Program Maintenance Program maintenance is the process of modifying a software or program after delivery to achieve any of these outcomes: Correct errors Improve performance Add functionalities Remove obsolete portions Despite the common perception that maintenance is...

Program Documentation Any written text, illustrations or video that describe a software or program to its users is called program or software document. User can be anyone from a programmer, system analyst and administrator to end user. At various stages of development...

Programming Techniques In this chapter, we will cover how to write a good program. But before we do that, let us see what the characteristics of a good program are: Portable− The program or software should run on all computers of same type. By same type we mean a...

Using Clear Instructions As you know, computer does not have intelligence of its own; it simply follows the instructions given by the user. Instructions are the building blocks of a computer program, and hence a software. Giving clear instructions is crucial to...

Flowchart Flowchart is a diagrammatic representation of sequence of logical steps of a program. Flowcharts use simple geometric shapes to depict processes and arrows to show relationships and process/data flow. Flowchart Symbols Here is a chart for some of the common...

Writing an Algorithm A finite set of steps that must be followed to solve any problem is called an algorithm. Algorithm is generally developed before the actual coding is done. It is written using English like language so that it is easily understandable even by...

Applying Modular Techniques A real-life problem is complex and big. If a monolithic solution is developed it poses these problems − Difficult to write, test and implement one big program Modifications after the final product is delivered is close to impossible...

Identifying the Solution Often, coding is supposed to be the most essential part of any software development process. However, coding is just a part of the process and may actually take the minimum amount of time if the system is designed correctly. Before the system...

Understanding the Problem It is very obvious that before finding the solution we should understand the problem well. Moreover, if we fail to understand the problem we may end up with a useless solution for it. Hence, a wrong solution will not solve our purpose of...

Programming Methodologies When programs are developed to solve real-life problems like inventory management, payroll processing, student admissions, examination result processing, etc. they tend to be huge and complex. The approach to analyzing such complex problems,...