Tanzania Peoples Defence Forces (TPDF)

Military School of Information and

Communication Technology

TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATE IN INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES & TECHNIQUES

CHAPTER ONE

Wednesday, November 30,

SKT@ 2022 202
UNDERSTANDING PROG. CONCEPTS

S COPE
 TERMINOLOGIES
 EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES
 PROS & CONS OF LOW-LEVEL LANGUAGES
 PROS & CONS OF HIGH-LEVEL LANGUAGES
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD COMPUTER
PROG.
 LINKERS & LOADERS
TERMINOLOGIES
COMPUTER
 An electronic device for storing and processing
data, typically in Binary Form
COMPUTER PROGRAM
 A collection of instructions that performs a
specific task when executed by a computer
TERMINOLOGIES …CONT
LANGUAGE
 A set of rules and structure for expressing ideas
in spoken or symbolic form
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
 A set of rules that provides a way of telling a
computer what operations to perform
TERMINOLOGIES …CONT
COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
 An iterative process of writing or editing source code
of computer programs, followed by testing, analyzing
and refining such code

SYNTAX
 Represents the correct fundamental rules of a
programming language.
TERMINOLOGIES …CONT
SEMANTICS
 Describes the processes a computer follows when
executing a program in that specific language.

COMPUTER PROGRAMMER
 A programmer is an individual that writes/creates
computer software or applications by giving the
computer specific programming instructions.
TERMINOLOGIES …CONT
TRANSLATOR
 A computer program that performs the translation of a
program written in a given programming language into a
functionally equivalent program in a different computer
language, without losing the functional or logical structure of
the original code.

SOURCE CODE
 A set of program instructions in their original form .
TERMINOLOGIES …CONT
INTERPRETER
 A computer program that reads program code line by
line and does what it says.

INTERNET
 A global computer network providing a variety of
information and communication facilities, consisting
of interconnected networks using standardized
communication protocols.
TERMINOLOGIES …CONT
PSEUDO CODE
 An English-like nonstandard language that lets you
state your solution with more precision than you can in
plain English but with less precision than is required
when using a formal programming language
TERMINOLOGIES …CONT
Difference of Interpreter and Compiler
Interpreter
1. Translates the source program
one statement at a time
2. Translate the program each
time it is run hence slower than
compiling
3. Interpreted object code takes
less memory compared to the
compiled program.
Compiler
1. Translates the entire source code
at once before execution
2. Compiled program (object code)
can be saved on a storage media
and run as required, hence
executing faster than interpreted
programs.
3. Complied programs require more
memory as the object file are
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES
Evolution of computers are based on the
levels of programming languages.
Programming languages developed over the
years are classified into two major levels;
 1. Low level languages
 2. High Level languages
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT
Low Level Languages
 Can be crafted to run very fast and with a very small
memory footprint. However, they are considered more
difficult to utilize because they require a deeper
knowledge of machine language.
 Generally, LLL refer to either machine code or
assembly language.
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT
Machine Language (code)
 The only language that is directly understood by the
computer
 It does not need any translator program
 It is written as strings of 1's (one) and 0’s (zero). When
this sequence of codes is fed to the computer, it
recognizes the codes and converts it in to electrical
signals needed to run it.
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT

Machine Language (code) …CONT
 It is not an easy language for you to learn because of
its difficulty in understanding
 It is efficient for the computer but very inefficient for
programmers
 It is considered to the First-Generation Language
 It is also difficult to debug the program written in this
language
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT
Assembly Language
 The first step to improve the programming structure
 The set of symbols and letters forms the Assembly
Language
 A translator program is required to translate the
Assembly Language to machine language
 It is considered a Second-Generation Language.
▪ Eg. ADD 10010101 , 10110100
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT
High Level Languages
 HLL represent a giant leap towards easier programming
 The syntax of HL languages is similar to English
 There are different generations of HLL and each one of them
addresses a particular problem solving Domain
▪ 3rd Generation Languages
▪ 4th Generation Languages
▪ 5th Generation Languages
▪ Object Oriented Programming (OOP)
▪ Web Scripting Languages
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT
3rd Generation Languages
 Also called Structured language OR procedure languages
 A procedural language makes it possible to break a program
into components called modules
 The structural Programming emphasizes that large programs
can be broken down into smaller sub programs each
performing a single task
 Examples of (3rd GL) are Pascal, FORTRAN, COBOL,
BASIC, C, ADA
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT
4th Generation Languages
 Made programming an even easier task than the third-
generation languages
 It presents more programming tools for instance
command buttons, forms
 The programmer is freed from the tedious work of writing
the code
 Examples of (4th GL) are Visual Basic, Delph Pascal and
Visual Cobol
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT
5th Generation Languages
 Are designed to make the computer solve the problem
for the programmer rather than the programmer
spending a lot of time to come up with the solution.
 The programmer only worries about what problem to
solve meeting what conditions
 Examples of (5th GL) are PROLOG, Mercury OCCAM
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
 Intelligence demonstrated by Machines, as opposed to
natural intelligence displayed by animals including
humans.
 Machines that mimic "cognitive" functions that
humans associate with the human mind, such as
"learning" and "problem solving“
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT
OOP (Object Oriented Programming
 A program having variously objects interacting to make
up a whole
 Each object has a specific data value that are unique to it
called State
 The Process of having data and functions that operate on
the data within on object is called Encapsulation
 Several objects can then be linked together to form a
complete program
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT

OOP (Object Oriented Programming) …CONT
 Examples of (OOP) are C++, Java, etc.
 OOP has contributed greatly to the development of
graphical user interface (GUI), Operating Systems and
application programs
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT
Web Scripting Language
 Used to develop or add functionalities on a web page
 Web pages are hypertext documents created in a
Slanguage called (HTML) Hypertext Markup
Language
 Consists of tags that are interpreted by web browser
software to display text. A tag is special work enclosed
between the less than or greater than (<>)
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT

Web Scripting Language …CONT
 Unlike other programming languages HTML does not have
the declaration part and control structures and Due to this
reason, it is not considered as a true programming language
 HTML has many limitations and cannot be used alone to
develop functional websites
 Some Special block of code known as scripts are inserted
into html page using java script, VB script and Hypertext
Preprocessor (PHP)
 A script is a small program fragment, written in a different
EVOLUTION OF PROG LANGUAGES …CONT
A program written in a high-level language is called a
source program (source code). Since a computer cannot
understand a source program. Program called a compiler
is used to translate the source program into a machine
language program called an object program
ADVANTAGES OF LOW LEVEL
LANGUAGES
The CPU understands machine language directly
without translation
The processor executes them faster because
complex instructions are already broken down into
simpler ones
Low level languages are stable and hardly crash or
break down once written
DISADVANTAGES OF LOW LEVEL
LANGUAGES
 Low level languages are difficult and cumbersome to
use and learn
 They require highly trained experts both to develop
and maintain programs
 Removing errors in low level languages programs is
difficult
 Low level programs are machine dependent (i.e.,
they are not transferable from one hardware or
software platform to another. Hence, they are not
ADVANTAGES OF HIGH LEVEL
LANGUAGES
High level languages are portable. i.e., they are
transferable from one computer to another
Are user friendly and easy to use and learn
Are more flexible hence they enhance the
creativity of the programmer and increase
productivity in the workplace
They are far much more easily to correct errors
DISADVANTAGES OF HIGH LEVEL
LANGUAGES
Their nature encourages use of many instructions
in a word or statement hence the complexity of
these instructions causes slower program
processing
They have to be interpreted, complied to machine
readable form before the computer can execute
them
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD
PROGRAM
 EFFICIENCE
 A program should be laid out in such a manner that it utilizes
the least amount of memory and processing time
 PORTABLE
 The ability of an application to run on different platforms
with or without minimal changes
 READABLE
 Should be written in such a way that it makes other
programmers or users to follow the logic of the program
without much effort
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD PROGRAM …CONT
 STRUCTURAL
 To develop a program, the task must be broken down into a
number of subtasks
 FLEXIBLE
 Ability to handle most of the changes without having to
rewrite the entire program
 CORRECTNESS
 The degree with which software adheres to its specified
requirements. Well-designed software should meet all the
stated requirements
LINKERS & LOADERS
 Linkers
 Also Known as link editor is a computer utility program that takes one
or more object files generated by a compiler and combines them into a
single executable file, library file, or another 'object' file
 Loader
 The part of an operating system that is responsible for loading
programs and libraries as it places programs into memory and prepares
them for execution
 Loading a program involves reading the contents of the executable
file containing the program instructions into memory, and then
carrying out other required preparatory tasks to prepare the
 IMPORTANCE OF PROGRAMMING
 Programming is important as it is used to create software and
applications that help computer and mobile users in daily life
 Programming is important for learning to innovate and create
eco-friendly solutions for global problems
 Programming is important in our daily life to enhance and
increase the power of computers and the internet
 Programming is important for speeding up the input and output
processes in a machine
 Due to all these reasons, it’s really important to learn Computer
Programming and how to use different programming languages
in our daily lives
 SUMMARY
 What is the difference between a Computer Program
 What is the difference between a Computer Program and
Computer Programming?
 Elaborate on the difference between a Language and a
Programming Language?
 Differentiate Syntax from Semantics
 Distinguish a Translator from a Compiler
 What is
a. Source Code
b. Interpreter
 Who is a Programmer?
 SUMMARY …CONT
 Mention Two Major Classification of Programming Languages
 How does Machine Language Differ from Assembly Language?
 There are different generations of High-Level Languages, Mention
Five
 What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Low-Level
Languages?
 What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of High-Level
Languages?
 Mention the characteristics of a Good Programming Language
 How is Programming Important?