Chapter 7: Algorithm Design and Problem Solving

Analysis Design
C7.1
Program
Development
Life Cycle
Coding Testing

IGCSE Computer Science

DEFINITION

Program Development Life Cycle

A process that developers follow when creating a
new program.
 Every software that has been developed follows the
same process (with alteration according to company).

Analysis Coding Launch

Design Testing
Mini software that you will be doing in the exam (Taken from the specimen paper).

Scenario

Your task
Analysis
ANALYSIS
REQUIREMENT SPRECIFICATION

Problem needs to be clearly

defined and set out so anyone
working on the solution
understand what is needed.
ANALYSIS
UNDERSTANDING REQUIREMENTS FROM THE CLIENT’S
PERSPECTIVE. CLIENT CAN BE A PERSON OR AN END USER.
WE NEED TO DISCUSS WITH THEM, COLLECT DATA AND
SEVERAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE. IF NOT, THE PROCESS
CAN BE ENDLESS REPETITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.

Is this what my
client want?
 TWO STEPS OF
ANALYSIS

Decomposition Abstraction
DECOMPOSITION
Decomposition breaks down a complex problem into smaller parts, which
can be subdivided into even smaller parts, that can be solved easily.

EXAMPLE - ORGANIZE A HANG OUT

Sub Sub Sub
Task 1 Task 2 Task 3

Confirmation
Find a place Arranging
on who is
to hang out Transport
going
ABSTRACTION
Abstraction keeps the key elements required for the solution to
the problem and discards any unnecessary details and
information that is not required (temperorily).

EXAMPLE - ORGANIZE A HANG OUT

Sub
Sub
Task 1
Task 2

Confirmation Find a place

The most important
on who is to hang out
sub task
going
ABSTRACTION
Abstraction keeps the key elements required for the solution to
the problem and discards any unnecessary details and
information that is not required (temperorily).

EXAMPLE - ORGANIZE A HANG OUT

Sub
Sub
Task 1 Before knowing if anyone is
Task 2
going, the details of where to
Confirmation Find a place hang out can be temperorily
The most important
on who is to hang out abstracted. Eg. Just have a
sub task brief idea of where to go
going
ABSTRACTION - EXAMPLE 2 (TEACHING THIS LESSON)

LEVEL 1
ABSTRACTION - EXAMPLE 2 (TEACHING THIS LESSON)

LEVEL 2
ABSTRACTION - EXAMPLE 2 (TEACHING THIS LESSON)

LEVEL 3
AND SO
ON...
 DESIGN
In this stage, the developers of the
program will continue the
decomposition phase from the analysis
and begin to draw up visuals of the end
product.
 DESIGN

W1: Structured W2: Flowchart W3: Pseudocode

• Show how a program's • Enable complex
diagram
• Visualise end goals decomposed parts will problems and
run, including any instructions to be read
decisions or inputs that in plain English
are needed
 t e r
a p
C h
e i n
o r
n m . 2
a r 7
Le
Coding
 CODING
The implementation stage

The programmers work on the design

modules, such as input, output and
processes, and write code to make
each part of the program functional.
CODING
Example: E-commerce App
CODING
Example: E-commerce App

Module 1: Update sold count automatically

CODING
Example: E-commerce App
Module 2: Login and
SignUp page
CODING
Example: E-commerce App
Module 3: Notification
centre
CODING
Example: E-commerce App
Module 4: Search bar
CODING
An established app can have more than a million lines of code.
 r 8
pt e
ha
n C
e i
o r
n m
a r
Le
Testing
 TESTING Test strategy
The system is divided into small
sections that are tested for input,
output and validation rules. Test data
is used for all of the tests to be
carried out.
 TESTING

Unit Testing Integration Testing

• Testing each part of the • All code is combined to
code individually form a program. Then,
the program is tested.
TESTING
Eg. Test that when an item is sold, the count is indeed increased by 1
TESTING
What do you think?
 Chapter 7: Algorithm Design and Problem Solving

Analysis Program Design

Development
Coding Testing
Life Cycle
 The program
development cycle
is a cycle and not a
linear process. After
developing a Program
software, it is
necessary to go Development
back to the start of
the process again if
something has been
Cycle
Life

discovered during
development.
C7.2 - System,
sub-system
and Structured Diagram
Computer system
• Made up of software, data, hardware,
communications and people.
• Each computer system can be
divided up into a set of sub-systems
• Each sub-systems can be further
divided into sub-systems and so on
until each sub-system just performs
a single action.
Computer system
Example
• Made up of software,
data, hardware,
communications and
people.
• Each computer system
can be divided up into a
set of sub-systems
• Each sub-systems can be
further divided into sub-
systems and so on until
each sub-system just
performs a single
action.
Computer system Example

• Made up of software,
data, hardware,
communications and
people.
• Each computer system
can be divided up into a • Software - the code
set of sub-systems • Data - users' preference (like and
• Each sub-systems can be follow)
further divided into sub-
• Hardware - server to store all the
systems and so on until
data (posts, stories, etc)
each sub-system just
performs a single
• Communication and people -
action. instagram's employees
Computer system Example

• Made up of software,
data, hardware,
communications and
people.
• Each computer system
can be divided up into a
set of sub-systems
• Each sub-systems can be
further divided into sub-
systems and so on until
each sub-system just
performs a single
action.
post story reel
Computer system
Normal
• Made up of software,
data, hardware,
communications and
people.
• Each computer system
can be divided up into a
set of sub-systems
• Each sub-systems can be
further divided into sub-
systems and so on until story
each sub-system just Close
performs a single friends
action.
Other examples of a
computer system
• Alarm App
• Weather App
• Games!!

to aspiring programmer

Before you build something, figure out what you

want to build first.
Components of a
computer system
• Inputs
• Outputs
• Processes
• Storage
Understanding the components of a computer
system will help us to break down problem easier.
if i were to create a software today...

How do I divide my system into sub-system and

sub-system?

How do I then start developing a sub-

system using an appropriate programming
language?
Use software design tools
Structured
How do I divide my system into sub-system and
sub-system? diagram

How do I then start developing a sub-

system using an appropriate programming
language?
Flowchart Pseudocode
Structured diagram
• Show top-down design in a
diagrammatic form.
• Hiearchical, showing how a solution
can be divided into sub-systems with
each level giving a more detailed
breakdown.

Top-down design
Decomposition of a computer system into a set of sub- systems, then
breaking each sub-system down into a set of smaller sub-systems,
until each sub-system just performs a single action.
Structured diagram in application
(alarm clock)
Alarm Clock
Structured diagram in application
(alarm clock)
Alarm Clock

Inputs Outputs
Processes
Structured diagram in application
(alarm clock)
Alarm Clock

Inputs Outputs
Processes

Set Time
Turn alarm
Check Time Sound Turn off
on and off
Alarm alarm
 Try it yourself
A security system on a door allows a user to type a code
into a keypad to enter the room. If an incorrect code is
input, an error message is shown and a short alarm
sound is played.

Draw a structured diagram for the security system.

Definition of algorithm

An algorithm is a set of
instructions for solving a
problem or accomplishing a task.
Example of an algorithm (Real Life)
Example of an algorithm (Real Life) - Driving a car

Walk to the
parking space Letgoooo!

Open the door

Put on your
seatbelt

Turn on the
engine
Example of an algorithm (Software) - Alarm clock

For every 1 second,

check if time match

Alarm will ring

if time match,check
if day match (eg.
weekday

If both matches,
send signal to
sound system
Flowchart and pseudocode are an effective way to
communicate how the algorithm that makes up a
system or a sub-system work.

Flowchart Pseudocode
Flowchart and pseudocode are an effective way to
communicate how the algorithm that makes up a
system or a sub-system work.

Flowchart
 Have a look at a
flowchart showing
how the checking for
the alarm time
subsystem works, can
you understand what
is it doing?
 Components of a flow chart
Terminator process Input/output
Used at the Show the input of
Represent an
beginning and end data and output
instruction
of each flowchart of information
No matter how Protecting the
small the environment is
ecosystem on the same as
earth, everything protecting the
is interconnected ecosystem
Components of a flow chart
Decision
• Used to decide which action is to be taken
next
• There are always two outputs from a decision
flowchart symbol
Components of a flow chart

subroutine Flowline
• Represents a smaller • Use arrows to show the
procedure running within direction of flow
the large program.
• Abstraction in action

• Could be
another
flowchart
defined
elsewhere
 Input/
output

Terminator
subroutine

process
Decision
 A computer program allows a user to
input two numbers. It multiplies the
Analysis
numbers together and if the answer is
larger than 100 it outputs the message Input:
"Greater than 100". The program loops
until the user does not want to input
Output:
any more numbers. Process:
Draw a flowchart that represents an
algorithm for the computer program.
 A computer program allows a user to
Analysis
input two numbers. It multiplies the
numbers together and if the answer is Input: Number 1 & 2
larger than 100 it outputs the message
"Greater than 100". The program loops
Output: Message >100
until the user does not want to input Process:
any more numbers.
- if N1 + N2 > 100,
Draw a flowchart that represents an
algorithm for the computer program. output message >100
- process continue until
user does not want to
input numbers
 A computer program allows a user to
input two numbers. It multiplies the
numbers together and if the answer is
larger than 100 it outputs the message
"Greater than 100". The program loops
until the user does not want to input
any more numbers.

Draw a flowchart that represents an

algorithm for the computer program.
 Tickets are sold for a concert at $20
each, if 10 tickets are bought then the
discount is 10%, if 20 tickets are
bought the discount is 20%. No more
than 25 tickets can be bought in a
single transaction.

You are asked to design a program

that can automatically calculate the
cost of the purchase. Draw a flowchart
for this program.
 Analysis
Tickets are sold for a concert at $20 Input:
each, if 10 tickets are bought then the
discount is 10%, if 20 tickets are
Output:
bought the discount is 20%. No more
than 25 tickets can be bought in a
Process:
single transaction.

You are asked to design a program

that can automatically calculate the
cost of the purchase. Draw a flowchart
for this program.
 Analysis
Tickets are sold for a concert at $20 Input: Number of tickets
each, if 10 tickets are bought then the
discount is 10%, if 20 tickets are
(limit = 25)
bought the discount is 20%. No more
than 25 tickets can be bought in a
Output: Total cost
single transaction. Process:
You are asked to design a program 10 tickets = 10% discount
that can automatically calculate the
cost of the purchase. Draw a flowchart 20 tickets = 20% discount
for this program.
 Input/
output

Terminator

Tickets are sold for a concert at $20

each, if 10 tickets are bought then the
discount is 10%, if 20 tickets are
Decision bought the discount is 20%. No more
than 25 tickets can be bought in a
single transaction.

subroutine You are asked to design a program

that can automatically calculate the
cost of the purchase. Draw a flowchart
for this program.
process

Flow chart components

 Tickets are sold for a concert at $20
each, if 10 tickets are bought then the
discount is 10%, if 20 tickets are
bought the discount is 20%. No more
than 25 tickets can be bought in a
single transaction.

You are asked to design a program

that can automatically calculate the
cost of the purchase. Draw a flowchart
for this program.
C7.4

Algorithm &
Pseudocode

IGCSE Computer Science

 Pseudocode

fake, pretentious

Pseudocode to sort an array of numbers

 Pseudocode
• Standard method of showing an
algorithm (a series of steps and
instructions to achieve a task)
• It uses English key words that are
very similar to those used in a
high-level programming
language
• It is not bound by the strict
syntax rules of a programming
language
Pseudocode to sort an array of numbers

What is Pseudocode?
 Pseudocode
• Person reading the pseudocode
does not need to have
knowledge in a programming
language to understand the
algorithm
• Commonly used in Computer
Science research paper

Pseudocode to sort an array of numbers

Why do we need pseudocode?

Elements of pseudocode

Input Iterative
Assignment Conditional
and Statement Statement
statement
Output
Assignment statement

• A value is assigned to item/variable

Variable Value

2. Variable is a container for storing a value.

Value
[Link] values on the right can have one value or multiple value
combined with mathematical operators.
Assignment statement

One value Multiple values

x 5 x 5 *6
name "Adam" name "Hello" + " Adam"

The values on the right can have one value or multiple value
combined with mathematical operators.
Mathematical operators
Operator Action

+ Addition

- Subtraction

* Multiply

/ Divide
^ Raise to the power of

() Group
Assignment statement

Instead of doing... We can do

Output "adadjjdwajdajw" name "adadjjdwajdajw"

Output "adadjjdwajdajw" Output name
Output "adadjjdwajdajw" Output name
Output "adadjjdwajdajw" Output name
Output "adadjjdwajdajw" Output name
Output "adadjjdwajdajw" Output name

Keyword: REFER

We need to declare variables so that we can refer to them

whenver we need to.
Test your understanding - Assignment statement questions

Given that Cost 5

Your task, create the following variables:

• Price - twice the value of cost
• Tax - 12% of the total price
• Selling price - Price plus tax
• Gender variable containing the value "M"
• Chosen variable containing the value FALSE
Test your understanding - Assignment statement questions

Given that Cost 5

Answer
• Price ← Cost * 2
• Tax ← Price * 0.12
• Selling price ← Price + Tax
• Gender ← "M"
• Chosen ← FALSE
Assignment statement - ARRAY

Assigning an array to a variable

DECLARE MyClass : ARRAY[1:10] OF STRING

Store value

We can also assign an array to a variable.

Array = A container that can store multiple items
 To access a particular element of an array, we can put a
[position] after the variable name.

Assigning an array to a variable

DECLARE MyClass : ARRAY[1:10] OF STRING

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Peter Jane

MyClass[3] -> Peter

MyClass[8] -> Jane
Test your understanding - Assignment statement questions

Your task, create an array variable named markList. The array

size is 20 and it stores the INTEGER data type. How to access
the 12th element?

Previous examples:
Assigning an array to a variable

DECLARE MyClass : ARRAY[1:10] OF STRING

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Peter Jane
Input and Output

Input Output
Used for data Used to display
entry; it is usually information on a
followed by a screen
variable where
the data input is
stored

Input variable Output variable

Input and Output - Application

INPUT cost
Price ← Cost * 2
Tax ← Price * 0.12
Selling price ← Price + Tax
OUTPUT selling price
Conditional
• An element of pseudocode which allows the algorithm to do
different things depending on the input/scenario

IF ... THEN ... ELSE ... ENDIF

CASE OF ... OTHERWISE ... ENDCASE

IF ... THEN ... ELSE ... ENDIF

INPUT Age
IF Age < 18
THEN
OUTPUT "Child"
ELSE
OUTPUT "Adult"
ENDIF
 IF ... THEN ... ELSE ... ENDIF

If condition INPUT Age Conditio

is true (eg.
IF Age < 18 n
Age < 18)
THEN
OUTPUT "Child"
If condition ELSE
is false (eg. OUTPUT "Adult"
Age not < End of if
ENDIF
18) statement
Comparison operators
Operator Action

> Greater Than

< Less Than
= Equal to
>= Greater Than or equal to
<= Less Than or equal to
<> Not Equal to
AND Both
OR Either
NOT Not
Test your understanding - Conditionals questions
Write a program in pseudocode that does the following.

Ask a user to INPUT his/her height and weight. If the

height is greater than 170 AND weight is lighter than 85,
then OUTPUT the message "You meet the requirement",
else OUTPUT the message "You need to be taller and
lighter.
Test your understanding - Conditionals answer

INPUT Height
INPUT Weight
IF Height > 170 AND Weight < 85
THEN
OUTPUT "YOU MEET THE REQUIREMENT"
ELSE
OUTPUT "YOU NEED TO BE TALLER OR LIGHTER".
ENDIF
CASE OF ... OTHERWISE ... ENDCASE

• For a CASE statement the value of the variable decides the path
to be taken. Several values are usually specified.

INPUT FoodToBuy
CASE OF FoodToBuy
Milo : OUTPUT "Here's your milo"
Biscuit : OUTPUT "Here's your biscuit"
OTHERWISE : OUTPUT "The canteen does not have this food"
ENDCASE
 Specify which variable we are
CASE OF ... OTHERWISE ... ENDCASE
looking into when deciding
which path to take

INPUT FoodToBuy
CASE OF FoodToBuy
Milo : OUTPUT "Here's your milo"
Biscuit : OUTPUT "Here's your biscuit"
OTHERWISE : OUTPUT "The canteen does not have this food"
ENDCASE
Path that will be taken if the variable is
Choices
neither "Milo" nor "Biscuit"

Declare the end of case statement

Test your understanding - Conditionals questions

Write a program in pseudocode that does the following

(Use the CASE Statement).

Ask a user to INPUT his/her grades. If the grade entered is

"A", OUTPUT "excellent". If the grade entered is "B",
OUTPUT "Not bad huh". If the grade entered is "C",
OUTPUT "Fair". If the grade entered is "D" , OUTPUT "Why
you sleep in my class?" . For all the other value, OUTPUT
"Invalid input".
Test your understanding - Conditionals answer

INPUT Grade
CASE OF Grade
A : OUTPUT "Excellent"
B : OUTPUT "Not bad huh"
C : OUTPUT "Fair"
D : OUTPUT "Why you sleep in my class?"
OTHERWISE : OUTPUT "Invalid input"
ENDCASE
Iterative statement
• An element of pseudocode which allows the algorithm to
repeat certain actions.

FOR... WHILE...
REPEAT...
TO... DO...
UNTIL...
NEXT... ENDWHILE

A repetition, where
A repetition, where
the number of
the number of
A set number repeats is not
repeats is not known,
of repetitions known, that may
that is completed at
never be
least once
completed
FOR...
TO...
NEXT...
FOR Counter ← 1 TO 10
A set number
of repetitions OUTPUT Counter
NEXT
 Beginning value
FOR... Ending value
TO...
NEXT...
FOR Counter ← 1 TO 10
A set number
of repetitions OUTPUT Counter
NEXT

Counter +1
 What does the above pseudocode do?
What does the below pseudocode do?

Beginning value
FOR... Ending value
TO...
NEXT...
FOR Counter ← 1 TO 10
A set number
of repetitions OUTPUT "Enter Name of Student "
INPUT StudentName[Counter]
NEXT

Counter +1
 ANSWER: Ask the user for 10 names iteratively,
and then place each name into the array.

FOR... FOR Counter ← 1 TO 10

TO... OUTPUT "Enter Name of Student "
NEXT...
INPUT StudentName[Counter]
A set number
of repetitions
NEXT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
REPEAT...
UNTIL... REPEAT
OUTPUT "Hello"
A repetition,
where the
INPUT Option
number of Until Option = -1
repeats is not
known, that is
completed at
least once
REPEAT...
UNTIL... REPEAT
OUTPUT "Hello"
A repetition,
where the INPUT Option
number of
repeats is not
Until Option = -1
known, that is
completed at
least once Condition to determine whether we
want to continue our program
 What does the code below do?

Total ← 0
Mark ← 0
REPEAT... REPEAT
UNTIL... Total ← Total + Mark
OUTPUT "Enter value for mark, -1 to finish "
INPUT Mark
UNTIL Mark = -1
Answer: In each iteration, ask the user for a mark. The
mark given will be added to the total. The program stops
when the user enter the value -1.

Total ← 0
REPEAT... Mark ← 0
UNTIL... REPEAT
Total ← Total + Mark
A repetition,
OUTPUT "Enter value for mark, -1 to
where the finish"
number of
repeats is not
INPUT Mark
known, that is UNTIL Mark = -1
completed at
least once
 WHILE...
Total ← 0
DO...
OUTPUT "Enter value for mark, -1 to finish "
ENDWHILE
INPUT Mark
WHILE Mark <> -1 DO
A repetition,
Total ← Total + Mark
where the number
of repeats is not OUTPUT "Enter value for mark, -1 to finish"
known, that may INPUT Mark
never be
ENDWHILE
completed
 WHILE...
Total ← 0
DO...
OUTPUT "Enter value for mark, -1 to finish "
ENDWHILE
INPUT Mark
WHILE Mark <> -1 DO
Total ← Total + Mark
OUTPUT "Enter value for mark, -1 to finish"
Block that
INPUT Mark
will be
executed ENDWHILE
by the DO Condition to decide
keyword whether the DO
block will be run

Signify the end of the while loop.

Test your understanding - Iterative questions
Write a program in pseudocode that does the following.

Ask the user to enter a number iteratively. Then, the

square of (power of two) the number will need to be
stored in an array. The program shall halt when the user
enters the value 0.

Hint: You can declare a dynamic (non-fixed size array) like

this
DECLARE SquareNumArray : ARRAY[1: ] OF INTEGER
Test your understanding - Iterative answer

DECLARE SquareNumArray : ARRAY[1: ] OF INTEGER

COUNTER ← 1
INPUT Number
WHILE Number <> 0 DO
SquareNumArray[COUNTER] ← Number ^ 2
COUNTER ← COUNTER + 1
INPUT Number
END WHILE
 C7.5

Standard methods
of solutions
Totalling
• Totalling means keeping a total that values are added to.
For example, keeping a running total of the marks
awarded to each student in a class.
StudentMark
70 : 75 80 60 70 65 75 90 95 100
Totalling
StudentMark[1:10]
70 75 80 60 70 65 75 90 95 100

Pseudocode to find the total mark:

Total ← 0
ClassSize ← 10
FOR Counter ← 1 TO ClassSize
Total ← Total + StudentMark[Counter]
NEXT Counter
Counting
• Keeping a count of the number of times an action is
performed is another standard method. For example,
counting the number of students that were awarded a
pass mark.

StudentMark[1:10]
70 75 80 60 7 65 75 25 95 100
Counting
70 75 80 60 7 65 75 25 95 100

PassCount ← 0
ClassSize ← 10
FOR Counter ← 1 TO ClassSize
IF StudentMark[Counter] > 50
THEN
PassCount ← PassCount + 1
NEXT Counter
Test your understanding
StudentName
Ali : Zak Bb Ali ZZ J

Write an algorithm (in pseudocode) to find the total number

of students whose name is "Ali" .
Test your understanding
StudentName
Ali : Zak Bb Ali ZZ J

AliCount ← 0
ClassSize ← 6
FOR Counter ← 1 TO ClassSize
IF StudentName[Counter] = "Ali"
THEN
AliCount ← AliCount + 1
NEXT Counter
Maximum and minimum
• Finding the maximum and minimum of a given array. Eg.
Find the highest and lowest mark awarded to a class of
students.

StudentMark
70 : 75 80 60 7 65 75 25 95 100
Maximum and minimum
• Method 1: Set the MaximumMark to be 0. Set the
MinimumMark to be 100.
MaximumMark ← 0
MinimumMark ← 100
ClassSize ← 10
FOR Counter ← 1 TO ClassSize
IF StudentMark[Counter] > MaximumMark
THEN
MaximumMark ← StudentMark[Counter]
ENDIF
IF StudentMark[Counter] < MinimumMark
THEN
MinimumMark ← StudentMark[Counter]
ENDIF
NEXT Counter
Maximum and minimum
• Method 2: Set the MaximumMark and MinimumMark to be
StudentMark[1]
MaximumMark ← StudentMark[1]
MinimumMark ← StudentMark[1]
ClassSize ← 10
FOR Counter ← 1 TO ClassSize
IF StudentMark[Counter] > MaximumMark
THEN
MaximumMark ← StudentMark[Counter]
ENDIF
IF StudentMark[Counter] < MinimumMark
THEN
MinimumMark ← StudentMark[Counter]
ENDIF
NEXT Counter
Average
• Finding the average value of a given array. Eg. Find the
average mark awarded to a class of students.

StudentMark
70 : 75 80 60 7 65 75 25 95 100
Average
• Finding the average value of a given array. Eg. Find the
average mark awarded to a class of students.

Total ← 0
FOR Counter ← 1 TO ClassSize
Totalling
Total ← Total + StudentMark[Counter]
NEXT Counter
Average ← Total / ClassSize
Average
• Finding the average value of a given array. Eg. Find the
average mark awarded to a class of students.

Total ← 0
FOR Counter ← 1 TO ClassSize
Total ← Total + StudentMark[Counter]
NEXT Counter
Average ← Total / ClassSize
Linear search
• A type of search that is used to check if a value is stored in a
list, performed by going through the items in the list one at a
time. Eg. Searching for a name in a class list of students name,
where all the names stored are different.

StudentName:
ZK Lyn Tam YW Dan Joh Abd
Linear search
StudentName:
ZK Lyn Tam YW Dan Joh Abd

Say,we want to search for a

student called Lyn ..
Linear search
StudentName:
ZK Lyn Tam YW Dan Joh Abd

Found!

The algorithm will go through the value in the

array one by one until it finds the target OR it
reaches the end of the list.
Linear search
OUTPUT "Please enter name to find "
INPUT Name
Found ← FALSE
Counter ← 1

REPEAT
IF Name = StudentName[Counter]
THEN
Found ← TRUE
ELSE
Counter ← Counter + 1
ENDIF
UNTIL Found ← TRUE OR Counter > ClassSize

IF Found
THEN
OUTPUT Name, " found at position ", Counter, " in the list."
ELSE
OUTPUT Name, " not found."
ENDIF
Bubble sort
• Lists can be more useful if the items are sorted in a meaningful
order. For example, names could be sorted in alphabetical order,
or numbers could be sorted in ascending or descending order.

Sorting Names:
ZK Lyn Tam YW Dan Joh Abd

Abd Dan Joh Lyn Tam YW ZK

Bubble sort
• Lists can be more useful if the items are sorted in a meaningful
order. For example, names could be sorted in alphabetical order,
or numbers could be sorted in ascending or descending order.

Sorting Numbers:
7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Bubble sort

Find this video on YouTube for a

thorough explanation!
Bubble sort
First ← 1
Last ← 10

REPEAT
Swap ← FALSE
FOR Index ← First TO Last - 1
IF Temperature[Index] > temperature[Index + 1]
THEN
Temp ← Temperature[Index]
Temperature[Index] ← Temperature[Index + 1]
Temperature[Index + 1] ← Temp
Swap ← TRUE
ENDIF
NEXT Index
Last ← Last - 1
UNTIL (NOT Swap) OR Last = 1
 C7.6

VALIDATION AND
VERIFICATION
Saad Shah
IN ORDER FOR COMPUTER SYSTEMS TO ONLY ACCEPT DATA INPUTS THAT ARE
REASONABLE AND ACCURATE, EVERY ITEM OF DATA NEEDS TO BE EXAMINED
BEFORE IT IS ACCEPTED BY THE SYSTEM.

VALIDATION VERIFICATION
FOR DATA VERIFICATION
ENTRY, IS USED TO
VALIDATION CHECK THAT
ENSURES THAT THE DATA DOES
ONLY DATA NOT CHANGE
THAT IS AS IT IS BEING
REASONABLE ENTERED.
IS ACCEPTED.
VALIDATION

VALIDATION IS THE AUTOMATED CHECKING BY A PROGRAM THAT

DATA IS REASONABLE BEFORE IT IS ACCEPTED INTO A COMPUTER
SYSTEM.

IF THE DATA IS REJECTED A MESSAGE SHOULD BE OUTPUT

EXPLAINING WHY THE DATA WAS REJECTED AND ANOTHER
OPPORTUNITY GIVEN TO ENTER THE DATA.
 VALIDATION
Range
DEFINITION
Check
A RANGE CHECK CHECKS THAT THE VALUE OF A NUMBER
IS BETWEEN AN UPPER VALUE AND A LOWER VALUE

SAY, WE WANT A PROGRAM THAT ONLY ACCEPTS A NUMBER FROM 0 -100

54 35 102
 VALIDATION
Range
THE CODE WILL REPEATEDLY ASK
Check THE USER FOR MARK INPUT AS
LONG AS THE MARK IS NOT
WITHIN THE RANGE 0-100

OUTPUT "PLEASE ENTER THE STUDENT'S MARK "

REPEAT
INPUT STUDENTMARK
IF STUDENTMARK < 0 OR STUDENTMARK > 100
THEN
OUTPUT "THE STUDENT'S MARK SHOULD BE IN THE RANGE 0 TO 100,
PLEASE RE-ENTER THE MARK "
ENDIF
UNTIL STUDENTMARK >= 0 AND STUDENTMARK <= 100
 VALIDATION
length
Check
DEFINITION
A LENGTH CHECK EIHTER CHECKS THAT DATA CONTAINS
- AN EXACT NUMBER OF CHARACTERS (EG. 8)
- THE DATA ENTERED IS A REASONABLE NUMBER OF CHARACTERS (EG. 8-20)

SAY, WE WANT A PROGRAM THAT ONLY ACCEPTS A PASSWORD WITH LENGTH

BETWEEN 8 - 20

ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
ABCD12345 ABCD OPQRSTUVWXYZ
 VALIDATION
length
THE CODE WILL REPEATEDLY ASK
Check THE USER FOR NAME INPUT AS
LONG AS THE LENGTH OF THE
NAME IS NOT WITHIN 2 TO 30
CHARACTERS.

OUTPUT "PLEASE ENTER YOUR NEW PASSWORD"

REPEAT
INPUT password
IF LENGTH(password) > 20 OR LENGTH(password) < 2
THEN
OUTPUT "Too short or too long, please re-enter "
ENDIF
UNTIL LENGTH(password) <= 20 AND LENGTH(password) >= 2
 VALIDATION
TYPE
DEFINITION
Check
A TYPE CHECK CHECKS THAT THE DATA ENTERED IS OF A
GIVEN DATA TYPE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT THE NUMBER OF
MEALS ORDERED MUST BE A NUMBER
SAY, WE WANT A PROGRAM THAT ONLY ACCEPTS AN INTEGER (NUMBER) AS
INPUT (EG. NUMBER OF MCD MEAL YOU ORDER).

3 3.2 THREE
 VALIDATION
TYPE
IT CHECKS WHETHER THE NUMBER
Check IS A WHOLE NUMBER. IF NOT,
USER WILL BE PROMPTED TO
INPUT AGAIN!

OUTPUT "HOW MANY MEALS YOU WANT TO ORDER? "

REPEAT
INPUT numberofmeals
IF numberofmeals <> DIV(numberofmeals, 1)
THEN
OUTPUT "This must be a whole number, please re-enter"
ENDIF
UNTIL numberofmeals = DIV(numberofmeals, 1)
 VALIDATION
Presence
check
DEFINITION
A PRESENCE CHECK CHECKS TO ENSURE THAT SOME DATA HAS BEEN ENTERED
AND THE VALUE HAS NOT BEEN LEFT BLANK.

FOR EXAMPLE, AN EMAIL ADDRESS FOR AN ONLINE

TRANSACTION MUST BE COMPLETED.

ABC@[Link] ""
 VALIDATION
Presence
check
DEFINITION
A PRESENCE CHECK CHECKS TO ENSURE THAT SOME DATA HAS BEEN ENTERED
AND THE VALUE HAS NOT BEEN LEFT BLANK, FOR EXAMPLE, AN EMAIL ADDRESS
FOR AN ONLINE TRANSACTION MUST BE COMPLETED.

OUTPUT "PLEASE ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS "

REPEAT
INPUT EmailAddress
IF EmailAddress = ""
THEN
OUTPUT "please enter something!"
ENDIF
UNTIL EmailAddress <> ""
Format VALIDATION

check DEFINITION
A FORMAT CHECK CHECKS THAT THE CHARACTERS ENTERED CONFORM TO A
PRE-DEFINED PATTERN.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE WANT TO CREATE A PROGRAM THAT ONLY ACCEPTS

TAX CODE STARTING WITH "TC"

TC10212 TC12212 AC12123

Check
digit CHECK DIGIT
Check digits are used to identify errors in data entry
caused by mis-typing or mis-scanning a barcode.

A check digit is the

final digit included in
a code; it is calculated
from all the other
digits in the code.
 TEST YOUR
UNDERSTANDING
Discuss, what checks are required for the following validations

– Entering a telephone number

– Entering a pupil’s name
– Entering a part number in the form XXX999, when X must be a
letter and 9 must be a digit.
 TEST YOUR
UNDERSTANDING
Discuss, what checks are required for the following validations

– Entering a telephone number

(answer: length check, type check, format check)
– Entering a pupil’s name
(answer: type check)
– Entering a part number in the form XXX999, when X must be a
letter and 9 must be a digit.
(answer: format check)
VERIFICATION

VERIFICATION IS CHECKING THAT DATA HAS BEEN ACCURATELY

COPIED FROM ONE SOURCE TO ANOTHER

VERIFICATION METHODS FOR INPUT DATA INCLUDE:

• DOUBLE ENTRY
• SCREEN/VISUAL CHECK
VERIFICATION(1) - DOUBLE ENTRY
Data is entered twice, sometimes by different operators. The computer system
compares both entries and if they are different outputs an error message
requesting that the data is entered again.
VERIFICATION(2) - SCREEN/VISUAL CHECK
A manual check completed by the user who is entering the data. When the
data entry is complete the data is displayed on the screen and the user is
asked to confirm that it is correct before continuing.
 C7.7

TESTING
TESTING
• A program needs to be tested thorougly to ensure that it
is working as intended.
• Before a whole system is tested, each sub-system is
tested separately (eg. Pseudocode, flowchart).
• However, in order to test a solution thoroughly it may
need to be worked through several times with different
sets of test data.
 DATA THAT CAN BE USED FOR TESTING

NORMAL ABNORMAL EXTREME BOUNDARY

DATA DATA DATA DATA
 DATA THAT A PROGRAM WOULD EXPECT TO RECEIVE, AND
NORMAL THE RESULT THAT ARE EXPECTED FROM THE DATA.
DATA

EG. PROGRAM THAT CALCULATES THE AVERAGE

SCORE
70 75 80 60 70 65 CORRECT
AVERAGE
SCORE

NORMAL DATA THAT WOULD BE EXPECTED

70
 ABNORMAL DATA THAT A PROGRAM SHOULD REJECT. OUR
DATA PROGRAM NEEDS TO REJECT THE ERRORNEOUS DATA

EG. PROGRAM THAT CALCULATES THE AVERAGE

SCORE
WE NEED TO -5 75 80 60 70 65 INCORRECT
TEST THAT OUR AVERAGE
PROGRAM WILL
SCORE
REJECT THIS
DATA
NORMAL DATA THAT WOULD BE EXPECTED
57.5
 ABNORMAL DATA THAT A PROGRAM SHOULD REJECT. OUR
DATA PROGRAM NEEDS TO REJECT THE ERRORNEOUS DATA

EG. PROGRAM THAT CALCULATES THE AVERAGE SCORE

WE NEED TO -5 75 80 60 70 65 INCORRECT
TEST THAT OUR AVERAGE
PROGRAM WILL
SCORE
REJECT THIS
DATA
NORMAL DATA THAT WOULD BE EXPECTED
57.5
EXTREME EXTREME DATA ARE THE LARGEST AND SMALLEST
DATA VALUES THAT NORMAL DATA CAN TAKE

EG. PROGRAM TAKES IN USER'S INPUT FOR STUDENT'S MARK

70 75 80 60 100 0

NORMAL DATA THAT WOULD BE EXPECTED

EXTREME
DATA
BOUNDARY AT EACH BOUNDARY TWO VALUES ARE REQUIRED: ONE
DATA VALUE IS ACCEPTED AND THE OTHER VALUE IS REJECTED

SCENARIO: A PROGRAM THAT ACCEPTS

VALUE FROM RANGE 1 - 10

EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2
10 11 1 0

NORMAL + REJECTED NORMAL + REJECTED

EXTREME DATA EXTREME DATA
BOUNDARY AT EACH BOUNDARY TWO VALUES ARE REQUIRED: ONE
DATA VALUE IS ACCEPTED AND THE OTHER VALUE IS REJECTED

SCENARIO: A PROGRAM THAT ACCEPTS

VALUE FROM RANGE 4 - 15

EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2

NORMAL + REJECTED NORMAL + REJECTED

EXTREME DATA EXTREME DATA
BOUNDARY AT EACH BOUNDARY TWO VALUES ARE REQUIRED: ONE
DATA VALUE IS ACCEPTED AND THE OTHER VALUE IS REJECTED

SCENARIO: A PROGRAM THAT ACCEPTS

VALUE FROM RANGE 4 - 15

EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2
4 3 15 16

NORMAL + REJECTED NORMAL + REJECTED

EXTREME DATA EXTREME DATA
0 0 100

1 9 9 9

2 9 7 7

3 9 3 3

4 9 1 1 91
0 0 100

1 19 19 19

2 27 19 27

3 31 19 31

4 31 14 14 31 14
0 0 100

1 9 9 9

2 9 7 7

3 9 3 3

4 9 1 1 91
0 0 100
1 13 13 13

2 17 13 17

3 21 13 21

4 21 11 11 21 11
 C7.9

Writing and amending

algorithms
1) Identify the error A B C X Output

of an algorithm
using a Trace Table
 The algorithm on the left will ouput out the
maximum and minimum value, but does it work?

A B C X Output

Try it yourself!
Test Data: 400, 101, 200, 700
Max Min

A B C X Output

Try it yourself!
Test Data: 400, 101, 200, 700
Explanation
By declaring C to 100, we can only detect a minimum value that is
below 100. Eg. All test data are (400, 101, 200, 300), even though 101
is the minimum value among all the other values, it still cannot be
detected as it is more than 100.
 The algorithm on the left will ouput out the
maximum and minimum value, but does it work?

A B C X Output

Try it yourself!
Test Data: -7, -5, -3,-6
Max Min

A B C X Output

Try it yourself!
Test Data: -7, -5, -3,-6
Explanation
By declaring B to 0, we can only detect a maximum value that is
above 0. Eg. All test data are (-5 , -3, -2 , -7), even though -2 is the
maximum value among all the other values, it still cannot be detected
as it is not more than 0.
We can fix it - quick fix

Identify two numbers where the

algorithm will still fail.
We can fix it - quick fix

1000001 will not be identified as the minimum

-1000001 will not be identified as the maximum
 Ultimate
solution
Instead of initialising B and
C as some random value,
we let the first number to be
B (maximum) and C
(minimum)
2) Identify the error
of an algorithm
using self-generated
test data
Problem statement
Tickets are sold for a concert at $20 each, if 10 tickets are bought
then the discount is 10%, if 20 tickets are bought the discount is
20%. No more than 25 tickets can be bought in a single transaction

You are asked to design a program that can automatically

calculate the cost of the purchase. Output the cost. The program
will keep repeating until a user INPUT a value “stop”. Write the
pseudocode for this program.
 REPEAT
OUTPUT "How many tickets would you like to buy? "
INPUT NumberOfTickets
UNTIL NumberOfTickets > 0 OR NumberOfTickets < 26

IF NumberOfTickets < 10
THEN
Discount ← 0

Answer ELSE
IF NumberOfTickets < 20
THEN
Discount ← 0.1
ELSE
Discount ← 0.2
ENDIF
ENDIF
Cost ← NumberOfTickets * 20 * (1 – Discount)
OUTPUT "Your tickets cost ", Cost
 REPEAT
OUTPUT "How many tickets would you like to buy? "
INPUT NumberOfTickets
UNTIL NumberOfTickets > 0 OR NumberOfTickets < 26

IF NumberOfTickets < 10
create some test THEN
data to check the Discount ← 0
correctness of an ELSE
IF NumberOfTickets < 20
algorithm THEN
Discount ← 0.1
ELSE
Discount ← 0.2
ENDIF
ENDIF
Cost ← NumberOfTickets * 20 * (1 – Discount)
OUTPUT "Your tickets cost ", Cost
eg. REPEAT
OUTPUT "How many tickets would you like to buy? "
INPUT NumberOfTickets
Test data = 12 UNTIL NumberOfTickets > 0 OR NumberOfTickets < 26
Discount = 10%
IF NumberOfTickets < 10
Calculation=
THEN
Discount ← 0
(12 x 20) * 0.9 = ELSE
IF NumberOfTickets < 20
$216
THEN
Discount ← 0.1
Now, go through ELSE
Discount ← 0.2
the algorithm to
ENDIF
check if it works ENDIF
as expected with Cost ← NumberOfTickets * 20 * (1 – Discount)
OUTPUT "Your tickets cost ", Cost
the test data.