Unit 2: Outcome 2

Programming and pathways

On completion of this unit the student should be able to design, and develop using a programming or scripting language, limited solutions, record the learning progress electronically, and explain possible career pathways that require the use of programming or scripting skills.

Students keep an electronic record of the new knowledge and skills applied in each task, and reflect on their learning progress by evaluating the extent to which the knowledge and skills are applied. An understanding of the technical knowledge and skills associated with using programming or scripting languages is further developed through examining ICT career pathways, which focus on:

1. entry requirements to specific ICT jobs
2. the main roles and tasks involved in ICT jobs

U2O2 Key skills

1. represent design specifications using appropriate methods
2. apply techniques for manipulating data and information using a programming or scripting language
3. apply testing techniques using test data
4. record in an electronic journal the new knowledge and skills applicable to each programming or scripting task, and evaluate how well they were applied
5. investigate ICT careers and pathways that require the use of programming or scripting languages.

Assessments

There will be 3 elements that will need to be completed for this unit.

1. Completion of the core understandings and mini-tasks outlined bellow. These are to be completed on your website, just like the other units, and will form the basis of your study guide.

2. Using CODECADEMY you can choose one the the 6 langues offered bellow to learn You will the be required to use this language in Unit 3, so chose carefully. I suggest you complete some initial research into the capabilities and IT solutions possible for each before choosing.

As you work through the tutorials, complete Web Projects and APIs you must keep a well organised journal.

Take screen shots, write reflections and link or insert code if possible.

This will be completed using your Google Site.

3. Research into IT career paths. Perhaps related to your choice of developer language.

Create a new page titled Career Pathways and...

- What does this career actually mean?

- Describe the day-to-day tasks that this could be expected in this job

- What tertiary pathways are suitable?

- Would you consider this?

Aprox 200 words each career.

Allocated careers

Check your code. Try these or find your own method.

Study Guide

Stages of the problem-solving methodology

TASK: Copy the model above and explain how it is used to create IT solutions in your own words.

Describe the DEVELOPMENT and EVALUATION stages in detail.

Data Types:

This was somewhat covered in U1O1, so you should be familiar with:

Task: Define the following

• Variable (Character and string)
• Boolean variable
• Array

Programming and scripting languages;

Both of these types of languages are a method of communicating instructions to a computer. A scripting language is a programming language that is designed to program within a particular application domain or s embedded within another application to provide additional functionality.

"Scripting languages are languages that allow you to send commands directly to a system that executes these commands. These commands are read line by line and executed. An error is issued when a line cannot be executed for any reasn (wrong syntax, illegal operation,...). e.g. Python, shell-script, Matlab

Programming languages are languages that allow you to create a program by writing structured code that is read all at once by the system, checked for errors, and translated into an unreadable format that the machine can then execute. e.g. Java, C/C++, Visual Basic...

Programming languages are generally faster in execution than scripting languages but are often more difficult to use and have more rigid syntax. You can generally use either of them to do pretty much anything, though each is more suited for specific applications."

Yahoo Answers.

Tasks: 1. Describe what they are and highlight the differences. Give examples.

2. Describe an IDE and explain, with examples, what it is used for.

TESTING

Testing an information system involves checking that procedures, equipment, and staff process data as expected. Each component may be tested [component testing] and then the whole system tested [integration testing].

Test data should be developed to ensure the procedures and formulas of a solution operate and process data as expected. This test is normally performed during [informal testing] and immediately after the development of the solution [formal testing]. When using a programming language it is called debugging. Once debugged, someone not involved in the program development tests it.

PowerPoint presentations attached for FYI.

Debugging.

The process of finding and fixing errors in programming. All IT solutions must be checked to ensure that they work correctly and achieve the desired purpose. This is completed by a 2 stage process of debugging known as alpha and beta testing. You may have used software the is described as a "beta'; version.

Task: Explain the difference between alpha and beta testing.

Go through the PP attached and define

• Syntax errors
• Logical errors
• Runtime errors

Read the information below and re-write in your own words:

Before you can test a solution, you need to know what has to be tested. This should be decided on during the analysis of a problem. The attributes to test are those that are most important in a solution. If you were buying a race horse, you would test its speed, not its ability to type. If you are testing a military tank, you would mainly want to test its strength and reliability, not its attractiveness.

Depending on the nature of a solution, the main solution attributes to be tested include:

functionality - does it have the features required to do the job it's meant to do? Can an email program actually compose and send email? Does it need to have an address book, spam detector, filters, spell checker etc? If it does need them, do they work properly?

presentation - the appearance of some solutions is all-important. Software interfaces (the part of the program a user sees and interacts with), for example, must be carefully designed to be neat, attractive, logical and easy to understand. Published documents (e.g. word processed pages, web pages, magazines, instruction manuals) must be laid out carefully to be attractive and easily readable.

usability - of course, software must be easy to use if it is to succeed. Are commands easy to carry out, and do they produce expected results? Are dangerous commands suitably guarded to protect users from unintended actions? Other publications' usability needs testing too. For example, how easy is it to find a particular topic in a big document?

accessibility - can the solution be used by people with disabilities or restricted abilities? Can sight-impaired people, for example, use a word processor (it might use a synthesized voice to read text to them.) Typing requires quite nimble dexterity which many people lack - a solution might need to be tested for its ability to cater for those people.

communication of message - obviously, this is relevant to publications. Has the main message of a publication been successfully conveyed to the reader or audience? Do they understand it? Are they confused? Do they think they understand it, but actually don't?

reliability - can the solution be relied on to consistently produce the right results, even under abnormal conditions (e.g. corrupted data). Will it keep working all day ever day, or will it fail regularly? Testing software (debugging) is a long and complex job, and is rarely 100% successful.

Design Tools

Task: Identify different software design tools.

Define the term algorithm