Problem Solving and Programming Concepts (SSE5101)

TOPIC 1 - Programming Concepts

• Components and Programming Languages
• Programming Phase
• Error and debugging
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this topic, student should be able to:

1. Analyse problem solving techniques by developing

algorithms. (C4)
2. Construct good programming and suitable techniques to
represent and edit data in computer memories. (P4)
3. Solve problems using suitable data structure and
programming techniques. (CTPS)

• GROUP PROJECT (50%)

• ASSESSMENT 1 (20%)
• FINAL EXAM (30%)
• Albert Einstein said:
“If I had an hour to solve a problem,
I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about
the problem and 5 minutes thinking
about solutions.”

• Tony Robbins said:

“Leaders spend 5% of their time on the
problem and 95% of their time on the
solution.”
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Problem Definition
A distinction can be made between “task” and “problem.” Generally, a task is a
well-defined piece of work that is usually imposed by another person and may be
burdensome.
A problem is generally considered to be a task, a situation, or person which is
difficult to deal with or control due to complexity and intransparency. In everyday
language, a problem is a question proposed for solution, a matter stated for
examination or proof. In each case, a problem is considered to be a matter which is
difficult to solve or settle, a doubtful case, or a complex task involving doubt and
uncertainty.
 • Identify the problem
• Understand the problem
• Identify alternative ways to solve the
Steps to problem
Ensure Best • Select the best way to solve the
problem from the list of alternative
Solution solutions
• List instructions that enable you to
solve the problem using the selected
solution
• Evaluate the solution
 Computer Components
What is a Computer?

◦ An electronic device that performs computations, logical operations, stores and

processes data according to some prescribed sequence of instructions called a computer
program.

◦ hardware - physical components of a computer, physical aspect of the computer that

can be seen

◦ software - programs in which contents invisible instructions that control the hardware
and make it perform specific tasks.

◦ Computer programming consists of writing instructions for computers to perform.

◦ You can learn a programming language without knowing computer hardware, but you
will be better able to understand the effect of the instructions in the program if you do.
 What is a Computer?
A computer consists of a CPU, memory, hard disk, floppy disk, monitor, printer,
and communication devices.

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The Hardware

• The major hardware components:

• The central processing unit (CPU)
• Primary or random-access memory (RAM)
• Secondary or long-term memory
• Input and output devices (I/O devices)
• Communication devices
 The Central Processing Unit
 The CPU does:
◦ the computing
◦ the processing
◦ the bulk of the work
 Important components of the CPU:
◦ arithmetic and logic unit (ALU)
◦ control unit (CU)
◦ registers
 The Central Processing Unit
• The ALU performs calculations, billions per second

• The CU controls or coordinates which calculations the ALU performs

• Registers – to hold data and instructions temporarily for execution

• The CPU clock determines how frequently the computer hardware executes instructions.

• A system’s hardware components are synchronized with the clock. Every time the clock
ticks, another hardware action occurs.
Primary and Random Access MemoryUnit

• How Data is Stored:

• binary format
• a sequence of 0’s and 1's called bits.

• ASCII encoding:
• ‘a’ is represented by 01100001
• ‘b’ is encoded as 01100010

• A sequence of eight bits is called a byte.

Where is Data Stored?

• When the CPU executes a program, the

program instructions, along with relevant
data, are stored in primary memory.

• Primary memory is also known as random

access memory (RAM) because data may be
retrieved or accessed in random, rather than
sequential, order.

• You can conceptualize RAM as a collection of

storage cells or boxes, each capable of holding
just a single byte of information.

• A unique number, or memory address,

identifies each such storage cell.
 Secondary Storage
 Second Storage  Secondary memory devices:
◦ Long term  hard disks
◦ Permanent storage  tapes

 CDs

 flash memory sticks.

 The programs that you use every day such as word processors, spreadsheets, and
games are permanently stored on secondary storage devices.
 Compared to RAM, secondary memory is, in general, cheaper (per bit), slower,
larger, electromechanical rather than electronic, and persistent: secondary
memory devices do not lose their values when you turn off the computer.
 Input/Output Devices
 Standard Input Devices:  Output devices:
◦ keyboards  Monitors
◦ mouses  Printers
◦ joysticks  speakers
◦ stylus pens
◦ cameras
◦ microphones
 Communication Devices
A regular modem uses a phone line and can transfer data in a speed up to 56,000 bps (bits
per second).
A DSL (digital subscriber line) also uses a phone line and can transfer data in a speed 20
times faster than a regular modem.
A cable modem uses the TV cable line maintained by the cable company. A cable modem is
as fast as a DSL.
Network interface card (NIC) is a device to connect a computer to a local area network (LAN).
The LAN is commonly used in business, universities, and government organizations. A typical
type of NIC, called 10BaseT, can transfer data at 10 mbps (million bits per second).

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Programs

• Computer programs, known as software, are instructions

to the computer.

• You tell a computer what to do through programs. Without

programs, a computer is an empty machine. Computers do
not understand human languages, so you need to use
computer languages to communicate with them.

• Programs are written using programming languages.

Programming Language

• Programming Language is an agreed upon

format of symbols that allow a
programmer to instruct a computer to
perform certain predefined tasks.

• Provide features to support the data

processing activities, which include
declaring variables, evaluating numeric
expressions, assigning values to variables,
reading and writing data to devices,
looping and making decisions.
Machine Languages

• Is the natural language of a computer.

• Does not need to translate and is ready for immediate execution.

• Machine language instruction is a binary string of 0s and 1s.

• 0101 1000 0001 0000 1100 0000 0001 0000

• Are machine-dependent
• each computer type has its own machine language.

• Programs written in machine languages are not portable because

programs written in for one type of computer cannot be run on
another type
Assembly Languages
◦ Consists of English-like abbreviations.

◦ Program written in assembly languages cannot be directly processed by a computer.

◦ Must use language translators, called assemblers, to convert them to machine code.

◦ Disadvantages:
◦ In general, each assembly language instruction corresponds to one machine
language instruction. Therefore, the programs written in them are lengthy.

◦ Because of variations in assembly languages, programs written using them are not
portable.

◦ For example ADDF3 R1, R2, R3

High-Level languages
• Instructions are quite English-like, and a single instruction can be
written to correspond to many operations at the machine level.

• For example, the following is a high-level language statement that

computes the area of a circle with radius 5:
area = 5 * 5 * 3.1415;

• Are easier to learn than machine or assembly languages.

• Have to be converted to machine languages before they can be

executed using compilers, system software that translates a source
program into an almost executable object program
Popular High-Level Languages

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 Interpreting/Compiling Source Code
◦ A program written in a high-level language is called a source program.

◦ Since a computer cannot understand a source program, a source program must be translated into machine
code for execution.

◦ A compiler is a program used to translate the source program into a machine language program called an
object program.

◦ The object program is often then linked with other supporting library code before the object can be executed
on the machine.

◦ You can port a source program to any machine with appropriate compilers.

◦ The source program must be recompiled, however, because the object program can only run on a specific
machine.

◦ Nowadays computers are networked to work together.

 Interpreting Source Code

An interpreter reads one statement from the source code, translates

it to the machine code or virtual machine code, and then executes it
right away, as shown in the following figure. Note that a statement
from the source code may be translated into several machine
instructions.

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 Compiling Source Code

A compiler translates the entire source code into a machine-code file,

and the machine-code file is then executed, as shown in the following
figure.

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Operating Systems:

◦ The operating system (OS) is a program that

manages and controls a computer’s activities.

◦ You are probably using Windows 98, NT, ME,

2000, XP, VISTA, Windows 7 or 8, 10, 11, 12
(2024) or macOS

◦ Windows is currently the most popular PC

operating system.

◦ Application programs such as an Internet

browser and a word processor cannot run
without an operating system.
 Java Programming Language

• Why Java?
• The answer is that Java enables users to deploy applications on
the Internet for servers, desktop computers, and small hand-
held devices.

• The future of computing will be profoundly influenced by the

Internet, and Java promises to remain a big part of that future.
• Java is a general-purpose programming language.
• Java is the Internet programming language.
Java, Web, and Beyond

• Java can be used to develop Web applications.

• Java Applets
• Java programs that run from a Web Browser
• Applets use a modern graphical user interface with buttons, text fields etc.
to interact with users on the web and process their request.

• Java Servlets and JavaServer Pages

• Application on server.
• Run from a web server to generate dynamic Web pages.
• Example: self-test website

• Java can also be used to develop applications for hand-held devices such as
Palm and cell phones
 
Java’s History
• James Gosling and Sun Microsystems
• Originally called Oak
• Java, May 20, 1995, Sun World
• HotJava
• The first Java-enabled Web browser
• Early History Website:
• http://java.sun.com/features/1998/05/birthday.html
 
Companion
Website Characteristics of Java
• Java Is Simple
• Java Is Object-Oriented
• Java Is Distributed
• Java Is Interpreted
• Java Is Robust
• Java Is Secure
• Java Is Architecture-Neutral
• Java Is Portable
• Java's Performance
• Java Is Multithreaded
• Java Is Dynamic
www.cs.armstrong.edu/liang/JavaCharacteristics.pdf
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• The Java Language Specification, API, JDK and IDE
• The Java language specification is a technical definition of the
language that includes the syntax and semantics of the Java
programming language.

• Application Program Interface (API) contains predefined

classes and interfaces for developing Java programs.
(http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/)

• Three editions of the Java API: Java 2 Standard Edition

(J2SE), Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and Java 2 Micro
Edition (J2ME).
 JDK Version (Java Development Kit)
◦ JDK Alpha and Beta (1995)
◦ JDK 1.0 (1996) – codename Oak
◦ JDK 1.1 (1997) …. JDK 10.0 (2018)

Major changes
◦ J2SE 1.2 (a.k.a JDK 1.2, 1998) – codename Playground
◦ J2SE 1.3 (a.k.a JDK 1.3, 2000) – codename Kestrel
◦ J2SE 1.4 (a.k.a JDK 1.4, 2002) – codename Merlin
◦ J2SE 5.0 (a.k.a JDK 1.5, 2004) – codename Tiger
◦ Java SE 6 (a.k.a JDK 6, 2009) – codename Mustang
◦ Java SE 7 (a.k.a JDK 7, 2011) – codename Dolphin
◦ Java SE 8 (a.k.a JDK 8, 2014)
Java SE Version     Java SE Version  Version Number  Release Date
Version Number Release Date
     
      Java SE 9 9  September, 21st 2017
JDK 1.0 1.0 January 1996  
(Oak)
       
Java SE 10 10  March, 20th 2018
       
JDK 1.1 1.1 February 1997
       
Java SE 11 11  September, 25th 2018
       
J2SE 1.2 1.2 December 1998
(Playground)      
Java SE 12 12 March, 19th 2019
         
J2SE 1.3 1.3 May 2000
(Kestrel)    
Java SE 13 13 September, 17th 2019
       
J2SE 1.4 1.4 February 2002
(Merlin)     
Java SE 14 14  March, 17th 2020
       
J2SE 5.0 1.5 September 2004
(Tiger)    
Java SE 15 15 September, 15th 2020
       
Java SE 6 1.6 December 2006
   
(Mustang) Java SE 16 March, 16th 2021
16
       
Java SE 7 1.7 July 2011
 
(Dolphin) Java SE 17 17 Sept 14th 2021
     
Java SE 8 1.8  March 2014
Java SE 18 18 March 22nd, 2022
 

Ref : https://www.codejava.net/java-se/java-se-versions-history
 JDK Editions
◦ Java Development Toolkit (JDK) consists of a set of separate programs
for developing and testing Java programs.

◦ Java Standard Edition (J2SE)

 J2SE can be used to develop client-side standalone applications or
applets.

◦ Java Enterprise Edition (J2EE)

 Java EE can be used to develop server-side applications such as Java
servlets and Java ServerPages.

◦ Java Micro Edition (J2ME).

 Java ME can be used to develop applications for mobile devices such
as cell phones.

This course uses J2SE to introduce Java programming.

• Java IDE Tools
• A Java development tool is software that provides an integrated development
environment (IDE) for rapidly developing Java programs, such as:
• Borland JBuilder
• NetBeans Open Source by Sun
• Sun ONE Studio by Sun MicroSystems
• Eclipse Open Source by IBM

• Editing, compiling, building, debugging, and online help are integrated in one
graphical user interface.

• Just enter source code in one window or open an existing file in a window, then
click a button, menu item, or function key to compile and run the program.
 A Simple Program (IDE tool – eclipse)
• Example
 A Simple Program (IDE tool – BlueJ)
https://www.bluej.org/
• Example
 Creating and Editing Using NotePad

DOS prompt – use command cmd

To use NotePad, type command
notepad Welcome.java
Creating and Editing Using WordPad

To use WordPad, type

write Welcome.java
from the DOS prompt.

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• Creating, Compiling, and Running Programs
 Compiling Java Source Code Learn More

• You can port a source program to any machine with

appropriate compilers.
• The source program must be recompiled, however, because
the object program can only run on a specific machine.
Nowadays computers are networked to work together. Java
was designed to run object programs on any platform.
• With Java, you write the program once, and compile the
source program into a special type of object code, known as
bytecode.
• The bytecode can then run on any computer with a Java
Virtual Machine, as shown below. Java Virtual Machine is a
software that interprets Java bytecode.

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animation

Trace a Program Execution

Enter main method

//This program prints Welcome to Java!

public class Welcome {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}
}

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animation

Trace a Program Execution

Execute statement

//This program prints Welcome to Java!

public class Welcome {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}
}

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animation

Trace a Program Execution

//This program prints Welcome to Java!

public class Welcome {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}
}

print a message to the

console

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 Anatomy of a Java Program

Reserved
Comments Package Modifiers
words

Statements Blocks Classes Methods

The main
method
 Comments
Comments are ignored by the compiler.
//… (one line), or
/* …. */ (for one or multiple lines)
• When the compiler sees //, it ignores all text after // in the same line.
• When it sees /*, it scans for the next */ and ignores any text between /* and */.

//This program prints Welcome to Java!

public class Welcome {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}
}
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 Reserved words More Info

Reserved words or keywords are words that have a specific meaning to

the compiler and cannot be used for other purposes in the program.
For example, when the compiler sees the word class, it understands
that the word after class is the name for the class.

//This program prints Welcome to Java!

public class Welcome {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}
}
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 Class Name
Every Java program must have at least one class.
Each class has a name.
By convention, class names start with an uppercase letter.
In this example, the class name is Welcome.

//This program prints Welcome to Java!

public class Welcome {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}
}
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 Methods
What is System.out.println("Welcome to Java!" )?
It is a method: a collection of statements that performs a sequence
of operations to display a message on the console.
It can be used even without fully understanding the details of how
it works.

//This program prints Welcome to Java!

public class Welcome {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
} string argument
}
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 Main Method
• Line 2 defines the main method. In order to run a class, the class
must contain a method named main.
• The program is executed from the main method.

//This program prints Welcome to Java!

public class Welcome {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}
}
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 Statement
A statement represents an action or a sequence of actions.
The statement
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!")
in the program in Listing 1.1 is a statement to display the greeting
"Welcome to Java!“.

//This program prints Welcome to Java!

public class Welcome {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}
}
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Statement Terminator

Every statement in Java ends with a semicolon (;).

//This program prints Welcome to Java!

public class Welcome {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}
}
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Blocks
A pair of braces in a program forms a block that groups
components of a program.

// This program prints Welcome to Java!

public class Welcome {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}
} 52
Special Symbols

Name Description

{} Braces Block to enclose statements

() Parentheses Used with methods

[] Brackets Array

// Double slashes Precedes a comment line

“” Quotation marks Enclosing a string (sequence of characters)

; Semicolon Marks the end of a statement

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Programming Or Implementation Phase

• Transcribing the logical flow of solution steps in flowchart or algorithm

to program code and run the program code on a computer using a
programming language.

• Programming phase takes 5 stages:

• Coding.
• Compiling.
• Debugging.
• Run or Testing.
• Documentation and maintenance.

• Once the program is coded using one of the programming language, it

will be compiled to ensure there is no syntax error. Syntax free program
will then be executed to produce output and subsequently maintained
and documented for later reference.
 Requirement
SDLC Analysis

Evolution Design

Evaluation Implementation
 CODING

COMPILE THE MAKE

PROGRAM CORRECTION

SYNTAX YES
ERROR ?

NO
EXECUTE OR
RUN

DOCUMENTATION OR
MAINTENANCE
Programming Phase: Coding
◦ Translation or conversion of each operation in the flowchart or
algorithm (pseudocode) into a computer-understandable language.

◦ Coding should follow the format of the chosen programming

language.

◦ Many types or levels of computer programming language such as:

 Machine language
 Symbolic language or assembly language
 Procedure-oriented language

◦ The first two languages are also called low-level programming

language. While the last one is called high-level programming
language.
Programming Phase: Compiling
• Compiling is a process of a compiler translates a program
written in a particular high–level programming language into a
form that the computer can execute.

• The compiler will check the program code know also as source
code so that any part of the source code that does not follow
the format or any other language requirements will be flagged
as syntax error.
Programming Phase: Debugging
• This syntax error in also called bug, when error is found the
programmer will debug or correct the error and then
recompile the source code again.

• The debugging process is continued until there is no more

error in the program.
Programming Phase: Run or Testing
• The program code that contains no more error is called
executable program. It is ready to be tested.

• When it is tested, the data is given and the result is verified so

that it should produced output as intended.

• Though the program is error free, sometimes it does not

produced the right result. In this case the program faces logic
error.

• Incorrect sequence of instruction is an example that causes

logic error.
Programming Phase: Documentation and Maintenance
• When the program is thoroughly tested for a substantial period of time and it
is consistently producing the right output, it can be documented.

• Documentation is important for future reference. Other programmer may take

over the operation of the program and the best way to understand a program is
by studying the documentation.

• Trying to understand the logic of the program by looking at the source code is
not a good approach.

• Studying the documentation is necessary when the program is subjected to

enhancement or modification.

• Documentation is also necessary for management use as well as audit

purposes.
 Error and debugging
Programming Errors
• Syntax Errors
• Detected by the compiler
• Result from errors in code construction, such as mistyping a keyword.

• Runtime Errors
• Causes the program to abort
• Occur while an application is running such as input error (unexpected value that
the program cannot handle) or division by zero.

• Logic Errors
• Produces incorrect result
Syntax Errors

public class ShowSyntaxErrors {

public static void main(String[] args) {
int i = 30;
System.out.println(i + 4);
}
}

63
Syntax Errors

public class JavaDemo {

public static main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Hello World Example”);
}
}

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Syntax Errors

public Class Hello {

public static void main ( String[] args ) {
System.out.println("Hello World!");
}
}

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Runtime Errors

public class ShowRuntimeErrors {

public static void main(String[] args) {
int i = 1 / 0;
}
}

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Logic Errors

// Program to compute the sum of two integer numbers

public class Sum {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int num1 = 3;
int num2 = 2;
int sum = num1 + num2;
sum = 0;
System.out.println(“Total is " + sum);
}
}

Which displays:

Total is 0
But the result that we want is 5.

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Logic Errors Example

public class ShowSyntaxErrors {

public static void main(String[] args) {
int i;
System.out.println(i + 4);
}
}

public static int sum(int a, int b) {

return a - b ;
}

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Logic Errors

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 Debugging
 Logic errors are called bugs. The process of finding and
correcting errors is called debugging.

 A common approach to debugging is to use a combination of

methods to narrow down to the part of the program where the
bug is located.

 You can hand-trace the program (i.e., catch errors by reading the
program), or you can insert print statements in order to show the
values of the variables or the execution flow of the program.
 This approach might work for a short, simple program.
 But for a large, complex program, the most effective approach for
debugging is to use a debugger utility.