Writing to complete a programming assignment is quite a hard process. It requires a lot of hard work, and it can get really hectic. Nonetheless, it’s an important part of any programmer’s life.
Most programming courses are learned by writing code to improve your knowledge. They may contribute to the development of the digital worlds and landscapes in which millions of people around the world live, work, and play. Moreover, you can break into a growing field or develop your already established career further. This quick article contains guidelines to help you write a good assignment. At the end of this piece, you should be able to write assignments free from common mistakes people make while writing their first programming assignment. This article is aimed at;
- Educating students about writing a programming assignment and what they should know while doing so
- Helping students struggling with their assignments by providing them some guidelines that will make their lives easier
- Giving a clear guideline regarding the difficulties faced when writing an assignment in programming languages such as C++, JAVA, etc., To learn more about Java, It’s recommended to join the Java online course today.
- To provide proper knowledge regarding how data structures and algorithms are effectively implemented over different languages
Steps To Write a Programming Assignment
The following three steps will help you write your best programming assignment, and this guide will be based entirely on C++ for a better understanding of the readers (even though it would work well with any other language, like Java).
- Program design: Before writing a single line of code, designing the program is essential to prevent yourself from making mistakes such as memory leaks or logical errors. This step is generally done right after getting an idea regarding the topic you will learn in that semester or term
- Code Implementation: Once you have your program’s design ready, implement it by writing a simple high-level version of your application so that instead of allocating memory in a wrong way, it allocates it to the heap dynamically and frees up all resources properly
- Code Refinement: Write more optimized and readable code, which is much better than your initial version of your program. This step may require you to rewrite your previous codes, but this time with proper implementation and appropriate method calls for data structures such as Stack or Queue, etc. (in programming languages such as C++, Java).
Tips To Write a Programming Assignment without Making Mistakes
The general guidelines we provide here would help you write a good assignment free from common mistakes people generally make while writing their first programming assignment. You need to expend some effort on each of these steps before writing a single line of code in your assignment.
Write a Clear and Concise Problem StatementThis is one of the most critical steps while writing any programming assignment because if you’re not able to write a clear, concise, and precise problem statement at the beginning or before starting with your program design, then you might get confused on how to solve that problem.
It will be really hard for you to complete your program design and code implementation phase effectively if this happens. You need to include all necessary information regarding that topic in your problem statement and include some extra information that would help other programmers trying to practice solutions using their own C++ compiler (or whatever language they’re using).
Here’s an example of a problem statement for your reference:
Write a program that accepts an integer value from the user and prints out its square root to the screen without using any loops. (HINT: Do not use division or multiplication operator while writing this assignment)
- Define Your Objectives Carefully and Clearly
After writing a concise problem statement, you should mention your objectives clearly and then proceed with their description to help you write better programs later. If possible, derive these objectives based on those mentioned in your problem statement. Here’s an example of an objective for a programming assignment:
To implement an efficient memory pool system to allocate/de-allocate memory dynamically depending on the situation.
- Write A Detailed Program Design Before Starting With Code Implementation
A detailed program design includes all the information regarding your implementation, which would help you quickly write a high-level version of your program with more readable code. If possible, create flow charts or diagrams for a better understanding of that problem and its solution.
Also try to make each line of code as useful as possible so that it could be read easily by anyone without any effort on their part. Here’s an example of high-level version written in C++ language which is much easier to understand than some other programming languages such as Java:
#include <iostream> using namespace std; // main() function int main() { int N = 0; court
“Enter integer value: “;
in >> N; int SquareRoot = 0; while (N != 0) { SquareRoot = sqrt(N); // here you need to implement the actual logic behind this statement by using some basic math functions such as sin, cos, tan etc. and their related operators such as (), *, / , + etc. // NOTE: do not use any loops or divide/multiply operator while implementing this program’s logic } // end of while loop cout <<“Square Root is : “<< SquareRoot << endl; return(0); }
- Code Refinement and Some Optimization
You must remember that it’s better to write an algorithm in the simplest possible way rather than complex approaches. For this purpose, you need to get your hands dirty with the program flow and write everything down on paper before actually writing any code for your programming assignment. This is important because if you do not attempt this step first, then chances are; there will be many mistakes in your coding resulting in bugs that would require hours or even days to fix depending on the severity.
The next thing is optimization. After implementing a rough version of your C++ program (or whatever language you’re using), you should optimize it according to best practices such as avoiding redundant checks/tests and rewriting loops into recursive function calls whenever possible, along with some other techniques mentioned here. This optimization step is very important because if your program fails to function properly after performing these optimizations on it, then the chances are that either you’re missing something or your algorithm is too complex and needs some serious modification.
- Final Test and Debugging
After completing the different steps of writing the C++ programming assignment, it’s time for the final testing and debugging phase. Here you need to test each statement manually and perform the same black-box testing by using a large set of inputs to find out whether the output is accurate or not (and why?). If found inaccurate, try to fix such bugs as soon as possible by going back to the coding phase and, if possible, perform some white-box testing using a debugger (or some other similar software) to find out the root cause of that problem.
- Document and Submit your Work
After completing all these steps, be sure to document what you have done exactly using a piece of paper and including copies of all the essential files related to that programming assignment. This will ensure that you can easily remember your work but also help others learn from your experience.
As mentioned above, you can always use this guideline to write a programming assignment on any topic or subject/course such as C++ programming, Java programming, Android development, android app development, etc. You only need to rephrase the entire article according to the context and requirements of that particular programming assignment.
2 Mistakes you should not make when writing your Coding Assignment in C++
It’s better to avoid making these mistakes when writing a software development project in any programming language, including C++. If you’re not careful, they could result in hours or even days of frustrating debugging work or, worst, many broken pieces of code which are impossible to fix or improve.
- Being Overly Verbose (Using Too Many Resources)
It’s always true that less is more, and this rule applies in every aspect of life as well. When writing a computer program/code, it’s very important to get your hands dirty with the algorithm flow first rather than getting too focused on the implementation details, such as how many lines or characters will be used for each line of code so on. This unnecessary focus may use many unnecessary resources such as memory or even CPU time, which the C++ code may not require. Moreover, this might actually create some bugs that could cause a serious accident if ignored.
- Writing a Very Complex Algorithm
It’s always important to avoid writing very complex algorithms when developing any software because you’re going to suffer from debugging phase and make your performance tests unreliable due to its complexity. Moreover, if any changes are required in the future, they would be costly to implement without proper maintainability and ease of understanding for other developers working on that C++ project.
Final Word
Writing good programs requires knowledge of a wide variety of issues. However, you should always try your best while writing any program. It will help you improve your overall coding skills and give you valuable experience that will be beneficial in achieving success in any programming career you might be interested in.
If you still find writing your programming assignments complicated, why not seek programming assignment help? An expert can help relieve the pressure that could be stopping you from delivering exemplary work.
Abstract
Writing programming assignment is a normal part of learning for students taking programming courses. The complexity of these assignments can really be frustrating. This guide sheds light into simple tips students can use to write the best programming assignments.
