3.1 Computer Programming Concepts

• Programming terminology
• Source code, machine code, and the tools that translate: assembler, compiler, interpreter
• The Integrated Development Environment and the software development lifecycle
• Low-level and high-level languages
• The evolution of programming languages, in generations
• Programming paradigms
• Simulating a low-level language

• explain the terminologies used in programming languages
• describe the evolution of programming languages in software development
• categorise programming languages according to the paradigms
• create simple instructions to simulate low-level programming languages
• acknowledge the evolution of programming languages in software development

“Why are programming languages important in computing?”

“How are programming languages executed?”

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1. Programming terminology and the levels of language
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   What programming is; the vocabulary of source code, machine code and translators; and the difference between low-level and high-level languages, with how programs are executed.
2. The evolution of programming languages, and paradigms
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The five generations of languages, the main programming paradigms, and a hands-on simulation of low-level instructions.
3. A program versus a programming language
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   M-Pesa is a program people run. Java is a language people write in. Why that distinction matters in Kenya.
4. Source code and machine code
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   What the programmer writes, what the CPU runs, and the object code in between.
5. Syntax: the grammar of a language
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Syntax is exact rules. A syntax error stops translation. A logic error runs but is wrong.
6. Compilers: translate the whole program first
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   A compiler translates all of the source into a file, reports errors up front, then the file runs on its own.
7. Interpreters: translate and run together
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   An interpreter translates and executes one line at a time. Python in the lab is this model.
8. The IDE and the software development lifecycle
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   An IDE packs editor, translator and debugger. The SDLC is the bigger cycle that tool sits inside.
9. Algorithms: the thinking before a language
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   An algorithm is a finite, definite set of steps. A recipe is one. Code is how those steps are spelled later.
10. Pseudocode: false code anyone can read
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Structured English that looks like a program but is not Python or C. Keywords: START, INPUT, OUTPUT, END.
11. Flowcharts: logic as a picture
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Standard symbols: oval, parallelogram, rectangle, diamond, arrows. A kiosk-change flowchart.
12. High-level languages and portability
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Why almost all Kenyan software is high-level: programmer time, readability and moving between machines.
13. Paradigms in the apps you already use
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    A paradigm is a style. M-Pesa taps are event-driven. A fee script is procedural. Java likes objects.
14. Simulating low-level instructions
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Act as a tiny CPU: LOAD, ADD, SUB, STORE, PRINT, END. See why high-level languages were invented.