Chapter One:

Introduction
PROGRAMMING AND PROBLEM SOLVING
Computers are everywhere

• We want to put computers to solve problems in our lives, and if there

isn't a ready made piece of software for us to use, we might have to
program the computer ourselves in order to help us with our problem-
solving.

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Programming

program solve

People Computers Problems

Computer program tells a

computer the sequence of
steps needed to solve a
problem. The program is However, Programming is
written in a very specific not actually the first step!
language (Python, C, Java,…)

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Programming and Problem
Solving

program solve

People Computers Problems

Computer program tells a

computer the sequence of - You have to engage in some
steps needed to solve a problem-solving practices and
problem. The program is thinking to set up the approach that
written in a very specific we will later implement in the
language (Python, C, Java,…) computer program.

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 Algorithmic Thinking

Design Implement Run Test

a solution a computer Output

People approach solve the
program Problem
Computer problem?

Design-> Implement -> Run -> Test & Debug

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Computer Programs
 A computer program tells a computer the sequence of steps needed
to complete a specific task
• The program consists of a very large number of primitive (simple)
instructions
• Each program is designed to direct the computer to work on a specific task
 Programming is the act of designing, implementing, and testing
computer programs
 If you want a computer to perform a task, you should start by writing
an algorithm and then translate it to a computer program using a
programming languages (e.g. Python).

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 Executing a Program
• Program instructions and data (such as text, numbers, audio, or video)
are stored in digital format
• When a program is started, it is brought into memory, where the CPU
can read it.
• The CPU runs the program one instruction at a time.
- The program may react to user input.
- The CPU reads data (including user input), modifies it, and writes it back to
memory, the screen, or secondary storage.

Main
Ports Memory

CPU

Network
controller

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Algorithms
A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO ALGORITHM
DEVELOPMENT

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Introduction to Algorithms
• If you want a computer to perform a task, you start by writing an
algorithm (mostly using a pen and paper)
• An Algorithm is:
- a sequence (the order mattering) of actions to take to accomplish the given
task
- An algorithm is like a recipe; it is a set of instructions written in a sequence
that achieves a goal

• Software developers write an algorithm before they attempt to write a

computer program
• For this course we will ALWAYS write an algorithm for each problem
• Developing algorithms is a fundamental problem solving skill
- It has uses in many fields outside of Computer Science

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A Simple Example
 A simple algorithm to program a kitchen robot prepare a meal.
 E.g.: Prepare a drink of orange juice
• Assumptions: for simplicity, the following are true:
• You have a clean glass in the cabinet
• You have orange juice in your refrigerator

 So one valid algorithm is:

>>> Run the kitchen robot video
1. get a glass from your cabinet
2. go to the refrigerator and get the orange juice container
3. open the orange juice container
4. pour the orange juice from the container into the glass
5. put the orange juice container back in the refrigerator
6. Serve the juice

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Second Example: Selecting a
Car
Problem Statement:
• You have the choice of buying two cars.
• One is more fuel efficient than the other, but also more
expensive.
• You know the price and fuel efficiency (in miles per
gallon, mpg) of both cars.
• You plan to keep the car for ten years.
• Which car is the better deal?

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Developing the Algorithm
1. Determine the inputs and outputs
2. From the problem statement we know:
• Car 1: Purchase price, Fuel Efficiency
• Car 2: Purchase price, Fuel Efficiency
• Price per gallon = $4.00
• Annual miles driven= 15,000
• Length of time = 10 years

3. For each car we need to calculate:

• Annual fuel consumed for each car
• Annual fuel cost for each car
• Operating cost for each car
• Total cost of each Car

4. Then we select the car with the lowest total cost

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Translating the Algorithm to pseudocode
1. Break down the problem into smaller tasks

 “Calculate total cost” for each car

 To calculate the total cost for each year we need to calculate the operating cost
• The operating cost depends on the annual fuel cost
• The annual fuel cost is the price per gallon * the annual fuel consumed
• The annual fuel consumed is the annual miles drive / fuel efficiency

 total cost = purchase price + operating cost

2. Describe each subtask as pseudocode

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 The Pseudocode
1. For each car compute the total cost:
annual fuel consumed = annual miles driven / fuel efficiency
annual fuel cost = price per gallon * annual fuel consumed
operating cost = Length of time * annual fuel cost
total cost = purchase price + operating cost
2. if total cost1 < total cost2
choose car1
else
choose car2

 In computer science, pseudocode is a plain language description

of the steps in an algorithm. Pseudocode resembles a normal
programming language, but is intended for human reading rather
than machine reading.

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 Begin

The Flowchart
annFuelConsm1 = annMilesDriven1 / fuelEff1
annFuelCost1 = pricePerLiter * annFuelConsm1
opCost1 = time * annFuelCost1
 A flowchart is a totalCost1 = purchasePrice1 + opCost1
type of diagram
that represents a
workflow or
annFuelConsm2 = annMilesDriven2 / fuelEff2
process. annFuelCost2 = pricePerLiter * annFuelConsm2
opCost2 = time * annFuelCost2
 A flowchart is a totalCost2 = purchasePrice2 + opCost2
diagrammatic
representation of
an algorithm
yes
choose car1 totalCost1 < totalCost2
 The flowchart
shows the steps
no
as boxes of
various kinds, choose car2
and their order by
connecting the End
boxes with
arrows.
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Algorithmic Thinking
- The thinking that we do before and as we start writing a computer program

1. Problem Identification
2. Decomposition
3. Pattern Recognition
4. Abstraction

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Algorithmic Thinking
- The thinking that we do before and as we start writing a computer program

1. Problem Identification

- How do we know when a problem is a good candidate for using a

computer to generate a solution?

- What's the big problem you're trying to solve, and can you state this
in an adequate problem statement?

- What kind of information or data do we have available that could

help us or contribute to a problem-solving approach?

- What are the assumptions?

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Algorithmic Thinking
- The thinking that we do before and as we start writing a computer program

2. Problem Decomposition

- Break our large problem down into smaller and smaller sub-problems
- Solve those specific sub-problems.
- Have these different solutions all contribute to solving the large
problem.

Solving the smaller pieces can help us arrive at a solution for our original
problem statement.

Hint: Use flowchart, and tree structure

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Algorithmic Thinking
- The thinking that we do before and as we start writing a computer program

3. Pattern recognition

- Have you seen solutions to similar problems that you could use here? Or
can you think of similar problems that have been solved before that can
help you address these problems?

- How is this problem the same or different from other problems you've
identified or addressed in the past? And can you use those similarities to
help arrive at a solution?

Finding similarities, finding some problems that are similar

patterns that we have solved in the past can help us solve
the smaller decomposed problems more efficiently.

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Algorithmic Thinking
- The thinking that we do before and as we start writing a computer program

4. Abstraction

- Are all elements of the problem really as important as we may have

thought at the beginning?

- Identify non-essential aspects of our problem that we might be able to

ignore

- So that we can concentrate on the necessary aspects of the problem

we're trying to solve.

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Case Study: How to detect suspicious
behavior on an airport surveillance
videos

>>> Run the video surveillance

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Reflect
>>> What types of suspicious behavior would you
look for at an airport?
>>> How do you think computers can help us
identify suspicious behavior?
- Engage in problem solving thinking, then
- Share your thoughts on the Virtual
Classroom Forum…

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Engage in Computational Thinking: How to detect suspicious behavior
on an airport surveillance videos

1. Problem Identification:
- Is the problem a good candidate for using a computer to
generate a solution?
2. Decomposition:
- How would you break down the problem into smaller sub-
problems?
3. Pattern Recognition:
- Are there related solutions to build on?
4. Abstraction:
- Are there non-essential aspects of our problem that might
be ignored

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 Programming and Problem Solving

The main goal of this course is to help you

develop
- your computational thinking and
- programming skills to solve problems

Problems solving has uses in many fields

outside of Computer Science

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