Creative Development

Creative Development Review

1. Collaboration

• A computing innovation includes a program as an integral part of its function.
• Effective collaboration produces a computing innovation that reflects the diversity of talents and perspectives of those who designed it.
• Collaboration with a diverse group helps avoid bias.
• Consultation and communication with users are important aspects of developing computing innovations.
• Information gathered from users can help understand the purpose of a computing innovation and help develop a program that incorporates diverse perspectives.
• Online tools support collaboration.
• Pair programming is a common model of collaboration for programmers.
• Effective collaborative teams must practice interpersonal skills including communication, consensus building, conflict resolution, and negotiation.

2. Program Function and Purpose

• The purpose of computing innovations is to solve problems or to pursue interests through creative expression.
• An understanding of the purpose of a computing innovation helps programmers better develop that innovation.
• A program is a collection of program statements that performs a specific task when run by a computer.
• A program is often referred to as software.
• A code segment is a collection of program statements that is part of a program.
• A program needs to work for a variety of inputs and situations.
• The behavior of a program is how a program functions during execution and is often describe by how a user interacts with it.
• A program can be described broadly by what it does, or in more detail by both what the program does and how the program statements accomplish this function.
• Program inputs are data sent to a computer for processing by a program. Input can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile, audio, visual, or text.
• An event is associated with an action and supplies input data to a program.
• Events can be generated when a key is pressed, a mouse is clicked, a program is started, or any other defined action that affects the flow of execution.
• Inputs usually affect the output produced by a program.
• In event-driven programming, program statements are executed when triggered rather than through the sequential flow of control.
• Input can come from a user or other programs.
• Program outputs are any data sent from a program to a device. Program output can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile, audio, visual, or text.
• Program output is usually based on a program’s input or prior state (e.g., internal values).

3. Program Design and Development

• A development process can be ordered and intentional, or exploratory in nature.
• There are multiple development processes. The following phases are commonly used when developing a program: investing and reflecting, designing, prototyping, and testing.
• A development process that is iterative requires refinement and revision based on feedback, testing, or reflection throughout the process. This may require revisiting earlier phases of the process.
• A development process that is incremental is one that breaks the problem into smaller pieces and makes sure each piece works before adding it to the whole.
• The design of a program incorporates investigation to determine its requirements.
• Investigation in a development process is useful for understanding and identifying the program constraints, as well as the concerns and interests of the people who will use the program.
• Some ways investigation can be performed are as follows: collecting data through surveys, user testing, interviews, and direct observations.
• Program requirements describe how a program functions and may include a description of user interactions that a program must provide.
• A program’s specification defines the requirements for the program.
• In a development process, the design phase outlines how to accomplish a given program specification.
• The design phase of a program may include: brainstorming, planning and storyboarding, organizing the program into modules and functional components.
• Creation of diagrams that represent the layouts of the user interface.
• Development of a testing strategy for the program.
• Program documentation is a written description of the function of a code segment, event, procedure, or program and how it was developed.
• Comments are a form of program documentation written into the program to be read by people and do not affect how a program runs.
• Programmers should document a program throughout its development.
• Program documentation helps in developing and maintaining correct programs when working individually or in collaborative programming environments.
• Not all programming environments support comments, so other methods of documentation may be required.
• It is important to acknowledge any code segments that were developed collaboratively or by another source.
• Acknowledgement of a code segment(s) written by someone else and used in a program can be in the program documentation. The acknowledgement should include the origin or original author’s name.

4. Identifying and Correcting Errors

• Programs can have various errors, including:
  • Logic errors
  • Syntax errors
  • Run-time errors
  • Overflow errors
• The following are effective ways to find and correct errors:
  • Test cases
  • Hand tracing
  • Visualizations
  • Debuggers
  • Adding extra output statement(s)
• When testing a program, you must identify program requirements.
• Defined inputs used to test a program should demonstrate different expected outcomes that are at or just beyond the extremes (minimum and maximum) of input data.
• Test cases not only test to verify that programs produce the expected outcomes; they can be used to help programmers revise their algorithms or programs.