Unit 7.1 & 7.2 - algorithm design, problem solving & decomposition

Question 1

PDLC

Answer 1

Program development life cycle is the simple representation of steps followed in developing a program. Each is step is decomposed into sub-steps.

Question 2

4 sub-steps of PLDC

Answer 2

1. Ananysis - abstraction & decomposition of problem; indentification of requirements/sucess criteria (specific & mandotory conditions that must be carried out in order to reach the intended outcome) and inputs for a particular program
2. Design - structure diagrams (hierarchical diagrams used to represent sub-systems, with the final product being at the top; each level is a little less abstracted, with the most details being at the bottom; always include input and output and then branch out to specifics), flowcharts (indicates input & logic processes), pseudocode to plan solution in detail
3. Coding - implementation/writing program & iterative testing
4. Testing - testing code using test data
   Must be carried out one after another in a fixed order

Question 3

Abstraction

Answer 3

Process of including only specific details of a problem necessary to a situation, while hiding complex, unnecessary ones

Question 4

Decomposition

Answer 4

Splitting a bigger problem into smaller manageable chunks

Question 5

Requirements

Answer 5

Specific & mandotory conditions that must be carried out in order to reach the intended outcome; dictate essential inputs

Question 6

State the 4 sub-systems of a program

Answer 6

1. Input - taking data from physical world
2. Process - carrying out operations on data
3. Output - giving processed data back to physical world
4. Storage - saving data for future use