Program Design

Program Design

First of all, you have to understand exactly what the problem is, and define it clearly. This means you have to decide in a general way how to solve the problem. The next step is to design an algorithm, which is a step-by-step plan of instructions used to solve the problem. You do this in a flowchart. You use special symbols to show how the computer works through your program; that is, where it makes decisions, where it starts, ends, and things like that. Then you translate the steps in the flowchart into instructions written in a computer language. You usually write these in a high-level language like BASIC or Pascal. Then you have to use something called a compiler, which translates instructions into machine code, which is the only language understood by the processor.
Once you have written your program, you have to test it with sample data to see if there are any bugs or errors. Usually there are, so the program has to be cleared of them, or debugged. Last of all, you have to write instructions explaining to people how to use it. A great program is not of much use unless people know how to use it.