Pseudocode: An Introduction
Flowcharts were the first design tool to be widely used, but unfortunately they do not very well reflect some of the concepts of structured programming. Pseudocode, on the other hand, is a newer tool and has features that make it more reflective of the structured concepts. Unfortunately, the narrative presentation is not as easy to understand and follow.

RULES FOR PSEUDOCODE 1. Write only one stmt per line
Each stmt in your pseudocode should express just one action for the computer. If the task list is properly drawn, then in most cases each task will correspond to one line of pseudocode. EX: TASK LIST: Read name, hourly rate, hours worked, deduction rate Perform calculations gross = hourlyRate * hoursWorked deduction = grossPay * deductionRate net pay = grossPay – deduction Write name, gross, deduction, net pay PSEUDOCODE: READ name, hourlyRate, hoursWorked, deductionRate grossPay = hourlyRate * hoursWorked deduction = grossPay * deductionRate netPay = grossPay – deduction WRITE name, grossPay, deduction, netPay

2.

Capitalize initial keyword
In the example above, READ and WRITE are in caps. There are just a few keywords we will use: READ, WRITE, IF, ELSE, ENDIF, WHILE, ENDWHILE, REPEAT, UNTIL

3.

Indent to show hierarchy
We will use a particular indentation pattern in each of the design structures: SEQUENCE: keep statements that are “stacked” in sequence all starting in the same column. SELECTION: indent the statements that fall inside the selection structure, but not the keywords that form the selection

LOOPING: indent the statements that fall inside the loop, but not the keywords that form the loop EX: In the example above, employees whose grossPay is less than 100 do not have any deduction. TASK LIST: Read name, hourly rate, hours worked, deduction rate Compute gross, deduction, net pay Is gross >= 100? YES: calculate deduction NO: no deduction Write name, gross, deduction, net pay PSEUDOCODE: READ name, hourlyRate, hoursWorked grossPay = hourlyRate * hoursWorked IF grossPay >= 100 deduction = grossPay * deductionRate ELSE deduction = 0 ENDIF netPay = grossPay – deduction WRITE name, grossPay, deduction, netPay

4.

End multiline structures
See how the IF/ELSE/ENDIF is constructed above. The ENDIF (or END whatever) always is in line with the IF (or whatever starts the structure).

5.

Keep stmts language independent
Resist the urge to write in whatever language you are most comfortable with. In the long run, you will save time! There may be special features available in the language you plan to eventually write the program in; if you are SURE it will be written in that language, then you can use the features. If not, then avoid using the special features.

SELECTION STRUCTURE
We looked at this in Chap 2: yes amount < 1000

no

interestRate = .06

interestRate = .10

The pseudocode for this would be: IF amount < 1000 interestRate = .06 ELSE interestRate = .10 ENDIF // the “yes” or “true” action // the “no” or “false” action

Some selections are of the “do it or don’t” (one sided) variety. For example: The pseudocode for this is: average < 60 ? IF average < 60 DO SendWarning ENDIF

yes

DO SendWarning

no

It is considered poor form to have a 1-sided IF stmt where the action is on the “no” or ELSE side. Consider this code: IF average < 60 NULL ELSE DO GivePassingGrade ENDIF This could (and should) be rewritten to eliminate the NULL “yes” part. To do that, we change the < to its opposite: >= as follows: IF average >= 60 DO GivePassingGrade ENDIF

NESTING IF STATEMENTS
What if we wanted to put a little menu up on the screen: 1. Solitaire 2. Doom 3. Monopoly and have the user select which game to play. How would we activate the correct game? READ gameNumber IF gameNumber = 1 DO Solitaire ELSE IF gameNumber = 2 DO Doom ELSE DO Monopoly ENDIF ENDIF
READ gameNumber

yes

gameNumber =1? yes

no

DO Solitaire DO Doom

gameNumber =2?

no

DO Monopoly

We must pay particular attention to where the IFs end. The nested IF must be completely contained in either the IF or the ELSE part of the containing IF. Watch for and line up the matching ENDIF.

LOOPING STRUCTURES
One of the most confusing things for students first seeing a flowchart is telling the loops apart from the selections. This is because both use the diamond shape as their control symbol. In pseudocode this confusion is eliminated. To mark our loops we will use these pairs: WHILE / ENDWHILE REPEAT / UNTIL START Count = 0 The loop shown here (from the last chapter) will have the following pseudocode: count = 0 WHILE count < 10 ADD 1 to count WRITE count ENDWHILE WRITE “The end” no Count < 10 yes Add 1 to count

Write “The end”

Notice that the connector and test at the top of the loop in the flowchart become the WHILE stmt in pseudocode. The end of the loop is marked by ENDWHILE. What statement do we execute when the loop is over? The one that follows the ENDWHILE.

Write count

STOP

Sometimes it is desirable to put the steps that are inside the loop into a separate module. Then the pseudocode might be this: Mainline count = 0 WHILE count < 10 DO Process ENDWHILE WRITE “The end” Process ADD 1 to count WRITE count We often use this name for the first module. Initialization comes first The processing loop uses this module Termination does clean-up Go thru these steps and then return to the module that sent you here (Mainline)

START Count = 0

This time we will see how to write pseudocode for an UNTIL loop: count = 0 REPEAT ADD 1 to count WRITE count UNTIL count >= 10 WRITE “The end” Notice how the connector at the top of the loop corresponds to the REPEAT keyword, while the test at the bottom corresponds the the UNTIL stmt. When the loop is over, control goes to the stmt following the UNTIL.

Add 1 to count

Write count

no

Count >= 10 yes Write “The end”

STOP

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Pseudocode Disadvantages It’s not visual There is no accepted standard, so it varies widely from company to company Pseudocode Advantages Can be done easily on a word processor Easily modified Implements structured concepts well Flowchart Disadvantages Hard to modify Need special software (not so much now!) Structured design elements not all implemented Flowchart Advantages Standardized: all pretty much agree on the symbols and their meaning Visual (but this does bring some limitations)

HOW WE STORE AND ACCESS DATA
What happens when we execute READ stmt? READ name, hoursWorked, hourlyRate, deductionRate The computer stores all program data into memory locations. It knows these location by their addresses. It is perfectly able to understand code like: READ 19087, 80976, 10943, 80764 but we would have a hard time with it. So we name our storage locations using words that are descriptive to us. Every language has its own (different) set of rules about how these names are formed. We will use a simple style: variable names will start with a lowercase letter they will have no spaces in them additional words in them will start with a capital names must be unique within the program consistent use of names The READ statement tells the computer to get a value from the input device (keyboard, file, …) and store it in the names memory location. When we need to compute a value in a program (like grossPay) we will use what is called an assignment stmt. variable = expression Be careful to understand the difference between these two stmts: num1 = num2 num2 = num1

The WRITE stmt is used to display information on the output device (screen, printer). To display words, enclose them in quotes. A variable’s value will be displayed. So if the variable name currently contains John Smith, then the stmt WRITE “Employee name: “, name will output like this: Employee name: John Smith

CALCULATION SYMBOLS
We will often have to represent an expression like the one that computes grossPay. To symbolize the arithmetic operators we use these symbols grouping ( ) exponent ** or ^ multiply * divide / add + subtract There is a precedence or hierarchy implied in these symbols.

ORDER OF EXECUTION
( ) ** / * + equations in parenthesis exponentiation division and multiplication addition and subtraction

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

Note: when operators of equal value are to be executed, the order of execution is left to right. Examples: AREA = R2 SUM = A2 + B2 PERIM = 2(L + W) A A C B C B

A C B

A BC

D 2 B

C

D B C

2

value = 100*2/5-3 = 200/5-3 = 40-3 = 37 value = 100*2/(5-3) = 100*2/2 = 200/2 = 100 value = 100*((2/5)-3) = 100*(.4-3) = 100*-2.6 = -260

SELECTION
When we have to make a choice between actions, we almost always base that choice on a test. The test uses phrases like “is less than” or “is equal to”. There is a universally accepted set of symbols used to represent these phrases:

> < >= < =

=

LOGICAL OPERATORS: AND, OR, NOT
AND: if any of the conditions are false, the whole expression is false. ex: IF day = “Saturday” AND weather = “sunny” WRITE “Let’s go to the beach!” ENDIF

OR: if any of the conditions are true, the whole expression is true ex: IF month = “June” OR month = “July” OR month = “August” WRITE “Yahoo! Summer vacation!” ENDIF

NOT: reverses the outcome of the expression; true becomes false, false becomes true. ex: IF day “Saturday” AND day “Sunday” WRITE “Yuk, another work day” ENDIF