9.
1 Programming basics
Unit 9 Computing Concepts
Icons: Flash activity (these are not editable) Useful web links in the Notes Page
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Curriculum
This presentation links sections
supports the following
of the Programme of Study for KS3 Computing:
use two or more programming languages, at least one of
which is textual, to solve a variety of computational problems;
make appropriate use of data structures such as lists, tables
or arrays; design and develop modular programs that use
procedures or functions
This presentation supports the following areas of knowledge
in the Naace Curriculum Framework for KS3 ICT:
Technical Understanding – Programming and control
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Learning objectives
By the end of this presentation we will have learned:
to understand how computers process
code (instructions)
to recognize the difference between
constants and variables
to create simple IF statements
to understand control flow.
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Programming basics
Computers will only do what you
tell them to. If a program doesn’t
work, you haven’t given it the
right instructions!
In order to program a computer,
you need to speak in a language
that it understands. There are
many different programming
languages, but their basic
concepts are the same.
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Robby the robot
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Common elements of programming
In order to start programming we need to understand some
of the common elements of all programming languages:
constants variables control flow.
Constants stay the same throughout the running
(or execution) of the program.
An example of a constant might be the speed of a character.
My speed
is set to 5.
My speed is
set to 11.
When the user moves the character, it always
moves at the same speed.
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Constants
Another example of a constant is when a user is asked to
enter their name at the beginning of a game.
The name ‘Sam’ stays the same throughout the game.
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Variables
Variables store values that change
throughout the execution of a program.
They can hold any value; it could be a
calculation, a response or something else.
First we will look at variables that store
calculations. Look at the example below:
tells the computer that we want to
assign something to ‘a’
a = 1+1
the name of the number that
the variable will be stored in ‘a’
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Variables in games
A variable changes throughout the execution of the program
depending on different conditions.
For example, the score in a game
changes often. It will start at 0 and
then increase at different stages.
Here is a variable called ‘score’.
At the beginning of the program
it holds the value 0.
score=0
If you gain 10 points for every target you hit, the variable will
change by 10.
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Variables in games
The pseudocode for adding 10 to the variable ‘score’ is this:
This is pseudocode,
a way of planning out our
score=score+10 code before converting it
to the chosen
programming language.
This means add 10 to
whatever number is in ‘score’.
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Assigning numbers to variables
Look at the variable assignment statement below.
b=4*3
What number has been assigned to ‘b’?
The answer is:
b=12
If a calculation is assigned to a variable then the variable
always contains the answer, not the calculation.
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What is the value of the variable?
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Variables and responses
Variables aren’t always numbers. You might have a variable
that gives the user a response.
For example, if you want to tell the
user that they are correct or
incorrect, we would assign the
variable like this:
We use speech marks
response=“ ” when we are entering
text in programs.
Then, during the code we can change the variable to give
the user a response.
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Variables and responses
In this example, ‘10’ is the correct answer. Below is an
IF statement to assign the right response to the
variable depending on the answer given.
IF answer=10 THEN
response=“Correct!”
ELSE
response=“Incorrect!”
ENDIF
10 Correct!
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Constant or variable?
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Making decisions
Instructions aren’t always step-by-step.
Sometimes you need a program to make
decisions based on certain information.
This is called control flow.
For example, a game might have two levels:
beginner and advanced. You could use an
IF statement to say what will happen when
different options are selected.
IF beginner is selected THEN
play beginner level
ELSE
play advanced level
ENDIF
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Do you understand this IF statement?
The variable ‘a’ contains the number 4.
IF a<10 THEN
sound alarm
ELSE
flash the lights
ENDIF
What will happen if this code runs?
The alarm will sound.
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IF statements
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AFL check
How did you do?
Copy the actions below to show how much you agree with
the statements.
I understand how computers process code.
I recognize the difference between constants and variables.
I can create simple IF statements.
I understand the term ‘control flow’.
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