PART 1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO
PROGRAMMING

CSC126 FUNDAMENTALS OF ALGORITHMS AND

COMPUTER PROBLEM SOLVING

CSC126 FUNDAMENTALS OF ALGORITHMS AND COMPUTER PROBLEM SOLVING 1

 LESSON OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this chapter, students should be able to:

 Describe what a computer program is

 Explain the importance of programming to computer use
 Appreciate the importance of good programs
 Recognize program errors
 Become familiar with the program design process
 
 
 

CSC126 FUNDAMENTALS OF ALGORITHMS AND COMPUTER PROBLEM SOLVING 2

 WHAT IS A COMPUTER?

1 A computer is an electronic device,

2 operating under the control of instructions stored

in its own memory,

3 that can accept data, process the data according

to specified rules,

4 produce results,

5 store the results for future use

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 COMPUTER COMPONENTS
HARDWARE
Electric, electronic, and mechanical
components known as hardware
SOFTWARE
Series of (step-by-step) instructions that
tell the computer how to do its work.
(It is also called a program)

An equipment that processes data to

create information includes input, Without software, the computer is useless
output, storage and processing
device.
Software developed with programming
languages. C++ is a programming
language that suited for a wide variety of
programming tasks

CSC126 FUNDAMENTALS OF ALGORITHMS AND COMPUTER PROBLEM SOLVING 4

 INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

• A program is a set of instructions that direct the

computer to accomplish specific tasks.
• Another term commonly used for computer
programs is software, which describes all programs
that are used in particular installation together with
the associated documentation.
PROGRAM

• The instructions that can be used to construct a

program consist of statements written in a
programming language, the language that the
computer can interpret or “understand” such as C++
PROGRAMMING or Visual BASIC.
• First introduced in 1945, programming languages
LANGUAGE
have evolved over the years.

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