GNVQ Advanced IT - Unit 6

Examine software production

Requires students to examine types of programming environments; features of program execution; what are meant by program constructs, data types and data structures; and the expressions and operators used in software production

A student must:

1.  describe types of programming environments and give examples
2. describe features of program execution
3. explain what is meant by program constructs and give examples
4. describe types of data and data structures and give examples
5. describe the expressions and operatorsused in software production and give examples

Programming environments: programming language, translators, special programming language, automated applications software routines

Features of program execution: run-time system, executable file

Program constructs: sequence, repetition, selection

Types of data: number (integer, real), character, string, Boolean; constant, variable

Data structures: strings, arrays, records, tables

Expressions and operators: arithmetic (+, -, *, /, ^), relational (=, >, <, <>, <=, >=), (NOT, AND, OR), concatenation

A report, covering the range, which:

• describes types of programming environments, with two examples of each
• describes features of program execution
• explains what is meant by program constructs, with one example of each
• describes data types and structures, with one example of each
• describes the expressions and operators used in software production, with one example each of arithmetic, relational and logical expressions.

Programming language (PC1 range) software which enables the production of computer programs.  These programs are produced as code which must be translated into machine code for execution.  There are a wide variety of such languages, but the basic types are: procedural, declarative and object-event.

Translator (PC1 range) a program language processor which converts the program statements into another form, eg machine code.  There are three common types of translator: Interpreters, Compilers and Assemblers.

Special programming language (PC1 range)  facilities now available in many high-level applications packages such as databases.  These provide special applications generators.

Automated application software routines (PC1 range)  facilities now available in applications packages which provide user automation facilities such as macros, styles and templates.

Run-time system (PC2 range) software that must be available to run in primary storage to enable a user's program to be executed.  Examples may be some graphic presentation packages, any interpreted program and all applications software run macros.