What is a program?
A program is a set of clear instructions that tell a computer what to do, step by step. Programming design means planning those steps before you code. A good plan makes the program easy to build and fix.
Ways to plan a program
Two common tools are a flowchart and pseudocode. A flowchart uses boxes and arrows to show the steps in order. Pseudocode writes the steps in simple words, like a recipe.
Example
Pseudocode to greet a user:
STARTPRINT "Hello"END
Three basic structures
- Sequence — steps run one after another, in order.
- Selection — the program chooses using a condition (if … then …).
- Loop — a step repeats several times.
Key idea
A variable is a named box that stores a value the program can use or change later.
When you plan clearly with a flowchart or pseudocode, and use sequence, selection and loops well, your program does exactly what you want.