CSC 102
LECTURE 1
Introduction to the core concepts of
computing: Problems and problem-solving.
PROF ARIBISALA & DR. ZUBAIR ADAM
LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY, OJO LAGOS
1
OVERVIEW
Introduction to the core concepts of computing: Problems and problem-solving.
The identification of problems and types of problems (routine problems and non-routine
problems).
Method of solving computing problems (introduction to algorithms and heuristics).
Solvable and unsolvable problems.
Solution techniques of solving problems (abstraction, analogy, brainstorming, trial and
error, hypothesis
Testing, reduction, literal thinking, means end analysis, method of focal object,
morphological analysis, research, root cause analysis, proof, divide and conquer).
General Problem-solving process.
Solution formulation and design: flowchart, pseudocode, decision table, decision tree.
Implementation, evaluation and refinement.
Programming in C++, Python etc 2
Computing
What is Computing?
Definition: The process of using computer technology to complete a task.
It involves the design, development, and use of computer systems,
software, and networks for the processing of data and information.
Key Areas: Software
Engineering
Computer Science: Theoretical foundations, algorithms, and computing Information
systems.
Cybersecurity
Technology
Information Technology: Practical applications and systems management.
Software Engineering: Development and maintenance of software. Computer
Computing Data Science
Science
Data Science: Extraction of insights and knowledge from data using
statistics, machine learning, and data visualization.
Figure 1: Key areas of Computing
Cybersecurity: Protection of computer systems and networks from
information disclosure, theft, or damage. 3
History of Computing
Evolution of Computers
Mechanical Devices: Abacus, mechanical calculators (Pascaline, Leibniz wheel)
Electromechanical Devices: IBM Mark I, relay-based machines
Electronic Computers: ENIAC, UNIVAC
Modern Digital Systems: Microprocessors, personal computers, smartphones
Key Milestones and Pioneers
Charles Babbage: Concept of the Analytical Engine
Alan Turing: Turing machine, father of theoretical computer science
John von Neumann: von Neumann architecture
Bill Gates & Steve Jobs: Personal computing revolution
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History of Computer
Generations of computers
S/N Generation Component Used
1 First Generation (1946-1954 ) Vacuum tubes
2 Second Generation (1955-1965) Transistors
3 Third Generation (1968-1975 ) Integrated Circuits (IC)
4 Fourth Generation ( 1976-1980) Very Large Scale Integrated Circuits (VLSI)
5 Fifth Generation (1980 – till today ) Ultra Scale Integrated Circuits (ULSI) Micro
Processor (SILICON CHIP)
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BASIC COMPUTER COMPONENTS
All types of computers follow a same
basic logical structure and perform the
following five basic operations for
converting raw input data into
information useful to their users.
Input Unit
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
Memory Unit
Control Unit
Arithmetic and Logic Unit
Output Unit
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Hardware and Software
Difference Between Hardware and Software
Hardware: Physical components of a computer
Software: is any set of instructions that tells the hardware what to
do. It is what guides the hardware and tells it how to accomplish
each task
Types of Software
System Software: Operating systems, utility programs
Application Software: Word processors, spreadsheets, games
Programming Languages: C, Java, Python 7
Computing Operations
Computer is an electronic machine that performs the
following four basic operations: –
Input
Process
Output
Store
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COMPUTING ENTITIES
Data : It is the collection of raw facts, figures & symbols.
Ex : Names of students and their marks in different subjects listed in
random order.
Information : It is the data that is processed & presented in an organized
manner.
Ex : When the names of students are arranged in alphabetical order,
total and average marks are calculated & presented in a tabular
form, it is information.
Program : Set of instructions that enables a computer to perform a given
task. 9
Computational Computing focuses on using computer
science techniques and devices to
Thinking solve real world problems.
Computational Thinking: A problem-
solving method that draws on
concepts fundamental to computer
science. It involves breaking down
complex problems into smaller,
manageable parts, recognizing
patterns, abstracting essential details,
designing algorithms, and analyzing
the efficiency of solutions.
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Tools for Problem Solving
Programming Languages: Python, Java, C++
Integrated Development Environments (IDEs): Visual Studio, PyCharm, Eclipse
Version Control Systems: Git, GitHub, Bitbucket
Debugging Tools: GDB, WinDbg
Simulation Software: MATLAB, Simulink
Data Analysis Tools: R, Pandas (Python), SQL
Optimization Tools: Linear programming solvers (e.g., CPLEX, Gurobi)
Visualization Tools: Tableau, Power BI, Matplotlib
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Problem-Solving Strategies
Decomposition: Breaking down complex problems into manageable parts
•Example: Breaking down the task of creating a website into design, development, and testing phases.
Pattern Recognition: Identifying similarities and patterns
•Example: Recognizing patterns in data to detect fraud.
Abstraction: Focusing on important information, ignoring irrelevant details
•Example: Creating a simplified model of a car to focus on its fuel efficiency.
Algorithm Design: Creating step-by-step solutions
•Example: Designing an algorithm for sorting a list of numbers.
Debugging: Identifying and fixing errors in code
•Example: Fixing syntax errors in a Python script.
Simulation and Modeling: Using models to represent and test solutions
•Example: Using a simulation to predict weather patterns.
Iteration: Repeating processes to refine and improve solutions
•Example: Iteratively testing and improving a software application.
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• Electronic health records,
Healthcare telemedicine, medical imaging
• Algorithmic trading, fraud
Applications of Finance detection, financial modeling
Computing
• E-learning platforms, educational
Education software, virtual classrooms
It is safe to say that
computing Entertainment
• Video games, streaming services,
digital media
application in all
works of life. • Autonomous vehicles, traffic
Transportation management, logistics
• Robotics, automation, supply
Manufacturing chain management
• Social media, email, instant
Communication messaging
Science and • Data analysis, simulations,
Research computational biology
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Problem-Solving in Computing
What is Problem-Solving?
Definition: Problem-solving is the sequential process of analyzing information
related to a given situation and generating appropriate response options.
Problem-solving in computing involves using computational thinking, algorithms,
and tools to analyze, design, and implement solutions to identified problems.
Key Aspects of Problem-Solving
Computational Thinking: Applying principles like decomposition, pattern
recognition, and abstraction to break down problems and devise efficient
solutions.
Algorithm Design: Creating step-by-step procedures or algorithms to solve
specific tasks or problems.
Implementation: Translating algorithms into code using programming languages
and leveraging appropriate tools and technologies.
Evaluation and Optimization: Testing, refining, and optimizing solutions based on 14
performance metrics and user feedback.
Computers as a problem solving tool
Computer science is all about solving
problems with computers (regardless of
the area of study).
Real-world or abstract world problems
can be tackled with computer science.
We need to have a standard systematic
approach to solving problems.
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Systematic approach to solving problems
Understand the Problem
1. Understand the Problem
2. Formulate a Model Formulate a Model
3. Develop an Algorithm Develop an Algorithm
4. Implementation (Coding) Implementation
5. Test (the Program) Testing
6. Evaluate the Solution Evaluate the Solution
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A problem scenario
Consider a simple example of how the
input/process/output works on a simple
problem which requires calculating the
average grade for all students in a class.
1. Input: Get all the grades … perhaps by
typing them in via the keyboard or by
reading them from a USB flash drive or hard
disk.
2. Process: add them all up and compute the
average grade.
3. Output: Output the answer to either the
monitor, to the printer, to the USB flash drive 17
or hard disk …
Understand the Problem
The first step to solving any problem is to make sure that you
understand the problem that you are trying to solve. One
needs to know:
1. What input data/information is available?
2. What does it represent?
3. What format is it in?
4. Is anything missing?
5. Do I have everything that I need?
6. What output information am I trying to produce?
7. What do I want the result to look like text, a picture, a graph?
8. What am I going to have to compute? 18
Understand the Problem
In our example, we well understand that the input is a bunch of grades. But we need to
understand the format of the grades.
Each grade might be a number from 0 to 100 or it may be a letter grade from A+ to F. If it is a
number, the grade might be a whole integer like 73 or it may be a real number like 73.42.
We need to understand the format of the grades in order to solve the problem.
We also need to consider missing grades. What if we do not have the grade for every student
(e.g., some were away during the test) ? Do we want to be able to include that person in our
average (i.e., they received 0) or ignore them when computing the average ?
We also need to understand what the output should be. Again, there is a formatting issue.
Should we output a whole or real number or a letter grade ? Maybe we want to display a pie
chart with the average grade. It is our choice.
Finally, we should understand the kind of processing that needs to be performed on the data.
This leads to the next step 19
Formulate a model
Now we need to understand the processing part of the problem.
To achieve that we break down the problem into smaller problems that
require some kind of simple mathematical computations to process the
data.
In our example, we are going to compute the average of the incoming
grades. So, we need to know the model (or formula) for computing the
average of a bunch of numbers. If there is no such “formula”, we need to
develop one
Assuming that the input data is a bunch of integers or real numbers
x1,x2,…,xn representing a grade percentage, we can use the following
computational model: Average = (x1 + x2 + x3 + … + xn) / n where the result
will be a number from 0 to 100.
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Develop an Algorithm
Now that we understand the problem and have formulated a model, it is
time to come up with a precise plan of what we want the computer to do.
An algorithm is a precise sequence of instructions for solving a problem.
To develop an algorithm, we need to represent the instructions in some way
that is understandable to a person who is trying to figure out the steps
involved. Two commonly used representations for an algorithm is by using
Pseudo code, or
Flow charts.
Pseudocode is a simple and concise sequence of English-like instructions to
solve a problem
Flowchart is simply a graphical representation of steps in sequential order and
is widely used in presenting the flow of algorithms. 21
Flowchart
ANSI/ISO Shape Name Decription
Shows the process's order of operation. A line coming from one
Flowline
symbol and pointing at another. Arrowheads are added if the flow is
(Arrowhead)
not the standard top-to-bottom, left-to right.
Indicates the beginning and ending of a program or sub-process.
Represented as an oval or a rounded (fillet) rectangle. They usually
Terminal
contain the word "Start" or "End", or another phrase signaling the start
or end of a process, such as "submit inquiry" or "receive product".
Represents a set of operations that changes value, form, or location of
Process
data. Represented as a rectangle.
Shows a conditional operation that determines which one of the two
Decision paths the program will take. The operation is commonly a yes/no
question or true/false test. Represented as a diamond (rhombus).
Indicates the process of inputting and outputting data, as in entering
Input/Output 22
data or displaying results. Represented as a rhomboid.
Flowchart
ANSI/ISO Name Decription
Shape
Indicating additional information about a step in the program.
Annotation
Represented as an open rectangle with a dashed or solid line
(Comment)
connecting it to the corresponding symbol in the flowchart.
Shows named process which is defined elsewhere. Represented as a
Predefined Process
rectangle with double-struck vertical edges.
Pairs of labeled connectors replace long or confusing lines on a
On-page Connector
flowchart page. Represented by a small circle with a letter inside.
A labeled connector for use when the target is on another page.
Off-page Connector
Represented as a home plate-shaped pentagon.
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Pseudocode Vs Flowchart
Consider the following example (from Wikipedia) of solving the
problem of a broken lamp. To the right is an example of a flow
chart, while to the left is an example of pseudocode for solving
the same problem:
Pseudocode
1. IF lamp works, go to step 7.
2. Check if lamp is plugged in.
3. IF not plugged in, plug in lamp.
4. Check if bulb is burnt out.
5. IF blub is burnt, replace bulb.
6. IF lamp doesn’t work buy new lamp.
7. Quit ... problem is solved. 24
Figure 1: Flowchart
Implementation (Write the Program)
Writing a program is often called "writing code" or
“implementing an algorithm”.
The code (or source code) is the program itself.
The code is written by using a programming language
that is best suited for the job.
A programming language is a vocabulary and set of
grammatical rules for instructing a computer or
computing device to perform specific tasks.
Some examples of programming language are BASIC, C,
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C++, COBOL, Java, FORTRAN, Ada, Python (etc).
Algorithm (Pseudocode) to Program
S/N Pseudocode Processing code (i.e., program)
1. set the sum of the grade values to 0. int sum = 0; int sum = 0;
2. load all grades x1 … xn from file. byte[] x = loadBytes("numbers");
3. repeat n times{ for (int i=0; i <x.length; i++)
4. get grade xi sum = sum + x[i];
add xi to the sum
}
5. compute the average to be sum / n. int avg = sum / x.length
6. print the average. print(avg);
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Test the Program
Once you have a program written that compiles, you need to make sure that it
solves the problem that it was intended to solve and that the solutions are correct.
Therefore the program is run in order to evaluate the compiled instructions.
After running the program, if all is well, then a correct output displayed.
It is possible however, that the program works correctly for some set of data input
but not for all.
If the output of the program is incorrect,
it is possible that the algorithm was not converted properly into a proper program.
It is also possible that the algorithm itself is flawed.
Or some instructions where written and performed out of sequence.
Whatever happened, such problems with your program are known as bugs. 27
Test the Program
Bugs are problems/errors with a program that cause it to stop working or produce
incorrect or undesirable results.
One should fix as many bugs in ones program as possible.
To find bugs effectively, the program must be evaluated with many test cases
(called a test suite).
It is also a good idea to have a third-party test ones program because they may
think up situations or input data that the writer may never have thought of.
The process of finding and fixing errors in your code is called debugging and it is
often a very time-consuming “chore” when it comes to being a programmer.
If one takes time to carefully follow problem solving steps 1 through 3, this should
greatly reduce the amount of bugs in ones programs and it should make
debugging much easier. 28
Discussion
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