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Software-Development
What is 'Pseudocode'
Definition: Pseudocode is an informal way of programming description that does not require any strict programming language syntax or underlying technology considerations. It is used for creating an outline or a rough draft of a program. Pseudocode summarizes a program’s flow, but excludes underlying details. System designers write pseudocode to ensure that programmers understand a software project's requirements and align code accordingly.
Description: Pseudocode is not an actual programming language. So it cannot be compiled into an executable program. It uses short terms or simple English language syntaxes to write code for programs before it is actually converted into a specific programming language. This is done to identify top level flow errors, and understand the programming data flows that the final program is going to use. This definitely helps save time during actual programming as conceptual errors have been already corrected. Firstly, program description and functionality is gathered and then pseudocode is used to create statements to achieve the required results for a program. Detailed pseudocode is inspected and verified by the designer’s team or programmers to match design specifications. Catching errors or wrong program flow at the pseudocode stage is beneficial for development as it is less costly than catching them later. Once the pseudocode is accepted by the team, it is rewritten using the vocabulary and syntax of a programming language. The purpose of using pseudocode is an efficient key principle of an algorithm. It is used in planning an algorithm with sketching out the structure of the program before the actual coding takes place.
Advantages of pseudocode –
• Pseudocode is understood by the programmers of all types.
• it enables the programmer to concentrate only on the algorithm part of the code development.
• It cannot be compiled into an executable program. Example, Java code : if (i < 10) { i++; } pseudocode :if i is less than 10, increment i by 1.
Description: Pseudocode is not an actual programming language. So it cannot be compiled into an executable program. It uses short terms or simple English language syntaxes to write code for programs before it is actually converted into a specific programming language. This is done to identify top level flow errors, and understand the programming data flows that the final program is going to use. This definitely helps save time during actual programming as conceptual errors have been already corrected. Firstly, program description and functionality is gathered and then pseudocode is used to create statements to achieve the required results for a program. Detailed pseudocode is inspected and verified by the designer’s team or programmers to match design specifications. Catching errors or wrong program flow at the pseudocode stage is beneficial for development as it is less costly than catching them later. Once the pseudocode is accepted by the team, it is rewritten using the vocabulary and syntax of a programming language. The purpose of using pseudocode is an efficient key principle of an algorithm. It is used in planning an algorithm with sketching out the structure of the program before the actual coding takes place.
Advantages of pseudocode –
• Pseudocode is understood by the programmers of all types.
• it enables the programmer to concentrate only on the algorithm part of the code development.
• It cannot be compiled into an executable program. Example, Java code : if (i < 10) { i++; } pseudocode :if i is less than 10, increment i by 1.
