[Tutor] [OT] Programming practice was: Re: string list in alphabetical!

[Alan Gauld]

On 22/10/13 13:42, Sydney Shall wrote:

>> trying to get him to adopt a workflow where he writes on paper
>> an informal "use case" description of the solution and if
>> necessary a pseudo code design.

> Could you please explain exactly what you mean by 'an informal "use
> case" description of the solution ..'?
> I am not clear how this differs from pseudo code design.

OK, a use case is a requirements capture technique frequently used by 
software engineers to capture the behaviour of systems from the users 
perspective. There are whole books written on this stuff so for my 
student I've greatly simplified the technique.

A normal use case is written like a dialog between the
user and system, like so:

1)User starts system
2)System presents login screen
3)User enters name and password
4)System presents main screen
5)User Select File->New
6)System presents list of templates
7)User selects New Blodgit
8)System resents blodgit config screen
...

And so on.

It doesn't say anything about how the system will do these
things but it presents a visualisation of how the system
should present itself and interact wit the user.

In the industrialised version we would also list alternate
steps after the "happy path" case has been described such as

4a) System displays error message and login scren
4b) User logs in with correct data
4c) continue at 4

I haven't tried that aspect with my student yet.

Once you have the interaction clear you can look at each
step the computer does and design it in pseudo code.

Search wikipedia for lots more on use cases and their
finer points.

-- 
Alan G
Author of the Learn to Program web site
http://www.alan-g.me.uk/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alangauldphotos