Writing Makes Program Writing Easier
Learning how to outline a computer program is just as important as learning how to write the program.
Once a student learns how to outline his or her logic in writing, the process of writing an actual program that implements this logic becomes significantly easier.
The bulk of what a student majoring in computer science writes that is related to his or her major is code for programs that he or she makes. When the student learns how to program initially, he or she learns how to type Pseudocode along with the main program. What this does is allow the reader of the program to follow what is happening in the code, line-by-line, because the code is “commented” as it is written. Because the Pseudocode is written in English, as opposed to Java, anyone can read it and follow what is going on, regardless of whether or not they know how to code Java. Additionally, Pseudocode allows the programmer to go back at a later time and review the program easily. This information may be useful in writing a later paper, as information and logic that they have already devolved is there, waiting to be reused. For a computer science student, the ability to look back through all of his or her programs quickly to find useful pieces of code is ideal.
When talking to a junior majoring in computer science, he told me that much of the writing done for the computer science classes is, indeed, similar to writing Pseudocode. At least the purpose and idea of it is the same. The upper level classes are well past the point of basic programming, where the students only learn how to code; these classes teach students logical skills that are necessary to make their programs significantly better. These programs are more space efficient, and they run better on a computer. The logic that students learn in upper level programming classes is useful for problem solving, where a solution would not have been so obvious if the student did not have the logic from these classes.
The writing associated with the upper level programming classes usually pertains to program logic. Before a programmer “jumps right into” a massively large program, it is usually a good idea to write out the flow of logic pertaining to that program. This writing allows the programmer to organize his or her thoughts in a way that will make writing the actual program significantly easier; it is an outline for the program, and it can be used just like an outline for a research paper. Additionally, writing down the logical flow of a program lets other people know exactly what the program accomplishes, as well as how the program works, without ever looking at the code itself.
By using this technique of writing a layout for a program, the professor or teaching assistant will be able to grade it easier because they will be able to follow the logic and program flow. Often, either Pseudocode or a logic flow outline is required to be written along with the program itself. Sometimes the program is not even required to be written—only the outline (this is often the case with programming tests). Even if logic flow outlines are not required for a student to write, it is a good idea for the student to do it anyway, as many employers want their employees to write them because of the convenience of Pseudocode and logic outlines.
Comments
Posted by: Teh Newb.
Posted on: November 19, 2007 08:16 PM
Can I has Pseudocode?