[Year 12 SofDev] Programming Instructions

[Mark KELLY]

I've put the SD examiners' comments on the 2011 exam into my post mortem
(http://www.vceit.com/postmortems/2011sd/SD2011exam.htm)

In the process I noticed section A, Q9...

In a program, a line of code that modifies a variable's content is best
described as a

A. function.
B. procedure.
C. instruction.
D. control structure.

The official answer was A.

I don't know about this one... I acknowledge the word "best" but still
wonder why couldn't the answer equally be an instruction?
A common instruction like A=0 modifies a variable's content just as often
as a function would... more often, probably.

The study design (U3O2 KK09) says kids need to know "processing features of
programming languages, including instructions, procedures, methods,
functions and control structures" but instructions are not defined by the
glossary, the old Fitzpatrick/Keane text, or Adrian's text (it's not in the
index at least).

What do you regard as an instruction?  Trying to get a definition from the
internet is frustratingly elusive...

-- 
Mark Kelly
Manager of ICT, Reporting, IT Learning Area
McKinnon Secondary College
McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
Direct line / Voicemail: +613 8520 9085, Fax +613 9578 9253
kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au (don't use my Edumail account!)
VCE IT Lecture Notes: http://vceit.com
Moderator: IT Applications Edulist

--
An E-flat, a C, and a G go into a bar. The bartender says, "I'm sorry, but
I can't serve minors."
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