Module 7.3- Programming Organisation & Logic Flows

Question 1

Simple Program Flow

Answer 1

• Sequential Execution- code runs step by step in the order it’s written e.g. if you write code to print two statements, the first one will print before the second
• Input and Output- programs often take user input, process that input, and produce an output

Question 2

Looping

Answer 2

• For Loops- a for loop repeats a block of code a specific number of times, usually by iterating over a sequence (like a list or a range of numbers)
• While Loops- a while loop continues to execute as long as a specified condition is true
• useful when you don’t know in advance how many times you need to repeat the code

Question 3

Functions

Answer 3

• one of the most important concepts in programming; allows you to encapsulate a block of code and reuse it throughout your program
• helps keep your code organised, efficient, and DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself)
• a function is a named section of code that performs a specific task; you can pass inputs (called parameters) to a function, and it can return an output
• help break a program into smaller, manageable pieces, making it easier to write and maintain

Question 4

Why use Functions?

Answer 4

• Reusability- can define a function once and reuse it multiple times, saving time and reducing code duplication
• Modularity- functions make it easier to structure code in a logical way
• each function performs a specific task, which makes your code more readable and easier to debug
• e.g. you could use functions to handle tasks like calculating the total price of items in a shopping cart or formatting user input for a web form

Question 5

Conditions

Answer 5

• Conditions guide decision-making in your code
• enable different actions based on specific criteria

Question 6

How do Conditions work?

Answer 6

• conditions use if-else statements to check whether something is true or false
• if a condition is true, the program executes a specific block of code
• if it’s false, it may execute a different block

Question 7

Common types of Conditionals

Answer 7

• If Statements- checks if a condition is true and executes a block of code if it is
• Else Statements- provides an alternative action if the if condition is false
• Elseif (Else-If)- allows you to check multiple conditions in sequence

Question 8

Why are Conditions important?

Answer 8

• conditionals allow your program to make decisions, which is critical for responding to user input or processing data
• without conditions, programs would always follow a single, linear path, but with conditionals, you can introduce logic that makes programs more dynamic and useful
• e.g. when writing a login system, you might check whether a user’s input matches stored credentials, and display a message accordingly (whether the login is successful or failed)

Question 9

Organising Code with Classes

Answer 9

• one of the most important aspects of organising your code, especially in Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), is the use of classes
• classes help you define the structure and behavior of objects, allowing you to encapsulate data and methods related to that data

Question 10

Best Practices for using Classes

Answer 10

• Keep Classes Focused- each class should have a single responsibility or purpose
• e.g. if you’re building a game, you might have a Player class to represent players and a GameBoard class to manage the game’s environment
• Naming Conventions- use clear, descriptive names for your classes
• UpperCamelCase is commonly used for class names, like UserProfile or TransactionHandler
• Use Inheritance Carefully- while inheritance can be powerful, overusing it can lead to complex code that’s hard to maintain
• only use inheritance when a clear “is-a” relationship exists e.g. a Dog class might inherit from an Animal class, because a dog is an animal
• e.g. if you’re building an e-commerce application, you might have a Product class with properties like name, price, and stock quantity; then, you could create a subclass like DigitalProduct that inherits from Product but has additional properties, such as file size or download link

Question 11

Utilities & Helper Functions

Answer 11

• while classes are essential for organising object-oriented code, you’ll often need smaller, independent blocks of code that don’t belong to a specific class- this is where utility functions (or helper functions) come in
• Keep Them General- utility functions should perform tasks that are general enough to be reused across different parts of your project
• e.g. a function to format dates, validate input, or convert data types might be used in multiple places
• Organise by Functionality- group related utility functions in the same file or module e.g. you might have a string_utils.py file for all functions that deal with string manipulation, and a file_utils.py file for handling file operations
• e.g. if your project frequently needs to convert data formats, you could create a utility function like convert_to_json(data) that takes any input data and returns it in JSON format; can then call this function from anywhere in your project

Question 12

Folder Structure & File Organisation

Answer 12

• as your projects grow in size, organising your files and folders becomes critical for maintaining clarity and efficiency
• a well-structured project makes it easier to find code, understand the program’s layout, and collaborate with others
• Use a Clear Directory Structure- organise your files into meaningful directories
• e.g. you might have separate folders for models, views, utilities, tests, and assets
• Separate Logic by Responsibility- keep your business logic, user interface code, and utility functions in separate places
• this keeps your project modular and easier to maintain
• e.g. all the database-related logic could be in a models folder, while the presentation code could go into a views folder
• Use Naming Conventions Consistently- name files and folders in a way that makes it obvious what they contain
• common conventions include using snake_case for file names and UpperCamelCase for class names
• e.g. a file for user authentication might be called auth_utils.py

Question 13

Documentation is important

Answer 13

• even with a well-organised project, it’s essential to include documentation so that other developers (and your future self) can understand the purpose of your code
• well-documented code helps ensure that anyone who works on the project can easily grasp what each part of the codebase does
• Comment Your Code- leave helpful comments to explain why certain decisions were made; use comments sparingly but meaningfully
• avoid redundant comments that simply describe what the code does, as the code itself should be clear enough for that
• Write a README- every project should have a README.md file that explains what the project is, how to set it up, and how to use it
• this is especially important for collaborative projects or open-source work
• Use Docstrings- for functions and classes, use docstrings (multi-line comments) to describe what the function or class does, what parameters it takes, and what it returns
• e.g. in Python, docstrings are enclosed in triple quotes