1.2 Program Purpose/Function Notes
Here are some notes that I took from the videos about program purpose/function.
- 1.2: Daily Video 1
- Daily Video 1: Takeaways
- 1.2: Daily Video 2
- Daily Video 2: Takeaways
- 1.2: Daily Video 3
- Daily Video 3: Takeaways
- Personal Takeways
- Proof of Completon of Quesitons
1.2: Daily Video 1
Computing Innovations
Innovations can include, but are not limited to:
- Applications
- Games
- Social Media
- Business
- Productivity
- Physical Devices
- Computers
- Smart Phones/tablets
- Smart “Things”
- Wearables
- Systems
- E-commerce
- Cloud services
Innovations Created for a Purpose
Guiding Questions:
- Why does the computing innovation exist?
- What problem(s) does the computing innovation solve?
- What does the computing innovation allow us to do that we could not do before?
Examples of Computing Innovations
- Social Media Applications
- Allows users to connect from a distance and archive their activites
- E-commerce
- Allows users to save time and money by being able to shop from home
- Digital Assistant Device
- Allows users to control their devices hands-free making them safer while driving or more convenient when trying to multitask
Daily Video 1: Takeaways
- The purpose of computing innovations is to solve problems or to pursue interest through creative expression
- An understanding of the purpose of a computing innovations provides developers with an improved ability to develop that computing innovation
1.2: Daily Video 2
Identifying Inputs to Programs
Computer Programs accept input in a variety of different forms:
- tactile (touch)
- audio
- visual
- text (including numerical values)
Examples:
- Smart phone/tablet (texting, entering password, etc.)
- Laptop computer (keyboard, mouse, etc.)
- Gaming console (send input through buttons)
How do programs receive input?
Most programs are written in an event driven environment.
- “Events” are triggered by some action, which usually sends input to the program
Types of events a user can trigger:
- mouse clicks
- screen taps/swipes (force touch)
What does input accomplish in a program?
Input usually affects the output. Outputs produced by a device can include:
- visual
- audio
- tactile (touch/feel)
- text
Example of output that devices supply:
- Smart phone/tablet (things that appear on screen based on what you have pressed/swiped)
- Laptop computer (displays texts after using keyboard)
- Gaming console (remote vibrations)
How does a program know what to do upon an event?
An action triggers an event:
- Action may be activated by the user or another program/device
The program “jumps” to the code segment according to the event:
- The code segment is ran
- Output is triggered by the code segment/additional events that are triggered
The program does not necessarily execute “in order”:
- Code segments are executed as they are called, according to the events triggered
Daily Video 2: Takeaways
- Program inputs are data sent to a computer for processing by a program. Input can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile, audio, visual, or text
- An event is associated with an action and supplies input data to a program
- Events can be generated when a key is pressed, a mouse is clicked, a program is started, or any other defined action occurs that affects the flow of execution
- Inputs USUALLY affect the output produced by a program
- Program output is usually based on a program’s input or prior state
1.2: Daily Video 3
What is a program?
A program is a collection of statements:
- A statement is a single command
- A group of statements is called a code segment
- A program is often referred to as “software”
- Code segments are executed by rules of the coding language
What does the program shown in the video do? - written to find the minimum value in a list
- The code segment should work for a variety of different lists, such as numbers that are out of order, negative numbers, large numbers, and decimals
Description
- Simply state what the segment does
- this way, someone else can use the segment in a larger program
- Include how it does what it does
- this way, someone could expand upon the code segment
Daily Video 3: Takeaways
- A program is a collection of program statements that performs a task when run by a computer
- A code segment is a collection of program statements that is part of a program
- A program needs to work for a variety of inputs and situations
Personal Takeways
After watching all three videos, I feel that I truly understand why knowing the purpose and function of a program is essential. Knowing exactly what your program is intended to do could allow someone who is reading it to use it in a larger program or even expand upon it. Overall, having knowledge about this big idea will definitely be helpful and I will apply this idea to anything that I do in this class.