2.1.3 Thinking Procedurally

Question 1

What is the first stage of thinking procedurally?

Answer 1

Taking the problem defined by the user and breaking it down into its constituent parts.

Question 2

What is the purpose of problem decomposition?

Answer 2

To make complex problems easier to solve and more manageable by allowing tasks to be divided between a group of people according to individual skill sets.

Question 3

State another name given to top-down design.

Answer 3

Stepwise refinement.

Question 4

What is the purpose of top-down design?

Answer 4

Continually break problems down into subproblems until each subproblem can be represented as a single task and ideally a self-contained subroutine.

Question 5

What are the benefits of using top-down design?

Answer 5

• Problems can be solved and modules developed by different people,
• Tasks can be tested separately,
• Modules are self-contained.

Question 6

What sort of problems is top-down design suited to?

Answer 6

Large, complex problems.

Question 7

What is the second stage of thinking procedurally in software development?

Answer 7

Identifying components of a solution.

Question 8

How can the lowest level subproblems in top-down design in code?

Answer 8

As self-contained modules or subroutines.

Question 9

What do software developers need to consider when recombining components of a solution?

Answer 9

The order in which subroutines are executed, and how they interact with each other, based on their role in solving the problem.

Question 10

What must a software developer do before designing a subroutine to solve a particular problem?

Answer 10

See whether it is possible for an already existing subroutine or module to be used.

Question 11

State two advantages of utilising reusable components.

Answer 11

• More reliable than newly-coded components, as they have already been tested,
• This saves time, money and resources.