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<title>Re: [Year 12 SofDev] Pseudocode standards</title>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">Love the Nasty Spiderman reference too funny…I will use that one with my year 11’s unit 2 with your permission of course Andrew ?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold">From:</span></font></b><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma"> sofdev-bounces@edulists.com.au
[mailto:sofdev-bounces@edulists.com.au] <b><span style="font-weight:bold">On Behalf Of
</span></b>Andrew Shortell<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, 18 May 2011 3:06 PM<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">To:</span></b> Year 12 Software Development Teachers' Mailing List<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b> Re: [Year 12 SofDev] Pseudocode standards</span></font><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><font size="2" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri">Hi Mark<br>
<br>
Before we get too carried away with producing a complex definitive set of constructs I would like you (and everyone else too) to carefully read the examiners’ reports since 1991 about the question(s) involving writing pseudo code or reading pseudo code and
flowcharts and Nasty spiderman diagrams and match them up to the questions themselves.<br>
<br>
Then consider carefully the level at which these questions have had to be pitched to elicit a reasonable spread of results. (an average of 50% of the available marks is nice )<br>
<br>
One needs to carefully consider the purpose of VCE<br>
<br>
CATs/SACs/projects are very different to exams<br>
<br>
My 5c worth (given that the face value is nearly less than the metal in it!)<br>
<br>
Andrew<br>
-- <br>
</span></font><font size="4" face="Apple Casual"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Apple Casual"">Andrew Shortell<br>
</span></font><font size="2" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Calibri"><br>
<a href="mailto:shortell@get2me.net">mailto:shortell@get2me.net</a> <br>
Heidelberg Teaching Unit<br>
Ph 9470 3403<br>
Fax 9470 3215<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On 18/05/11 11:16 AM, "Mark KELLY" <<a href="kel@mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au">kel@mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au</a>> wrote:</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Calibri">Hi Claudia and all<br>
<br>
Is there any news on what pseudocode we can expect to be "standard" in SD exams? Until recently there wasn't even a FOR structure in pseudocode, but it's there now (Q4 in the sample questions) - a good move.
<br>
What other structures and syntaxes does VCAA consider appropriate?<br>
<br>
Just as the lack of complex structures in flowcharts result in primitive and bulky representations of design, a pseudocode lacking important programming primitives must hamstring the potential of pseudocode-based questions.<br>
I suggest we need some more powerful data and control structures in our pseudocode that better reflect the standards seen in all modern languages.<br>
The exact naming is neither here nor there as long as they're intelligible to everyone...<br>
<br>
= for assignment. Why do we persist with <- when it's not used in any language and is so hard to typeset for printing??<br>
<br>
IF-ELSEIF-ELSE-ENDIF (including AND/OR as logical operators)<br>
<br>
The three basic loops...<br>
FOR-NEXT<br>
DO-WHILE<br>
<st1:place w:st="on">LOOP</st1:place>-UNTIL (or REPEAT-UNTIL like last year's exam had)<br>
<br>
I'd like pseudocode to be able to declare variables and arrays. It's a vital programming concept...<br>
DECLARE var AS type<br>
DECLARE array(a,b) AS type<br>
<br>
Add some decent I/O operators...<br>
INPUT (from keyboard) and READ (from a file)<br>
DISPLAY (onscreen), WRITE (to file) and PRINT (to paper)<br>
OPEN - CLOSE text file<br>
MESSAGEBOX - hell, our language has to be GUI but there's no GUI support in the pseudocode.
<br>
<br>
One major omission in current pseudocode is the concept of modularity: I've never seen a subprogram or function call.
<br>
We could really improve the power and reality of algorithms by allowing modularity with<br>
CALL subprogram(parameters)<br>
SUBPROGRAM(parameters)-END SUBPROGRAM<br>
FUNCTION(parameters)-END FUNCTION (with RETURN value)<br>
<br>
And if the examiners want to introduce new functions all they have to do is explain them before using them. It's not too hard.<br>
<br>
Have I left out any important programming concepts you think we could use in pseudocode?</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Calibri"><br>
-- </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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