3/27/2022

FUNDAMENTAL OF
COMPUTER
PROGRAMMING
Week 1
TOPIC 1

Prepared By
Sr Dr. KHAIRULAZHAR BIN ZAINUDDIN

Course Description
This course introduces students to the basic
computer programming language. Students
are expected to solve Geomatics tasks using
programming procedures.

2 credit unit
• 1h lecture
• 2h lab exercise

80 hours student learning time

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Learning Outcomes
Student should be able to:
1. Explain the theoretical concept and procedures
for a simple programming/coding (C2)
2. Relate the basic computer programming
techniques in writing a small/simple and
executable program (P1)
3. Describe in writing a program knowledge and
skills to solve a selected Geomatics issue (P1)

Teaching Method & Topics

Lecture Laboratory
Introduction (2h) Introduction to C++ structure (8)
Basic Elements of Computer Program (4h) Control Structure & Statement (16)
Control Structure & Statement (6h) Input File and Output File (4h)
Input and Output File Stream (2h)

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Student Learning Time

Lecture 1h, Lab exercise 2h

Student Preparation Time/week:

• 1h for lecture
• 2h for lab
• *Make sure be prepared before entering the
class and lab session!

Assessment
100% Course Work

Written Test (CLO1, C2) : Lab Test (CLO2, P1) : Group Project (CLO3,
40% 10% P1) : 50%
Individual Individual Week 12 - 15
Test on Topic 1 and 2 Lab Test 1 : 10%
Week 6 Week 14

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Academic Session 20222

Teaching Period 14 weeks

Session 20222: 28/03 – 17/07/2022

• Mid Sem Break: 1 – 8 May 2022

• Special Holidays: 30/5 – 5/6/2022

Week 1 Topic 1
Lesson content:
1. Introduction to computer programming
2. Components of the computer program

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Introduction to
computer programming

• WHAT IS A COMPUTER PROGRAM?

– Sequences of instructions and
decisions that the computer carries
out to achieve a task.

Input Process Output

Software
Apps
Hardware driver

Introduction to
Computer
The computer is an electronic device that
accepts input, processes data, storing data
and generates the output

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Categories of
Computers
• Mainframe computers
• Midsize computers
• Micro computers (personal
computers)

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A Brief Overview
of the History of
the Computers

• Early computer-like machines

– Mark I
– ENIAC
– Von Neumann architecture
– Univac
– Transistors and microprocessors

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Basic components of a computer

systems
Hardware

• Device that processes data to create information (ex:

input, output, storage and processing devices)

Software

• Step-by-step instructions that tell the computer how

to do its work.
• It is also called a program.
• Its purpose is to convert data to useful information

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Two types of program

System program
• To control the computer
• Operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux)
Application program
• To perform a specific task
• Word processor, spreadsheet, presentation
• Games, CAD,

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Component of Computer Program

• Program is a set of instructions that the computer
needs to follow to process the data into information.
– Without software, the computer are useless

• Programming Language contains a set of instructions,

data and rules that are used to construct a program.
Ex: C++, C, VB, python, java…

• Programming is the act of designing/writing and

implementing computer programs using the
programming languages.

• Programmer is a person who writes a computer

program.
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Computer Program
• Computer is a machine – thus only
understand the machine language.
• Machine language is a low-level language
comprised of binary numbers
1011010000000101
• Computer (and all digital devices) only
recognizes the binary data

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To write a program for a computer we

must use a computer language – like
humans communicate to each other

Human-to-human: English, Malay,

Mandarin, Tamil, Arabic, Urdu….
Computer
Program Computer only understands machine
language

Human-to-computer?

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A Brief Overview of the History of the

Programming Language
• Over the years computer languages have
evolved from machine language to natural
language

1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s

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• Machine language instructions are in binary numbers,

e.g. 1011010000000101 – low-level language.

• Symbolic languages simply mirrored the machine

languages using symbols, or mnemonics, to represent
the various machine language instructions
entry main, ^m<r2>

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• A special program called an assembler is used to

translate symbolic code into machine language
• Because symbolic languages had to be assembled into
machine language, they soon become known as
assembly language
• The desire to improve programmer efficiency and to
change the focus from computer to the problem being
solved led to the development of high-level languages

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• Ideally, we could use our natural language (such as

English, French, or Chinese), and the computer
would understand it and execute our request
immediately
• Although this may sound like something out of
science fiction, considerable work on natural
language is being done in labs today.

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Five generations of programming language

1st Generation – Machine language

• Basic language of the computer, representing
data as 1s and 0s.
2nd Generation – assembly language
• Low-level programming language.
• Allows programmer to write a program using
abbreviations or more easily remembered
words instead of number.

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Five generations of programming language

High-level language
• 3rd Generation – Procedural languages
• 4th Generation - Problem-oriented language
– Fortran, COBOL, Pascal.

5th Generation
• Natural languages.
• Use human language to give people a more natural
connection with the computer.

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Example of programming language

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Interpreters and Compilers

• A program in the form of a high-level language
is called source code.
• The source code must be translated into
machine language (binary code) since this is
the only language that the computer
understand.
• The machine language is known as object
code.

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Interpreters and Compilers

• An interpreter is a program that translates the source
code into machine language.
• Every time the program is run, the interpreters must
once again translate each instruction.
• Compiler is another program that translates the
source code into machine language.
• The compiler makes the translation once and saves
the machine language so that the instructions do not
have to be translated each time the program is run.

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Source Code, Object Code and

Executable Code
• When a program is compiled, the compiler generates
the object code, which is saved in a file with the file
extension *.obj.
• However, the object code is incomplete. A program
called a linker is used to create an executable program.
• Linker combines the object code with machine
language codes necessary to run a program, called
executable code.
• Executable code is saved in a file with file extension
*.exe.

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Compilation Process of Computer Program

Using C++ Editor to produce the SOURCE CODE

source code

Using C++ Compiler to compile COMPILER

the source code

The compiled process produces OBJECT CODE

object code

Link the object code with LINKER LIBRARY

additional codes

Produce result EXECUTABLE

CODE

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Easy to express tasks from a particular

problem domain.

The Allow user to instruct computer to do a

specific task in a certain instances.
Importance
of Computer A skill required for a computer scientist
Programming and software engineer.
Geomatician = solve big data for analysis

A skill required to create a successful

computer program.

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The Importance of Good

Programs
• Reliability of Output
– Good program should produce correct output
– During the testing phase different set of input data is used to
ensure the reliability of output

• Program’s Efficiency
– Good program should be reliable and efficient in the sense
that it produces no errors during the execution process
– Program must achieve its purpose so that the result can be
trusted
– Use of pseudocode or flowchart to outline the program

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The Importance of Good

Programs (..cont.)
• Interactivity
– Interaction between user and the program is well defined
– Interactivity is important so that the user knows the
processing status
– User-friendly programs allow users to respond to the
instructions correctly and allow them key in valid input

• Program readability
– Readability is concerned with how other person views one’s
program
– Use of indention and comment increase the level of
readability

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Wrap up
• Computer is a device to help humans in their
daily lives.
• Computer is driven by a series of instructions
known as a computer program – without the
program computer is useless.
• Humans can write the program using natural
language.

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Wrap up
• Computer only understand the machine
language; thus, the program need to be
translated into machine language using
compiler.

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END OF LECTURE

Next lecture: Program Development Life Cycle

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