Pseudocodes are used in describing the distinct steps of an algorithm that can be understood by anyone with basic programming experience.
We use pseudocode in a variety of programming fields, including app development, data science, and web development.
Pseudocode is a syntax-free description of an algorithm. But it should provide a complete explanation of the algorithm's logic such that implementing pseudocode should be a matter of translating each line into code using the syntax of any given programming language.
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Constructs of Pseudocode
The ability to express six programming structures (always written in uppercase) is at the core of pseudocode: SEQUENCE, CASE, WHILE, REPEAT-UNTIL, FOR, and IF-THEN-ELSE. These structures, often known as keywords, are used to characterize the algorithm's control flow.
SEQUENCE: depicts linear tasks that are executed sequentially one after the other.
WHILE: a loop that starts with a condition.
REPEAT-UNTIL: a loop that has a condition at the bottom.
FOR: another method of looping.
IF-THEN-ELSE: the conditional statement that alters the algorithm's flow.
CASE: the generalization form of IF-THEN-ELSE.
These six constructs are used more often than can theoretically use them to implement any algorithm. There are other two constructs that can be used but not used more often.
CALL: to invoke classes or call functions.
EXCEPTION, WHEN: to handle exceptions.
Writing Pseudocodes
The style of writing of pseudocodes depends on person to person since humans are reading them not a computer. The rules of pseudocode are less strict than those of a programming language. However, there are certain simple guidelines that might help make pseudocode more understandable to everyone.
Always capitalize the first word (often one of the primary six constructs).
Each line should only contain one statement.
Indent to demonstrate hierarchy, increase readability, and highlight nested constructions.
Always use any of the END keywords to end multi-line sections (ENDIF, ENDWHILE, etc.).
Maintain programming language independence in your statements.
Use the problem's naming domain rather than the implementation. For example, "append the last name to the first name" rather than "name = first+last."
Keep it simple, short, and readable.
A person new to programming might feel like writing pseudocodes is like writing the same code twice and is a waste of time. But in a complex project and project size increases pseudocodes come in handy to understand the complex algorithms. It helps in realizing possible issues or design flaws at the beginning of the designing stage where it will be felt like saving effort and time conserving on bug fixing and avoiding errors throughout the development.
Reason to use Pseudocode
It is easier to read. When programmers work alongside people in other fields who are not experts in programming such as business partners and mathematicians, using pseudocode comes in handy to explain the mechanism of the code to them.
It makes code construction easier. When a programmer develops and generates pseudocode, translating it into real code written in any programming language becomes easier and faster.
It makes a good balance between flowcharts and code. It is not always easy to go from the idea to the flowchart to the code. This is where pseudocode comes in to help make the transition between phases a little easier.
It helps to begin documentation. Documentation is an important part of establishing a solid project, but getting started is often the most challenging part of the process. Pseudocode can be a useful starting point for what documentation should contain. Programmers will sometimes add the pseudocode as a docstring at the beginning of the code file.
It helps in detecting bugs quickly. Because pseudocode is written in human-readable code, it is easier to edit and find flaws before typing a single line of code. We can modify pseudocode more quickly than we can test, debug, and fix actual code.
Pseudocode is an underappreciated and underused tool in the software industry, but it may make a tremendous difference on the road from idea to execution and a lot easier journey for the programmer.
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