Start programming

Programming academy

2015-01-03T13:59:00.000+01:00

Everybody should learn computational thinking. That is why RoboMind is a Program Partner of Samsung Smart Education Hubs. This initiative aims to support Dutch schools with teaching 21st Century Skills. Educational materials are provided for the Smart Classrooms, there will be trainings for Smart Teachers, and a Smart Sharing platform comes available to bundle experiences.
The British association for everyone promoting learning with technology in a connected world.

Follow this link for programming course:

https://www.robomindacademy.com/go/navigator/courses

RoboMind Academy trains Computational Thinking: an essential 21st century skill.
By programming a virtual robot, the student is introduced to logic, automation and technology.
Logical thinking is directly connected to solving real world challenges.

281 1. Iván R. Artiles

281 2. jan

Enter the open competition for free and get your name on top of the list!
Every month a new chance for everyone with a new challenge.
Come up with a smart solution and score the highest number of points.
The person with best solution will win the prize of the month!

Fully integrated courses, including presentations, challenges and hints, with clearly defined teaching goals for:
Primary education
Secondary education
Home schooling
Gifted students

Learn more about

Computational thinking
Mapping to national curriculums

Effective and motivating: RoboMind has proven to be an effective and motivating introduction to Computer Science in international studies.
Simple to use, empowers teachers: Our educator-friendly platform includes everything you need to get your class up and running in minutes. No need for prior knowledge in the field. No need for extra courses or books.
Trusted by hundreds of schools: Robo speaks 27 languages and is used by tens of thousands of students from over 150 countries.
Especially e-safe for young children
: No personal data is collected. See this special child-privacy section.; Article source: https://www.robomindacademy.com/go/robomind/home

How to Start Your Career in System Programming

2014-12-28T13:23:00.000+01:00

If you are a fresher and are really looking for a personally and professionally satisfying career in embedded systems or system level programming then these are the exact skills that you need to get hold of

Skill guide for System/Embedded/Real Time Programmers

•Effectively programming using Data Structures
•Application of C for System programming purposes
•Complete understanding of any Operating System (Linux, most widely used here)
•OS customization skills, Device Drivers, Embedded Drivers
•OS building for target hardware
•Network programming
•C++ for Embedded and Real Time programming
•Understanding finer aspects of Real Time OS designs
•Programming for Multicore architectures
•Above all true passion for hard core programming

The above guide is purely indicative and is based on the current and expected future skill requirements. However these are the skills which are going to stay for a very long time. I call them "skills forever". Most of these skills are age old and are proven effective time and again with minor modifications to meet moving requirements.

How to master these skills

Here I recommend three proven ways to master these skills

1. Self Learning

Go out and do it on your own, this is the mantra of self-learning, definitely, the most satisfying path of all the. With so much open information available self-learning is definitely recommended. A decade back may be it would have been ill advised, due to lack of information available through Internet, books and so on, but the current situation only augments the use of it.

Pros & Cons

This is indeed the most satisfying of all paths. Information is readily available and it is only left to you to explore and deduce the right information. Now students willing to walk this path should be very selective in choosing information as there are every possibility that he/she may end up with heavy unwanted or even misleading information and most importantly taking much of his time. To sum it up I would say that in this path the learning curve i.e. the time taken to learn is more compared to all other kinds of learning.

Sources for this style of learning are: internet, books, practical experimentation, technical forums, seminars and so on.

2. Mentoring/Professional Training Course

To put it in a single sentence, "Look for a mentor/trainer who can extend his expertise and help you build your skills in the smartest and shortest way". Definitely the most widely preferred channel of learning and also the most confusing, thanks to the ever growing number of training organizations offering a wide variety of courses. I certainly am not against this trend but I would only like to caution students on being very selective while choosing these organizations for building their skills.

Let us look at some of the common training programs available for Embedded/System software development

There are a growing number of institutions offering specialized training courses on this domain. Most of these institutions offer a similar line of course contents with minor deviations. However most of them do talk about:

•Programming with C and Data Structures
•Programming with C++
•Linux/Unix Essentials
•Some part of Linux Drivers
•Micro-controllers and Programming them
•Embedded Systems Concepts
•RTOS

Now if you compare this with the above mentioned Skill guide, surely most of the training organizations need to drastically improve their contents to cater the exact skill requirements of the students and mind you most of these institutions are delivering these courses just at the knowledge gaining level. So be extremely selective in choosing your training courses. This is a highly recommended source of learning as there are plenty of options to choose from, obviously with a bit of scrutiny.

3. On Job Training

Definitely the most preferred method of learning. This gives the student a great opportunity to be in the company of experts and also in the most conducive learning environment. The student who enters this course would develop his/her skills in a way which is most desired by his/her employer. This could help in building both generic as well as specific skills. However there is a good chance of being very specific in the skills gained and this may hamper his overall generic outlook.

Now it's your turn to choose

So the choices are open, rate your skills and choose any path or even try to come up with something of your own. Just remember that, our expertise can always be availed and we will be more than happy to help you.

Raghu Bharadwaj is a lead trainer in the area of Linux System Programming, including Linux Device Drivers, Kernel Programming, Embedded Linux, RTOS and Network Programming etc. To know more about his online and campus based training programs visit http://www.techveda.org.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raghu_Bharadwaj

Computer Application Programming

2014-12-28T13:22:00.000+01:00

Application programming is a good place to start programming if you enjoy building substantial programs. For example, you could create a simple game application. Application programming is more difficult to start off with, but it can be much more powerful in the right hands. While knowledge on web development can only be used to create programs that run in the web browser, applications run straight on the computer. Additionally, mobile development (to be discussed later) is very closely related to application programming. Many of the same techniques apply, you just need to know slightly different libraries.

However, there are drawbacks, mainly in the level of difficulty. Web development has a much lower learning curve. You can begin creating web sites very quickly. The same cannot be said about application programming, however. Even a simple game requires lots of knowledge. For example, a game might require OpenGL in order to draw the game graphics on the screen. In order to do that, you need knowledge of the OpenGL library and how it works. You'll need to integrate the graphics portion of your game with the game mechanics code. Integrating sound into the game is another library. And 3D graphics get even more complex.

Not to say that all application programming is extremely difficult, however. Applications are written for a variety of fields besides games. However, instead of thinking about graphics, you generally have to know algorithms and data structures. A checkbook application would need a database to store the accounts and transactions, for example. A text editor needs to work with files and different content encodings.

If you want to program mobile applications, learning application programming is a great place to start off. The two main mobile platforms are iOS and Android. iOS uses a programming language called Objective-C, which is related to C++. Android uses the Java language. Both C++ and Java are important, closely related programming languages used to build applications, so learning application programming will give you a great leg up if you want to begin mobile work. And it's not just the libraries, but the methods that are similar. While web development is oriented around the web browser, mobile development is built for what is essentially a shrunk-down computer.

All in all, application programming can be tough at times, but it is very rewarding when you're able to look at the program you coded entirely on your own. Once you understand computer science concepts, you're able to create just about anything.

Thanks for reading my article. There's lots more great information written by me about programming languages at [http://programminglanguagehelp.com]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Hollins

How to Learn Your First Programming Language

2014-12-28T13:21:00.000+01:00

Introduction

Programming is a very useful and rewarding hobby. There are few better feelings than when someone sees you using a program you lashed together to make your life easier and says that it looks really useful. Most people have, at some point in their lives, really wanted to be able to do something on their computer or phone and been unable to. If you know a programming language, then there is often a fair chance that you can write a program to accomplish that task yourself. While there are a huge number of programming languages, many of them have a lot of similarities; this means that once you learn one language quite well, in most cases you will be able to pick up a new one far quicker.

Limits

One thing that all new programmers must come to term with is the amount of time learning a programming language takes. Although when you have become an expert you will be able to write many programs quickly, you must remember that many programs have taken whole teams of expert developers years to create. So it is important to understand that knowing a programming language or even several is not enough to write some of the more complex programs you have seen. Don't look upon this new hobby as a way to save yourself a lot of money, as writing your own version of most of the programs that you need to pay for now will be out of your reach.

The most important thing that a new programmer needs to know is that the "Learn Programming in 24 hours" sort of books are simply not true. A more accurate title would be "Learn Programming in 10,000 hours". If you put 24 hours or a week into learning a language you will not be creating the next Windows or a new, state of the art game. It is possible to learn to write a program in 10 minutes, and really all you need to learn a new language is your favourite search engine, but you will not be an expert. The only way to become an expert is much like learning the violin; the answer is practice, practice and practice some more.

Selecting Your First Language

Now that we have examined the limitations and handled some of the more unrealistic expectations, those of you still wanting to learn to code will be happy to know that programming is not a hard thing to start learning and will not require you to pay out huge sums of money. If you are reading this article on-line, you already have the resources to start with some languages, so let us consider what your first language ought to be.

Traditionally the first language a programming newcomer learns is either Visual Basic or Python. The first thing to understand is that these two languages are very different. The simplest difference is one of price. Python is totally free; you can start writing python now with just a text editor on your computer, though if you are on Windows, you will probably need to install it first. However Visual Basic, often abbreviated to VB, is both free and not free. On the upside, VB can be simpler for newcomers to learn because it allows you to build the interfaces (the part of the program the user will see) by dragging and dropping the different parts much like designing it in some basic art application. The version of VB newcomers learn is usually Visual Basic 6, but this is rather outdated and has been discontinued. So these days the version learned is often VB.NET which can be considerably less simple for newcomers.

VB.NET must be developed inside what we call an IDE (Integrated Development Environment); this is basically a special program you use to write other programs. They also exist for Python, but their use is totally optional. The free VB.NET IDE is called Visual Studio Express. At the time of writing, the latest version is Visual Studio Express 2010. Unfortunately, by using the free version of the IDE you are restricted with what you can do, and any programs you create cannot be commercially sold on. Regretfully, the full paid version of the IDE is not cheap, and probably not appropriate for a hobbyist, but fortunately to learn VB the free version is enough. In practice, very few commercial programs are developed in VB these days, but the Visual Studio IDE allows you to use many other languages. The familiarity you will develop by using it will also allow you to use the power of the IDE for development in many other languages. Some will argue that almost every language can be developed in a text editor and that they are by far the most flexible way in which to code. While this is technically true (and I do suggest trying development in a text editor to compare once you get a little better), I would strongly advise learning your first language with a proper IDE.

While traditionally, people learn Python or VB first and these are generally what is taught at schools, I would not suggest either of these. I am of the opinion that your first language should continue to be useful to you one it has served the purpose of helping you learn the fundamentals of programming. If I had to recommend one of these for newcomers, it would be VB.NET as often the most complex part of programming is the graphical side of things and in VB.NET this is very simple due to the drag and drop interface. These two languages are often used as introductions as they are very tolerant of mistakes, and allow you to become confident in programming principles without worrying about a lot of the more complex matters.

For those brave souls among you, I would actually suggest Java as your first language, even though it can be complex, and is therefore not a common choice for a first language. Java programs are different to most others in that they do not run on your computer. The user downloads Java, then your code runs on what is called a VM (Virtual Machine). This means that your code runs in a special place Java sets up for it - a fake copy of your computer - and handles the translation of this to the real machine for you. This means that Java programs are "cross-platform", meaning that they will for the most part run on Windows, Mac, Linux and most other operating systems.

Java is a good language to learn, as it is very widespread and useful. Furthermore, it is very powerful, and is available for free for both hobbyists and commercial uses. However, in contrast to VB and Python, it does not tolerate mistakes and requires you to be very specific about everything. It is also an object-oriented programming language, which is a very complex issue which I will briefly try to summarise. Languages like Python and VB are what is known as procedural languages, meaning that the lines of code are run one after another, whereas Java is an object-oriented language. object-oriented development is a term thrown around a lot these days in the programming world, and while not always appropriate it is generally considered a good idea. At the most basic level, an object-oriented program is all about objects. An object is an "instantiation" of a "class". A class is a blueprint used to describe something like a cat. The class contains both the data about the cat such as its name, age and owner as well as "methods" which are essentially actions the cat can perform, such as miaow. An instance of the class "cat" would give you a particular cat. However, this is not a Java tutorial, so if you are brave enough to experiment with Java you will come across this yourself in more detail. It is worth noting that VB.NET and Python both have support for object-oriented development, and Java has the potential to be used procedurally, but these are not the languages' primary intended uses and are not often used. If you did not understand that comparison, don't worry about it too much. Object orientation is hard to get your head around, but any basic Java or other object-oriented language tutorial will have you understanding everything in that paragraph.

A final reason Java is a good first language is that it is similar in many ways to Javascript, which is an entirely different class of language. Javascript is a scripting language (as is Python), and learning Java will mean you understand Javascript reasonably well. The difference is between scripting languages and normal programming languages is outside the scope of this article, but as a large generalisation scripts are generally used for automated tasks while programs are used interactively by users. This is not totally true, as both types of language are used for both tasks and most web programs are built in Javascript.

As for the actual language you pick, it is entirely up to you. Some may choose the traditional beginner languages or be brave and experiment with Java. Some of you may already have your eye on a language or fancy one of the more specialist languages like Scheme or Prolog. Whatever your choice, the way you will learn how to program is the same.

IDEs, Yes or No?

Many of the purists say that IDEs are a bad idea, and are packed with unnecessary tools and menus that take up disk space and time to learn. While this is true, I feel that an IDE is definitely worthwhile. Many people offer free IDEs, such as Eclipse and Netbeans, for the more popular languages. There is also Visual Studio, which I mentioned previously; it is very intuitive, very powerful and it supports many languages (much as Netbeans and Eclipse do). If you chose to use Java I would suggest Netbeans, as there is a packaged version of Netbeans with the JDK (Java Development Kit). Most languages need an SDK (Software Development Kit) to work with them, and getting it installed properly and linked to the IDE is often the hardest part of the procedure. Visual Studio already comes with the development kits set up, which makes life easier, but other languages like Java and Python can be quite hard to set up properly. This is why I suggested the Netbeans + JDK bundle for those experimenting with Java, as it handles the complex set up for you, which will save you hours of suffering.

There are, in my opinion, three major advantages to using a fully featured IDE. Firstly, they are usually extensible, meaning that there are many free plug-ins that could make your life a lot easier when you get a little more advanced. Secondly, and most importantly, is the ease with which an IDE allows you to debug your code. Most IDEs let you set breakpoints in the code, which will make the program stop when it gets to that point and let you step through it line by line, so you can examine the contents of all the variables at any time. (For those of you who do not know what a variable is, I will briefly explain. A variable is a bit like a train station locker. You ask for one big enough to hold what you want to store, and if what you want to store is the right shape, it can be stored there. When you write a program, any data you want to store temporarily will be held in one of these until you are done with it.) As the old programming saying goes, if you have not found any bugs, you are not looking hard enough. Almost no non-trivial program will work first time, and trying to work out where the problem lies without the use of a debugger is a pain I would not wish on anyone. Finally, an IDE will often give you advice on how to fix issues in the code. This can be very useful for fixing bugs, and saves you having to resort to Google every other minute.

Learning the Language

Now that you have a language and an IDE, it is finally time to learn the language. This, as you may or may not be surprised to learn, is not complex at all - it is simply time consuming. To learn programming for the first time, there is no better way than exploration. Buying a book that walks you through steps will not teach you anything, as you will not understand the reasoning behind what they are doing, and people often get disheartened by the tedium.

The key to learning programming is to have a goal. Think of a task, such as a system to keep track of where you are in all the various TV shows you watch, or a system to let you look at all the books you own in a particular category, or, if you feel brave, try to replicate part of something that you use on a regular basis. My advice would be to start small, perhaps by making a sequence of message boxes that insults the user or a really simple calculator. It is important when you first start that your goals are interesting, challenging and entertaining. If you try to make really boring programs you will quickly get disheartened, so try to inject some comedy into your program. The calculator is a very good introductory program, but after you get the general idea it is important to set quite ambitious goals, as if you keep doing simple things you will never learn anything new. It is important to try to incorporate some of the knowledge you have gained from previous work. One of the reasons most books fail to teach programming well is that they use small examples for each thing they introduce, whereas what you really need to do is plan the task without considering what you will need to accomplish it. This means you will be able to code some of it using what you already know, but most importantly, you will not know how to code some of it. The best way to learn is to learn by doing. Go for a full program that does a task you wanted to do on a computer in the past, work on it, and when you are finished you will have learned a lot and you will have a useful (or at least entertaining) program which is far better than some toy program demonstrating lists.

I have said that you learn by choosing to do projects where you are unable to do certain sections, thus requiring you to learn, but how do you go about finding out how to do them? It's simple, and most likely the way you found this article. Go to your favourite search engine (like Google) and search for what you want to do - for example, search "drop down list Java" to find some examples of using drop down lists in Java. Because you will need it for another task, and not just to re-do the same thing the examples did, you will have to play with the examples you find and try to get them to do what you want. Just search each bit you need, and before long you will find that most of the basics are as natural as waking up in the morning, and you did it all without spending a small fortune on books, without getting bored and hopefully while being entertained. To this day, if I am bored, I sometimes break out one of my very first programs which is just a list of boxes and a random number generator. It is your task to try to fill all the boxes such that the numbers the random number generator gives you are in ascending order - if you don't leave space and can't fit a number in a hole then you lose and must start again. It's a simple program, but it took a lot of work when I first made it and I learned a lot from the experience.

Once you have a few decent sized programs under your belt, you will find that you know the language well. You will also find that it is rare, no matter how well you know a language, to be able to write a program without resorting to Google at least once just to check something. So with that in mind, it could be argued that you learned the language without ever actually trying to learn it. Clearly there are standards and good practices that you may not pick up on your own, but as you see more examples and read the comments you will find you adopt your own standards rather rapidly.

Learning Another Language

Once you have learned one language, whatever it may be, the most valuable thing you will have learned is all the key words for searches. When you want to do something in a new language, you need only search what you want to do and the language name. However, by now you will know the names used to refer to what you want to do, allowing your searches to be more effective and yield examples and answers much more quickly. As the fundamentals of programming are mostly the same, regardless of the language you use, you will hopefully be able to guess at the meaning of most of the code much more effectively once you locate an example, allowing you to pick up most of the language very quickly indeed.

Conclusion

If you take nothing else away from this article, remember that the best way to learn a skill is practice, practice and practice some more, so don't expect to become an expert overnight. Remember that programming is not something that can be learned overnight, and that to become a passable expert you probably need to spend at least 10,000 hours programming, so you will need to find ways to remain motivated. Don't think of it as learning to program - rather, just start programming, and before you know it you will be an expert. Programming is a skill, and while it is quite simple once you have the feel of it, it can be quite daunting to see your little calculator that took you a week and then to consider a modern game like "Batman: Arkham City" and realise how far you have to go.

Programming is easy when you know how, but is not a trivial thing to learn, so it is important that you set yourself tasks. These tasks should preferably be interesting and, better yet, entertaining, as these will be what keeps you programming and learning more and more until, one day, you wake up and realise that you know quite a lot. You are your own best tutor and the key is simply to jump in and get started.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dexter_A_Lowe

3 Tips For More Productive Programming

2014-12-28T13:20:00.000+01:00

Ever find that you just can't get "into the zone" with your projects? Do you keep putting off your hobby because you're too tired from the day job? Read on for some ways that have helped me overcome the part-time programmer's block.

1. Immerse Yourself in Code

If you've ever read Steve Pavlina's articles, you'll understand this tip a lot better. If not, step one is not going to be immerse yourself in code, but instead head over to Steve Pavlina's site and read his articles on motivation and getting things done.

When I say immerse yourself in code, I don't mean overwhelm yourself or force yourself to just sit and stare at code all day. I'm saying wake up each morning and start telling yourself that you WANT to program. During the day job, as often as you can without affecting your job performance (that day job is going to be real important down the road when you start paying for web hosting and things of that nature) day-dream about programming. Think about what you're going to program, the steps involved and start making a map for how you're going to go about programming whatever it is you want to program.

Always think of it in a positive way though. This is a very important part of this step. If you ever find yourself at your job saying "darn, I don't get off for another 4 hours and then I HAVE to go and program..." stop immediately. Don't program. Take a few days off from it and relax. Come back refreshed and fired up with new ideas.

What I found works for me is during my day job, usually about once an hour, I'll just start envisioning what I'm going to be working on when I get off. I plan out what I'll need to learn to accomplish it, where I'll find that particular information, and how I'll go about tying it into my project. If I already know how to program it, I'll just start thinking about specific implementations.

2. Use a TODO List

I've said this before but I'll say it again. Programmers are great with TODO lists but no so great with organizing said lists.

Everyday before you sit down to program, write up a quick TODO list for the day. Make it realistic and achievable. As soon as you finish this list, you're done. No more programming for the day.

What I've found is a great help for me is to keep a TODO.txt file in my project. Everyday when I sit down to program, I fill it out with between 3 to 5 things that I know I can get done in a few hours max. I usually try and stick to a time-frame of no more than 3 hours of straight programming. If that means I can only get one large task done, so be it. If it means 8 small tasks, so be it. The time spent working on the project is more important than the number of tasks you finish.

Realism is the key here. When you first start a new project, you may be tempted to sit down and write up a nice long 30 item list of things that need to be done and then spend your day bouncing through the list and deciding which items you want to do first. When I do this I usually end up spending more time choosing what I want to work on than actually working on something useful.

However, don't shoot down that 30 item list altogether. Smaller tasks can be more motivating because you feel like you've accomplished more in your day. If you must have that 30 item day, break down your larger tasks into smaller tasks, but keep everything in the form of a 1-2-3 list. In other words, assign the order in which you work on a task so that you don't get caught up deciding "what's next?" all day instead of programming.

Just keep in mind the time-frame of whatever you choose to work on. For example, when I start a new project, I know I can write the necessary Windows code in less than an hour. I've written that code so many times I can do it with my eyes shut in less than an hour every time. So I usually only count that as about a third of the total tasks I'll be doing in that particular day.

As you go through your list, mark off what you finish and when you're completely done erase the file and shutdown your compiler, you're done for the day. I usually keep two separate files, one to keep a record of all my TODO files to date, and one with the daily TODOs. The accumulation of all my TODOs is stored in one file as a record for myself to help me stay motivated by seeing all the progress I've made, and one is just a list of things that must be done in my current programming session.

3. Minimize Your Distractions

This one is key to staying "in the zone."*

Do whatever is necessary to stay focused on the task at hand. I use instrumental music to tone out background noises (music with singers tend to distract more than they aid as your mind tends to follow the lyrics). I lock my door so nobody disturbs me. I use every keyboard short cut that I possibly can to avoid touching the mouse (you're a lot more likely to pull up your web browser or start doing something else when your hand is on the mouse). Sometimes, when I find myself really wandering, I'll even unplug my internet.

This step is extremely important. Each time you lose your focus, you're losing valuable time. For me, every time someone or something distracts me, it'll take me a good 15 minutes to get back into the zone. This is just wasteful. So when I plan on doing some serious, in-depth work on my project, I do everything I can to defend my state of productivity.

Utilize these 3 steps together and I promise you'll be a much more efficient programmer.

* I keep saying "in the zone" but if you're not familiar with the term as it relates to programming, I'm probably just confusing you. When you're accustomed to a programming language enough so that you don't have to think too hard before you start writing each line of code, you'll find that after 15-20 minutes of programming you feel like you take a step out of your body and the only thing you think of is the code, especially if you're a decent typist and you don't have to think about the keyboard either. This is the optimal time to write code as you can finish up thousands of lines of code in mere hours, and most of it will be effective, legible code.

This article has been brought to you by Steve Healy [http://stevehealy.net]. If you enjoyed it, take a look at this article: Kick-Start Your Productivity [http://stevehealy.net/kick-start-your-productivity].

Steve is currently working on becoming a full-time indie game developer. His blog is being used to document the creation of his first indie game, which will hopefully be released for free.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Healy

Steps in Program Development

2014-12-28T13:19:00.000+01:00

Computer programming is an art. Many people believe that a programmer must be good at mathematics, have a memory for figures and technical information, and be prepared to spend many hours sitting at a computer, typing programs. However, given the right tools and steps to follow, anyone can write well designed programs. It is a task worth doing, as it is both stimulating and fulfilling.

Programming can be defined as the development of a solution to and identified problem, and the setting up of a related series of instructions that, when directed through computer hardware, will produce the desired results. It is the first part of this definition that satisfies the programmer's creative needs; that is, to design a solution to an identified problem. Yet this step is so often overlooked. Leaping straight into the coding phase without first designing a proper solution usually results in a program that contains many errors. Often the programmer then needs to spend a significant amount of time finding these errors and correcting them. A more experienced programmer will design a solution to the program first, desk check this solution, and then code the program in a chosen programming language.

These are seven basic steps in the development of a program, as follows.

1. Define the problem

This step involves carefully reading and rereading the problem until you understand completely what is required. To help with this initial analysis, the problem should be divided into three separate components: the inputs, the outputs, the processing steps to produce the required outputs. A defining diagram is recommended in this analysis phase, as it helps to separate and define the three components.

2. Outline the solution

Once the problem has been defined, you may decide to break it down into smaller tasks or steps, and establish solution outline. This initial outline is usually a rough draft of the solution. The solution outline may also include a hierarchy or structure chart.

3. Develop the outline into an algorithm

The solution outline developed in Step 2 is then expanded into an algorithm: a set of precise steps that describe exactly the tasks to be performed and the order in which they are to be carried out. This book uses pseudocode to represent the solution algorithm.

4. Test the algorithm for correctness

This step is one of the most important in the development of a program and yet it is the step most often bypassed. The main purpose of desk checking the algorithm is to identify major logic errors early, so that they may be easily corrected. Test data needs to be walked through each step in the algorithm to check that the instructions described in the algorithm will actually do what they supposed to.

5. Code the algorithm into a specific programming language

Only after all design considerations in the previous four steps have been met should you actually start to code the program into your chosen programming language.

6. Run program on the computer

This step uses a program compiler and programmer-designed test data to machine test the code for syntax error and logic error. This is usually the most rewarding step in the program development process. This step may need to be performed several times until you are satisfied that the program is running as required.

7. Document and maintain the program

Program documentation should not be listed as the last step in the program development process, as it is really an ongoing task form the initial definition of the problem to the final test result. Documentation includes both external documentation and internal documentation that may have been coded in the program.

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How to Build Your Own Software Without Programming Skills

2014-12-28T13:18:00.000+01:00

When it is about programming you really have to choose from two roads. You will either study a lot, for years, in order to acquire programming skills, or you will choose the "easy" road with which you can create your own software without any programming skill!

If you follow the hard road you have to have it in you. You will need to study a lot and expand your talent which God has provide to you. You will need years of patience and testing your powers. Your experience will grow as time goes by and your actual programming skills will start to become live through you. The down side is that, this will take time and as I said, you have to have it in you. The benefits for you will be great though especially at a later stage of your life. That is, of you are still a young person.

The "easy" road, if you really want to become a programmer in such way, has two small and easier roads from which you are supposed to choose from. You will either use a software generator to create your software or you will hire a professional programmer to do the job. For both of these small roads you have to invest money but in the case of hiring a programmer you will need a significant amount of money.

If you want to choose a software generator then you must choose wisely. You will find literally thousands of these generators online. They will promise you a lot. The truth is, these tools let you create and sell your own profitable software products. Without any programming skills. No need to spend thousands of dollars to hire programmers or waste your time learning a scripting language. But what kind of software will you create? That's another story. What kind of features will it include, how user-friendly will it be, will it do the work that it was created for.

I will not try to sell you another software generator. I am talking about a product [http://www.digitalstarproducts.com/star/-detail-205.html] with which you can become your own programmer and get paid for it! You will be able to create the same software other people pay programmers thousands of dollars for. Even if you are not a programmer, even if you don't have any programming skill. Try this method [http://www.digitalstarproducts.com/star/-detail-205.html] and start creating and selling software like a professional.

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I Want To Start Programming - Which Programming Language Should I Learn First?

2014-12-28T13:17:00.000+01:00

There are many computer languages to choose from when you are looking to start programming. There are also many factors to take into account such as:

What do you want to program? Software? Games? Plugins? Scripts?
Are you going to be programming online?
How much money will you need to pay for the compiler, hardware, etc.?

Personally I would recommend Python. Python is very easy learn, and doesn't have as many rules as other programming languages. Here are a couple examples:

In C++, the popular Hello, world! program is:

#include stdout

int main()

{

std::cout << "Hello, world!n";

}

The same program in Python would be:

print "Hello, world!"

Both have the output: Hello, world!

Huge difference, huh? Python's code is cleaner than some of the other languages out there. With cleaner code comes easier readablity which translates to better understanding of the code. This is definitely an advantage when making changes to code that is already in place.

Python is also a very powerful language, able to do most anything that C++ or Java can do, and in some cases more. Such as extending classes (this brought on Jython, a python-integration into Java that allows programmers much more flexibility). Many programmer's will program in C++, but yet they will still use python for binding scripts and such.

Want scripts on your website? Most web hosts support Python for your scripts and again, they are a lot cleaner than PHP.

Forget about assembling and compiling. In python, you can run your programs right away and immediately track down any bugs or glitches.

If you are interested making games. Python has extended libraries, such as pygame or pyglet, available. There are 3-d game engines such as Blender that have python script support to give you more flexibility.

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Program Testing And Debugging

2014-12-28T13:16:00.000+01:00

Testing and debugging refer to the tasks of detecting and removing errors in a program, so that the program produces the desired result on all occasions. Every programmer should be aware of the fact that rarely does a program run perfectly the first time. No matter how thoroughly the design is carried out, and no matter how much care is taken in coding, one can never say that the program would be 100 per cent error-free. It is therefore necessary to make efforts do detect, isolate, and correct any errors that are likely to be present in the program.

Types of Errors

There might be other errors, some obvious and others not so obvious. All the4se errors can be classified under four types, namely, syntax errors, run-time errors, logical errors, and latent errors.

Syntax error: Any violation of rules of the language results in syntax errors. The compiler can detect and isolate such errors. When syntax errors are present, the compilation fails and is terminated after listing the errors and the line numbers in the source program, where the errors have occurred. Remember, in some cases, the line number may not exactly indicate the place of the error. in other cases, on syntax error may result in a long list of errors. Correction of one or two errors at the beginning of the program may eliminate the entire list.

Run-time errors: Errors such as a mismatch of date types or referencing an out-of -range array element go undetected by the compiler. A program with these mistakes will run, but produce erroneous results and therefore, the name run-time errors is given to such errors. Isolating a run-time error is usually a difficult task.

Logical errors: As the name implies, these errors are related to the logic of the program execution. Such actions as taking a wrong path, failure to consider a particular condition, and incorrect order of evaluation, of statements belong to this category. Logical errors do not show up as compile-generated error messages. Rather, they cause incorrect results. These errors are primarily due to a poor understanding of the problem, incorrect translation. of the algorithm into the program.

Latent errors: It is a 'hidden' error that shows up only when a particular set of data is used. For example, consider the following statement

ratio=(x+y)/(p-q);

An error occurs only when 'p' and 'q' are equal. An error of this kind can be detected only by using all possible combination of test data.

Program Testing

Testing is the process of reviewing and executing a program with the intent of detecting errors, which may be belong to any of the four kinds discussed above. We know that while the compiler can detect syntactic and semantic errors, it cannot detect run-time and logical errors that show up during the execution of the program. Testing, therefore, should include necessary steps to detect all possible errors in the program. It is, however, important to remember that it is impractical to find all errors. Testing process may include the following two stages:

1. Human testing

2. Computer-based testing

Human testing: It is an effective error-detection process and is done before the computer-based testing begins. Human resting methods include code inspection by the programmer, code inspection by a test group, and a review by a peer group. The test is carried out statement by statement and is analyzed with respect to a checklist of common programming errors. In addition to finding the errors, the programming style and choice of algorithm are also reviewed.

Computer-based testing: This involves two stages, namely compiler testing and run-time testing. Compiler testing is the simplest of the two and detects yet undiscovered syntax errors. The program executes when the compiler detects no more errors. Should it mean that the program is correct? Will it produce the expected results? The answer is negative. The program may still contain run-time and logic errors.

Run-time errors may produce run-time error messages such as "null pointer assignment" and "stack overflow". When the program is free from all such errors, it produces output which might or might not be correct. Now comes the crucial test, the test for the expected output. The goal is to ensure that the program produces expected results under all conditions of input data.

Test for correct output is done using test data with known results for the purpose of comparison. The most important consideration here is the design or invention of effective test data. A useful criteria for test data is that all the various conditions and path that the processing may take during execution must be tested.

Program testing can be done either at module (function) level or at program level. Module level test, often known as unit test, is conducted on each of the modules to uncover errors within the boundary of the module. Unit testing becomes simple when a module is designed to perform only one function.

Once all modules are unit tested, they should be integrated together to perform the desired function(s). They are likely to be interfacing problems, such as data mismatch between the modules. An integration test is performed to discover errors associated with interfacing.

Program Debugging

Debugging is the process of isolating and correcting and correcting the errors. One simple method of debugging is to place print statements throughout the program to display the values of variables. It displays the dynamics of a program and allows us to examine and compare the information at various points. Once the location of an error is identified and the error corrected, the debugging statements may be removed. We can use the conditional compilation statements, discussed in Chapter 14, to switch on or off the debugging statements.

Another approach is to sue the process of deduction. The location of an error is arrived at using the process of elimination and refinement. This is done using a list of possible causes of the error.

PROGRAM EFFICIENCY

Two critical resources of a computer system are execution time and memory. The efficiency of a program is measured in terms of these two resources. Efficiency can be improved with good design and coding practices.

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How to Learn Computer Programming Fast

2014-12-28T13:11:00.000+01:00

Computer programming is not for everyone, working with computers constantly is hard work not physical work but very much mental. The drawbacks of working with computer are you cannot really work outside, tired eye and some days I personally cannot go near my computer. In saying that I love working with computers. My first computer was a commador 64bit and since then technology has integrated into nearly everything in modern life.

One huge lie is that you need a college degree to work as a computer programmer.
Computer Programming has well paid jobs anywhere in the world, if you feel up to the task of learning a useful new skill. It is possible that you can learn computer programming in under 4 weeks if devoted enough.

I find it hard to dedicate oneself to learning no matter what age, but I believe with the right motivation anyone can learn to do anything, and start a new career in one of the fastest growing sectors in the world. You can learn from experts worldwide and learn what you need to know for the high paying Programming jobs. The first time I looked at computer code and languages I was totally confused, but I learned the computer languages and after practice to code quicker.

You can learn databases and software to become a programming. Pick the best computer languages for you to use. Information, techniques and hands on experience will lower your learning curve, increase your chances of a job, where to find jobs with these new found skills and lower your learning time dramatically.

I believe the best way to learn anything is to have a study plan which allows you to use your time more efficiently as if you have children and work. That's why I like home learning you can take you time no rush learn the way that best suits you. You can learn all the skills of the computer programming that are required for the higher paying contract work.

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I learned computer programming and I personally really enjoy my job but it more like a hobby for me than work. So if computer programming is something that you wanted to do for a long time, you should not wait! Start learning now, enjoy a better job and live your dream.

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