As a beginning coder, whenever you have trouble getting started with a program design, remember that most problems can be broken into three parts; input, process, and output.

Input

Carefully study the problem and identify the pieces of data that the program needs to read as input. This will be data that the program needs to function but can vary depending on the users intent. Once you know what data is needed as input, decide the names of the variables for those pieces of data, and their data types.

Process(es)

What must the program do with the input that it will read? Determine the calculations and/or processes that must be performed. At this time, decide the names and data types of any variables needed to hold the results of calculations.

Output

What output must the program produce? In most cases, it will be the results of the program's calculations and/or other processes. Once you have determined these requirements, you will have an understanding of what the program must do. You will also have a list of variables and their data types. The next step is writing the algorithm in pseudocode, or drawing it as a flowchart.

Designing Programs