to The prompt will inform the user of the expected Insert another Input below the first Input. NOTE: If you forget to specify a prompt in an Input, Visual Logic will supply a generic Insert an Assignment symbol (a rectangle ) below the second Input. You can start receiving Social Security payments at age 62. The Assignment shown above Insert an Output below the Assignment. Explanation of this Output Insert another Output above the End symbol. Configure it as shown below.
This Output concatenates the SocialStart variable between the two strings. Again, note Run the program by clicking on the button on the toolbar, or by pressing the F5 Here is a sample run of the program:
NOTE: When prompted to input your name, enclose it in quotes. Always use quotes around
If you got a red error screen, check your work for quotes. It’s easy to forget one. Edit all Inputs and Outputs by clicking on More >> and selecting the console option.
Run the program again to see the console output. It Save the program as example2.vls on your system. Whether you choose console output or dialog output is Console output is better when you need to review your Summary Visual Logic Assignment Two Save the program as VLogic2.vls. • Use the * operator for multiplication as shown between a variable and a quoted string one Output (by pressing Enter for line feeds) but if you use 3 Outputs that’s OK. Lesson Three ( perform actions in boldface ) This assignment simulates a checkout in a retail store and covers these Visual Logic skills:
Start a new Visual Logic program. Insert an Input Add two more Input symbols, one for the unit price of a Now use an Assignment symbol to calculate the extended At this point, the sample program should look something Finally, use an Output symbol (in console) to summarize all The final output might be as NOTE: When entering the Visual Logic has a number of built-in functions. The FormatCurrency function can produce
Adding FormatCurrency function (in two locations)
New output with currency format where suitable Arithmetic Operators Operator Operation Example Explanation
+ addition Sum = 5 + 3 Sum = 8 Mod modulus Remainder = 5 Mod 3 Remainder = 2 NOTE: modulus is another term for the remainder after division. Some more examples: Summary Visual Logic Assignment Three Lesson Four ( perform actions in boldface ) In most programming languages, branching is Start a new Visual Logic program and set up Insert an IF condition symbol immediately after the Input. Note that the IF symbol is Double click on the IF diamond to get the dialog box. This allows us to enter the Enter Age >= 18 as the condition. Then click OK. The symbol NOTE: All IF conditions are expressions that evaluate to either Insert an Output in the True branch. Configure it to output “You are of voting age”. Your completed program should look like this:
Run the program a few times. Try ages older and younger than 18. Try 18, too. The program should respond properly with respect to the Age variable. This simple Operators Used for IF conditions < Less than
> Greater than Nested IFs Delete the Output in the True branch of voteage.vls
and in its place add the Input symbol for Citizen shown Add Outputs to the branches of this second IF as shown Save it again. Run the program with different ages and try both possible responses to Compound Conditions Logical Operators AND Less than As an example of a compound condition, we will modify the previous program to make it Load the voteage.vls program if necessary. Save it as teenager.vls (to make a copy). This compound condition will be True for a NOTE: Each condition in a compound condition must be enclosed within parentheses. Edit the Output symbols as shown below:
Run the program at least three times. Try ages for teenagers and ages that are too Visual Logic Assignment Four This program enhances payroll.vls from Assignment Three. You can save effort by loading • Delete the Input for the user’s name ( to simplify things ) over 40 in one week ( 42 hours = 2 hours of OT, which earns 3 hours of pay )
Here are some possible runs for the program:
In the above run, note that OT is not an issue since the weekly hours are not over 40. In the above run, since hours exceed 40, the prompt about the employer’s OT policy Summary In this final run, hours exceed 40 and the employer pays “time and a half”. The 4 hours of NOTE: Your program should run in a like manner for these inputs. Lesson Five ( perform actions in boldface ) Start a new Visual Logic program. 1. an Initial Value variable • this is the stop value for the Count variable • this is the amount by which the Count Insert a For Loop symbol and configure it as shown here. Click OK when done. The dialog box shown here is setting up a loop that will cycle 10 times. Count will start at 1 Inside the loop, insert an Output symbol and configure it as shown. Run the program.
NOTE: Any / all of the three settings NOTE: The “line feed” symbol, §, causes the Count values to be displayed one per line Edit the For Loop symbol. Enter new values as shown You should get output from 10 – 100 in increments of 10. Here’s another example that outputs a “times table” like the ones that can be found on the Start a new Visual Logic program. Insert an Input and configure it as shown.
Insert a For Loop symbol and configure it to cycle from 1 to 12 as shown above.
Run the program. Try some different inputs for Table. CHALLENGE: Can you generate output that counts For Loops are best suited for programs in which the number of loop Visual Logic Assignment Five Lesson Six ( perform actions in boldface ) Start a new Visual Logic Summary control variable variables The Assignment declares a value named Num and initializes it to a value of zero. Num will Insert a While Loop symbol and configure it as Insert an Output symbol within the While It isn’t correct yet, but run the program.
You will get a console window that looks like the “Terminate” button on the toolbar. Stop the program by clicking on the “Terminate” button on the toolbar. incrementing it, so Run the program again. When Num got to 10, the While Loop condition became False, and the program ended. Edit the While Loop symbol. Select “Post-Test” instead of “Pre-Test”. Exit Loop and Intentional Endless Loops Exit Loop is also useful inside intentional endless loops. An endless loop isn’t always a What’s better? For Loops or While Loops? Visual Logic Assignment Six Lesson Seven ( perform actions in boldface ) Start a new Visual Logic program and begin it with an Add a For Loop that will iterate 3 times so the user Summary Beneath the Input, add an After the loop (just above End), insert an Assignment to calculate the Average of the Finally, insert an Output to display the Here is the final program and a sample run:
IMPORTANT: note the syntax used for Visual Logic Assignment Seven Summary Accumulator = Accumulator + SomeVariable Lesson Eight ( perform actions in boldface ) A sentinel “watches out for” a particular value in a variable. Typically, a sentinel is used in In the following example, a counter and a sentinel are used to write a different version of Start a new Visual Logic program with an Assignment symbol for an accumulator Insert another Assignment that initializes a counter named Count to 0. Insert a While Loop and make it endless by setting the while condition as True. Inside the loop, insert an Input symbol for a variable named Number. In the prompt, Directly below the Input for Number, insert an IF symbol. Set the IF condition to be Insert two Assignment symbols beneath the IF. One should accumulate the Total Just above the “End” symbol (in the False branch of the While Loop), insert an Finally, insert an Output symbol to display the average. Run the program a few times. The entire program, and two sample runs, can be viewed on the following page. This program is impressive since the user does not have to indicate in advance how many Note that the counter Count increases by Visual Logic Assignment Eight All DONE! This completes our official study of Visual Logic. time for with the graphics symbols available in graphical displays, especially with loops. B. Yourth Turnitin Report Formatting Title Page Citation Outline
• Text output must be enclosed within quotes
• The More>> and <
Edit the second Output box in
the same manner to select
console output.
that now appears in each Output
symbol indicates console output.
screen, you will see that a new window has been created.
below ( although much larger ). This is console output, output to one window.
a space, or better yet, a line feed after
the name.
the cursor just to the left of the § symbol and
press Enter. The § symbol will be moved down to
the second line as shown below. This will cause a
line feed in the output.
two lines of output in your console window.
Visual Logic will add a .vls filename extension to
save the file as example1.vls on your system.
Create a Visual Logic program named VLogic1.vls that uses four Outputs. The first three
Outputs should create a console window similar to the one shown here. Specify your name,
place of birth, and hobby or pastime. The fourth Output should create the popup dialog
box exactly as shown.
window.
Insert an Input symbol. The Input symbol is a parallelogram like the Output
symbol, but unlike Output, it “leans” to the right.
enter data when the program runs. Inputs require you
to specify a variable name and a prompt.
input, and the variable will accept and hold what the
user enters. Complete the Input as shown.
Configure this Input to ask a user for his/her age
as shown. Pay attention to the case of your variable
names. These names follow the variable naming
convention used in Visual Basic.
prompt that is not very user friendly. Avoid this by expanding the Input with More >> and
specifying a helpful prompt.
Assignment symbols interpret an
expression on the right side of
an = sign and assign the result to
a variable named on the left side
of the = sign.
computes the number of years before a user could start receiving payments and stores it
in a variable named SocialStart.
Configure the Output as shown here.
This Output introduces the & (ampersand) symbol in Outputs. The & is used to link strings
of characters enclosed in quotes with variables that do not use quotes. Computer
programmers called this linking concatenation. In this case, we have the variable YourName
concatenated with the short string “ is “, the variable Age, and the string “ years of age”.
The spaces inside the strings are necessary to avoid jamming the variables up against
characters in the strings.
the spaces after “in” and before “years” are essential for good quality output.
function key.
text Inputs. Do not enclose the number entered for your age. Never use quotes with
numeric input.
The small white rectangle will indicate the console. In the first Output, press Enter with
the cursor in front of the line feed symbol §. The program should appear as below on the
left.
should appear as below:
often a matter of personal preference.
previous Inputs later in a program.
• An Input symbol is used to enter data into a program during a program run
• Inputs store the entered data in variables, and are best with helpful prompts
• Text input must be within quotes but numeric input is never inside quotes
• An Assignment symbol interprets an expression and stores the result in a variable
• The Assignment symbol in a flowchart is a rectangle
• Always use meaningful variable names. For example, use Age for age…not x
• The & character is used to concatenate variables and strings in Outputs
• Spaces at the beginning or end of strings avoids “jams” when concatenating
Create a Visual Logic program that prompts the user to enter two numbers and then
displays the sum, product, and average of the numbers. The entire program should run in
one console window. Here are two sample runs:
Hints
• You will need sharp concatenation skills to get the outputs. Always place an &
• You will need 2 Inputs, 3 Assignments, and at least 1 Output. It can be done with
• Inputting non-numeric values for variables
• The built-in CurrencyFormat function
• A complete list of arithmetic operators
symbol, and use it to prompt the user to enter
his/her name as shown. Remember to enclose the
prompt in quotes, and select console. Add a few
spaces before the closing quote, too.
merchandise item, and the other for the quantity
purchased. Use console, appropriate variable names, and
suitable prompts for both Inputs.
price (unit price x quantity) and store it in another
variable.
much like the graphic on the right.
of the Inputs.
shown here.
The entire program consists
of just five symbols, namely
three Inputs, one
Assignment, and one Output
(in that order).
name, use quotes. Always
use quotes for non-numeric
inputs.
NOTE: This Output
generated the final three
lines of output.
FormatCurrency
better output for the UnitPrice and ExtPrice in our sample program. To use
FormatCurrency, identify the variable to be formatted inside the parentheses ( ) as shown
next.
Save this example as retail.vls
The following table summarizes the Visual Logic arithmetic operators, and their usage in
arithmetic expressions. You will use most of these in future assignments.
– subtraction Diff = 5 – 3 Diff = 2
* multiplication Product = 5 * 3 Product = 15
/ real division Quotient = 5 / 3 Quotient = 1.6666666
\ integer division Answer = 5 \ 3 Answer = 1 ( no decimals )
^ exponentiation Power = 5 ^ 3 Power = 125 ( 5*5*5 )
22 Mod 5 evaluates to 2 ( 5 divides into 22 four times with 2 remainder )
36 Mod 7 evaluates to 1 ( 7 divides into 36 five times with 1 remainder )
• Always enclose non-numeric input within quotes
• Press enter in an Output symbol to get a line feed (for a new line)
• Visual Logic has seven arithmetic operators
• The FormatCurrency function can be used to display dollars and cents
Create a Visual Logic program that calculates a user’s weekly paycheck. The program
should prompt the user for his/her name, rate of pay, and hours worked. Then, the
program should summarize the input. Strive to duplicate this output (all in the console).
Note the currency formats in the output. Save as payroll.vls.
Virtually all computer programs of any significance can make decisions and execute
different branches of code based on the decision outcome. Often this means that one
block of code will execute if a specified condition is true, but another block of code will
execute if that condition was false.
achieved with IF. Visual Logic is no exception.
To illustrate branching, we will create a Visual
Logic program that determines if a user is old
enough to vote in the USA.
an Input symbol as shown here. The Dialog
Box option is selected.
a diamond. Note too that the IF creates two branches, True and False. The False branch is
also known as the ELSE branch.
condition for the IF symbol. In our case, the condition must test the user’s age.
>= means “greater than or equal to”, and as you know the voting
age is 18 in the USA.
True or False.
NOTE: All IF conditions use one or more conditional operators. See a list on the next page.
Next, we add symbols to each branch of the IF.
Insert an Output in the False branch that will output “You are too young to vote”.
Save the program as agevote.vls.
program used only one symbol in both branches of the IF, but multiple operations in each
branch are common.
Conditional Operator Explanation
<= Less than or equal to
>= Greater than or equal to
= Equal to
<> Not equal to
The branches of an IF diamond can themselves contain
IFs that have their own branches. This is called nesting.
For example, a program that qualifies a voter in the
USA should ensure that the user is a US citizen, in
addition to the age test. Let’s try this.
here.
Insert an IF symbol under the Citizen Input in the True
branch. Specify the condition as shown here.
the Citizen Input. Make sure that you use quotes around your response to the Citizen
Input. The output should be what would be expected. If not, contact
your instructor. The entire program should now appear as shown next.
If your program gets too expansive for the display, reduce the % on the toolbar.
By using logical operators, programmers can create compound conditions for IF symbols.
Operator Explanation
OR Greater than
NOT Less than or equal to
detect a teenager.
Delete everything under the Age Input.
Add an IF diamond and edit the condition as
shown here. Click OK.
teenager, since teenagers are aged between 13 and 19, inclusive. Note that there are two
distinct conditions separated by the logical operator AND, and note that both conditions
must be True for a teenager.
young or too old for a teenager.
Note that the False branch executes for input that is too young or too old.
Save the program again as teenager.vls.
it and saving another console version as overtime.vls. In the new version:
• Add Input that asks if the employer pays overtime at “time and a half” for hours
• Add an IF branch to determine if OT pay applies based on this Input
• Add an IF branch to determine the OT pay (if any is deserved )
• Add Output(s) showing the total pay ( regular pay and OT, if any and applicable )
appears but the employer does not pay “Time and a half”, so no OT is paid
• IF symbols can execute operations when the specified condition evaluates as True
• Operations can be executed when specified condition evaluates as False
• Conditional operators are used to create the expressions for IF conditions
• Logical operators can be used to write expressions for compound conditions
• IF symbols may be nested inside other IF symbols. This is termed nesting.
OT earn 4 x 1.5 x 10 = $60.00 of OT pay.
Save as overtime.vls.
This lesson is about loops. Often, computer programs need to repeat a block of code. The
most efficient way to do this is by placing the code inside a loop. Like most programming
languages, Visual Logic provides several methods for creating loops, namely For Loops and
While Loops. In this lesson you will learn about For Loops.
For loops use a “loop control variable” to either continue or halt the loop. As well as a name
for the loop control variable (in the example below this is Count), there are three settings
the programmer must specify in a for loop dialog box (as shown):
• this is the starting value for the Count
2. a Final Value
3. a Step
variable will change in each loop cycle
and increase by 1 in each loop cycle, stopping when Count reaches a value of 10. This means
that Count will have the values 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. We can prove this.
could be variables that hold numbers.
here. Run the program again. Save as forloop1.vls.
A negative value for Step can be useful when the Initial
Value is greater than the Final Value.
back cover of a grade school notebook.
Inside the loop, insert an Output using concatenation to display the “times table”.
Your output should be something like the output shown above.
Save as timestab.vls.
backwards from 10 to zero in decrements of 2?
cycles, or iterations, are predictable or known at the outset.
Create a Visual Logic program named namesay.vls. The program should prompt the user to
enter his/her name and the number of times it should be displayed. Then, it should use the
variable storing the number of times the name is displayed to generate output as shown in
the two sample runs below. A For Loop is required.
This lesson is about While Loops. Like For Loops, While Loops also can also execute
instructions repeatedly. A While Loop will cycle if a specified condition is True. The
condition is typically an expression using conditional operators such as < or >.
program.
Insert an Assignment
symbol and configure it
as shown.
• Loops use a “loop control variable” to run one or more enclosed instructions repeatedly.
• Each run through the loop is called a cycle or iteration.
• The number of cycles depends on the Initial Value, Step, and Final Value of the loop
• Any or all of the three For Loop settings for the loop control variable can be numeric
be the loop control variable.
shown here.
The While Loop is being configured to execute
repeatedly when Num is less than 10. The “Pre-Test”
option specifies that the condition should be checked
before the loop starts, and at the start of each
iteration.
Loop and configure it as shown. Be sure to
select Console.
This symbol as configured should output the
value of Num and generate a line feed. At this
point, your program should look like the
graphic below on the right.
the one on the left.
Something is wrong. The program is locked in
an endless loop. It is still running and it will
continue to run until you stop it by clicking on
We have made a programming logic error to
make a point. A While Loop must contain a “modifying statement” that will
modify the loop control variable, or an endless loop results.
Insert this Assignment symbol and
configure it as shown.
This Assignment will modify Num by
that the loop will
end gracefully.
You should get the values from 0 to 9 in a console window as shown here.
Save this example as while1.vls.
Now let’s see what that “Pre-Test” option was all about.
Edit the first Assignment. Give Num an initial value of 11. Run the program again.
Nothing happens because, with Num being 11, the condition of the While Loop evaluates to
false before the loop starts (11 is not less than 10). The program follows the False route,
and ends without ever running the While Loop at all.
The Visual Logic program reacts on your screen to reflect this change. The
program now looks like the graphic here. The “Post-Test” selection means
that the condition will be tested at the end of the loop. By force, the
While Loop will run at least once when “Post-Test” is selected. In this case
it does run only once, because the condition evaluates to False (11 is not
less than 10). The program should output 11 and nothing else.
Visual Logic has an Exit Loop symbol that will immediately end a loop, and allow the
program to continue with any instructions that might follow the loop. Usually the Exit Loop
symbol is used inside an IF, to stop a loop when a specified IF condition is True.
programming error. A Visual Logic program might use an intentional endless loop to
repeatedly run one or more instructions until a certain IF condition is met. When the IF
condition is True, Exit Loop is used to end the endless loop. This is especially useful for
validating user input to a program. An endless loop can run over and over again until the
user enters the input as desired. While Loops can be made intentionally endless by
entering True as the while condition. Here is an intentional endless While Loop that
validates the entry of a test score. The loop won’t allow a TestScore higher than 100.
In many cases, a programming task can be handled by either choice but,
as mentioned earlier, For Loops are better suited for situations in which
the exact number of iterations is known in advance.
Write a program called VLogic6.vls that asks the user to enter an odd integer and runs
repeatedly until he/she complies. Thank the user when the input is odd and let the user
know if the input is incorrect. Use an endless While Loop and the Exit Loop symbol. The
entire program should run in a console window.
HINT: You will need the modulus operator (Mod) to test for an odd number in the IF. This
task may stump you at first, but if you really think about how you identify odd numbers,
you will succeed. Here is a sample run:
This lesson is about accumulators. Many computer programs that feature loops make use
of accumulators. An accumulator is a variable that increases by the value of another
variable. An accumulator is like a bucket into which a program can toss numbers. Both
counters and accumulators should be initialized with a value of zero. When you approach
the checkout at the supermarket, your initial total bill is an accumulator with a value of
zero. As each item you are purchasing is rung up, the bill “accumulates” by the price of
each item. As another example, we will create a program
that calculates the average of three inputted numbers.
Assignment symbol for an accumulator named Total.
Initialize Total to zero.
can input 3 numbers. Inside the For Loop, insert an
Input symbol for a variable named Number. Use the
Console option and a suitable prompt.
At this point your program should appear as shown here.
• While Loops will continue to execute when the condition evaluates as True.
• Without an Assignment that modifies the variable in the condition, an endless loop results.
• A “Pre-Test” While Loop might never run at all (if the condition is False on starting).
• A “Post-Test” While Loop runs at least once since the condition is at the end of the loop.
• An endless While Loop using the Exit Loop symbol can be a useful programming technique.
Assignment symbol to
accumulate Total by the
value of Number as shown.
numbers that were entered.
Average.
the accumulator Assignment symbol. The
name of the accumulator variable is used on
both sides of the equals sign.
Write a program called VLogic7.vls that simulates checking out at the supermarket, but
extend the averaging example above by asking the user to input how many items are being
purchased. NOTE: You will need to
use the variable for this input as
one of the settings in your For
Loop. Use an accumulator to total
the bill. The program should run in
a console. Try to duplicate the
output in the sample run shown.
Note the currency format.
• An accumulator is like a “bucket” that increases by the value of another variable
• Accumulators should be initialized to a starting value of 0
• The syntax for adding on to an accumulator has this form:
This final lesson is about counters and sentinel values. A counter is a variable that
increments by one, usually when a certain condition is True. Counters are often used within
loops and inside IF symbols.
an IF symbol to detect a specific value input by the user. When the special sentinel value
is detected, the program reacts in some desired way.
the averaging program outlined in Lesson 7. If you have trouble grasping the following
step-by-step instructions, the entire program and two sample runs can be seen on the next
page.
named Total. Initialize Total to zero (the same as Lesson 7).
ask the user to enter a number, but this time, notify the user that entering a value
of 0 will end the process. This program will use a sentinel value of 0 for the Number
variable to determine that the user has no more numbers to average.
Number = 0 (the sentinel value). Insert an Exit Loop symbol in the True branch of
the IF.
variable by the value of Number, and the other should increment the Count variable
by 1.
Assignment that determines the Average using the Total variable and the Count
variable.
items are being purchased.
just 1, but the accumulator Total increases
by the value of another variable, Number.
Write a Visual Logic program named VLogic8.vls that implements another version of the
supermarket checkout program from assignment 7. This time, use a counter and a sentinel
so any number of items may be purchased and totaled up at the checkout. Here are two
sample runs:
We hope you had fun. You might want to create
some graphical programs that we didn’t have
Visual Logic. You can create some very cool
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