Chapter 10

What is the purpose of a system?

• A system is a collection of related components that interact to perform a task in order to

accomplish a goal.

• A computer-based system consists of hardware, software, people, procedures, and data, as well as
communications setups.

Who is involved in getting a project going? How does it start?

• Users: The new system must ALWAYS be developed in consultation with the people who will be
using the completed system

• Management: Managers within an organization should be consulted about the system, because
they control the budget and resources

• Technical staff: The Information Systems or IT staff must be involved, because they will have to
execute the project or work with the people who do

• Systems Analyst: Information specialist who performs systems analysis, design, and
implementation

Systems analysis and design is a six-phase problem-solving procedure for examining an information
systems and improving it.

What is SDLC?

The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is the particular step-by-step process followed during
systems analysis and design.

What is the systems development life cycle?

1. Preliminary investigation

2. Systems analysis

3. Systems design

4. Systems development

5. Systems implementation

6. Systems maintenance

• Information systems are frequently revised and upgrade

• Steps in the cycle often overlap

State and define all 6 SDLC phases.

SDLC Phase 1: Conduct a PreliminaryInvestigation

• Conduct a preliminary analysis

• Propose alternative solutions

• Interview people within the organization

• Study what competitors are doing
• Decide to leave the system as is, improve it, or develop a new system

• Describe costs and benefits

• Submit a preliminary plan with recommendations

• This should be a written report

• Get management approvals for next phase

SDLC Phase 2: Analyze the System

• Gather data
• Interview employees and managers
• Develop, distribute, analyze questionnaires
• Review current written documents
• Observe people and processes at work

• Analyze the data

• Use modeling tools (charts, tables, and diagrams) , such as CASE tools
• Create a data flow diagram to show how data flows through the system

• Write a report

SDLC Phase 3: Design the System

• Do a preliminary design

• Often involves prototyping and continued use of CASE tools

• Do a detail design, showing:

• Output requirements
• Input requirements
• Storage requirements
• Processing requirements
• System controls
• Backup

• Write a report and get approval for next phase

SDLC Phase 4: Develop the System

• Develop or acquire the software

• Make-or-buy decision
• If creating own system, programming (coding must be done)

• Acquire or upgrade the hardware

• Test the system

• Unit testing: performance of system’s individual parts tested

• System testing: parts are linked and tested to see if they work together properly; real data
may be used

SDLC Phase 5: Implement the System

• Choose a strategy to convert to the new system

• Direct implementation: quit the old and start using the new
• Parallel implementation: use both the old and the new side by side, until the new system has
been proved reliable
• Phased implementation: phase in parts of new in gradually as parts of old are phased out
• Pilot implementation: have the new system tried out by a few users

• Train the users

SDLC Phase 6: Maintain & Update the System

• Perform system audits and periodic evaluations

• Make changes to the system based on new conditions

• Finalize documentation

• Note that documentation should have been continuously maintained during the entire SDLC
What Is a program?

• A program is a list of instructions that the computer must follow to process data into information.

What are the steps to programming?

Programming is done during phase 4 of the SDLC.

• The five steps:

1. Clarify/define the problem

2. Design a solution

3. Code the program

4. Test the program

5. Document and maintain the program

Programming Step 1: Clarify the Programming Needs

• Clarify objectives & users

• Clarify desired outputs

• Clarify desired inputs

• Clarify the desired processing

• Double-check the feasibility of implementing the program

• Document the analysis

Programming Step 2: Design the Program

• Create an algorithm, or set of clear steps, to solve the problem

• Determine program logic using top-down approach and modules, using a hierarchy chart (graphic
form), pseudocode (narrative form), and flowcharts that use control structures

• Structured programming

• Use control structures (logic structures), structures that control the logical sequence in
which computer program instructions are executed.
• In structured program design, three control structures are used to form the logic of a
program: sequence, selection, and iteration (or loop).
• Sequence: one statement follows another in logical order
• Selection: IF-THEN-ELSE
• Iteration (loop): DO UNTIL / DO WHILE

Programming Step 3: Code the Program

• Coding: Translating the logic requirement from flowcharts and pseudocode into a programming
language

• Select a programming language (set of rules that tells the computer what operations to do)

• Each programming language has a syntax, or set of grammatical rules to follow to write valid
expressions

• Syntax rules must be followed or there will be syntax errors

• Computers don’t understand what you want, only what you type in
Programming Step 4: Test the Program

• Desk checking is reading through, or checking, the program for syntax errors and logic errors

• Debugging is the process of detecting, locating, and removing all syntax errors and logic errors in a
computer program

• Beta testing is the process of testing the program using real data

• One phase of testing uses correct data

• Once the program works, the next phase of testing uses invalid data and untrained users
to root out hidden errors

Programming Step 5: Document and Maintain the Program

• Documentation is written descriptions of what a program is and how to fix it; should be done
through all 5 steps

• User documentation – for the people who will use the program (e.g., user manual –
hardcopy or CD, and online)
• Operator documentation – for the computer operators, so they know what to do if the
program or hardware malfunctions
• Programmer documentation – for the next programmer who must modify and maintain
what has been written
• Maintain the program – keep everything in working condition
The five generations of programming languages start at the lowest level with

(1) machine language. They then range up through (2) assembly language, (3) high-level languages
(procedural languages and object-oriented languages), and (4) very-high-level languages (problem-
oriented languages). At the highest level are (5) natural languages.

First Generation: Machine Language

• The basic language of the computer – all 0s and 1s

• Each CPU model has its own machine language, thus machine language is machine
dependent
• Not convenient for people to read and use
• Evolution of languages started in 1945

Second Generation: Assembly Language

• Low-level mnemonic version of machine language; uses abbreviations and simple words
• Faster to program in than machine language
• Is also machine dependent
• Assembler program needed to translate assembly language into machine language

Third Generation: High-level Languages (Procedural Languages)

• These languages resemble human language (e.g., English) and are portable (not machine
dependent)
• Examples are FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC, Pascal, C
• The programmer writes the source code, then uses a translator program to interpret or
compile the code into machine language (object code)
• Interpreter translates and executes immediately
• Compiler translates and saves the code as an entire unit to be executed later

Fourth Generation: Very-High-Level or Problem-Oriented Languages

• Easier to program in than third-generation languages

• Three types:
• Report generators (RPGIII)
• Query languages (SQL)
• Application generators (NOMAD, FOCUS)—used to create parts for other programs

Fifth Generation: Natural Languages

• Used mainly for artificial intelligence (AI) and neural networks

• Use regular human languages
What are some programming languages used today?

FORTRAN

• The language of mathematics

• The first high-level language written
• A machine-independent procedural language

COBOL

• The most-frequently used language for business legacy applicationson large computers
• A machine-independent procedural language

BASIC

• Designed to be an easy language to use and learn programming with

• Usually run from an interpreter, but can be compiled
• Procedural language
• Supplanted by Microsoft’s Visual Basic for commercial/business use

Pascal

• Designed to be a language to teach programming

• Structured, compiled language
• Not used in business or commercial companies

• General-purpose machine-independent compiled language developed for mid-range

computers
• Used for portability, operating systems. And scientific use
• Used to write the Unix operating system
• Widely used for writing common software applications and is necessary for
programmers to know

C++

• Enhanced object-oriented version of C; used for Microsoft system software and many
web applications

LISP: For Artificial Intelligence Programs

• Third-generation language
• Used to control AI programs
• Used to write expert systems and natural language programs
In object-oriented programming (OOP), data and processing instructions are combined into a self-
sufficient object that can be reused.

• Object

• Self-contained module consisting of reusable code

• Message

• The instruction received by the object indicating it is time to perform an action

• Method

• The processing instructions within the object to perform the specified action

What are some examples of OOP languages?

• C++

• Object-oriented language that was developed after C

• Often used to write computer games and CPU- and graphics-intensive applications

• Java

• Developed at Sun Microsystems in early 1990s

• Derivative of C++ with simpler memory management and syntax
• Used to develop Java applets to be downloaded into web browsers to make websites
interactive and more attractive (e.g., with animations)

What is visual programming?

Visual programming is a method of creating programs in which the programmer makes connections
by clicking on objects, diagrams, and icons and by interacting with flowcharts

• Using a mouse, the programmer drags and drops objects on screen

• This makes it fast and easy to build prototype user interfaces and get end-user approval
before doing a lot of programming
• Visual BASIC is an example of visual programming

What is a markup language?

A markup language is a kind of coding (“tags”) inserted into text that embeds details about the
structure and appearance of the text

• HTML is a markup language (Internet use)

• Has codes for indicating layout and styling (such as boldface, italics, paragraphs,
insertion of graphics, etc.)

What is a script?

Script: short list of self-executing commands embedded in a web page that perform a specified
function or routine
HTML

• Hypertext markup language

• Used to create 2-D web pages
• Also lets you insert hypertext links in web pages

VRML

• Virtual Reality Modeling (Markup) Language is used to create 3-D web pages, including
interactive animation
• Requires special VRML browser to view VRML pages
• Used by web designers, along with HTML

XML

• eXtensible Markup Language is a metalanguage written in SGML that allows one to

facilitate easy document interchange on the Internet
• XML lets you create your own tags (“extensible”)
• XML statements define data content

JavaScript

• Not the same language as Java

• An object-oriented scripting language that adds interactive functions to HTML web
pages

Flash

• Browser add-on that uses Adobe Flash to support animation, streaming audio and video,
and games on the Internet

PHP (Personal Home Page, or PHP Hypertext Preprocessor)

• Allows creation of dynamic content that interacts with databases

• Normally found on Linux servers with MySQL databases
• General-purpose scripting language