CS1010E Lecture 12

Problem Solving Methodology

Henry Chia
hchia@comp.nus.edu.sg

Semester 1 2011 / 2012

Department of Computer Science
School Of Computing
National University Of Singapore

CS1010E Lecture 12 p.1/21

Lecture Outline
General problem solving
Problem solving process

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Problem Solving

An entity, E, that solves a problem, P .

Input, I, presented to E to solve an instance
of the problem, P (I).
E outputs S as the solution of P (I).
How does E solve P for some general I?
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Problem Solving
It is not about whether you can solve the
problem, but...
Whether you can provide an algorithm (or
recipe) for E to solve the problem.
The algorithm is exact, effective, general
and must terminate.
The algorithm is constrained by:
the language that E understands;
the abstract mechanism behind how E
works.
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Language
What are the primitive values?
int, double, char

boolean (represented using int)

Representation of problems using primitives,
or complex structures involving primitives
(e.g. structures, arrays and pointers).
Writing syntactically correct program
elements or constructs.
Communication between modules (function
calls and return values).
Type-awareness in a typed language.
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Abstract Mechanism
Assignment
Expression evaluation: arithmetic, relational,
boolean
Type conversions
Function call/activation/termination
Control flow (flow chart)
if..else, switch..case
while, do..while, for
Pointers, arrays/strings and structures
Recursive calls and activations
CS1010E Lecture 12 p.6/21

Modeling
Within the set of possible programs
constructed using the rudimentary constructs,
devise an abstract model that is complete,
consistent and correct.
Completeness
All possible constructs can be modeled
precisely;
Consistency
The same construct is modeled in the
same way everytime;
Correctness
Gives a correct representation of the
internal workings of the true mechanism.

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Maze Example

How do you solve this problem?

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Maze Example

Always keep your left hand on the wall

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Maze Example
Problem formulation from abstract description
to algorithm.
Algorithmic problem solving with control flow.
Sequence
Selection
Repetition
What is the input/output? How are they
represented?
How to represent movement using the
left-hand rule?
CS1010E Lecture 12 p.10/21

Problem Formulation
Get starting and ending positions;
while (destination is not reached)
{
if (you can turn left)
turn left;
else
if (you can go forward)
stay put;
else
if (you can turn right)
turn right;
else
turn back;
Move one step forward;
}
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Problem Solving Process

CS1010E Lecture 12 p.12/21

Problem Solving Process

Phase 1: Analysis Understanding the problem
What are the inputs (or arguments)? What
are the outputs (or results)?
What is the specification of the problem?
What special conditions are there on the
inputs and outputs?
Does the problem break into parts?
Draw a figure. Include suitable notations.
Write the algorithm.

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Problem Solving Process

Phase 2: Design Devising a plan (algorithm)
Have you seen the problem before? Do you
know of a related problem?
Look at the specification. Find familiar
problems with the same or similar
specification.
Can you solve each part of the problem? How
do the different parts interact with each other?
If you cannot solve the proposed problem try
to solve a related one. A more general one?
A more special one? An analogous problem?
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Problem Solving Process

Phase 3: Implement Carrying out the plan
Make sure that you check each step of the
design.
Can you see clearly that each component
and each step does what it should?
Develop the program incrementally in stages.
You should also draw on other programs you
have written. Can they be used?
Can they be modified? Can they guide how to
build the solution?
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Problem Solving Process

Phase 4: Testing Looking back
Test each part as well as in its entirety.
Can you test that the solution works on a
variety of arguments?
Can you think of how you might have solved
the problem differently if you had to start
again?
Can you see how you might use solution (or
part of the solution) to solve another problem?

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Problem Solving Process

A great discovery solves a great problem
but there is a grain of discovery in the
solution of any problem.
Your problem may be modest; but if it
challenges your curiosity and brings into
play your inventive facilities, and if you
solve it by your own means, you may
experience the tension and enjoy the
triumph of discovery.
George Polya How to Solve It?
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Why is programming fun?

First is the sheer joy of making things. As
the child delights in his mud pie, so the
adult enjoys building things, especially
things of his own design.
Second is the pleasure of making things
that are useful to other people. Deep
within, we want others to use our work
and to find it helpful.

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Why is programming fun?

Third is the fascination of fashioning
complex puzzle-like objects of interlocking
moving parts and watching them work in
subtle cycles, playing out the
consequences of principles built in from
the beginning.
Fourth is the joy of always learning, which
springs from the nonrepeating nature of
the task. In one way or another the
problem is ever new, and its solver learns
something: sometimes practical,
sometimes theoretical, and sometimes
both.
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Why is programming fun?

Finally, there is the delight of working in
such a tractable medium. The
programmer, like the poet, works only
slightly removed from pure thought-stuff.
Yet the program construct, unlike the
poets words, is real in the sense that it
moves and works, producing visible
outputs separately from the construct
itself.

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Why is programming fun?

Programming then is fun because it
gratifies creative longings built
deep within us and delights
sensibilities we have in common
with all men.
Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.
The Mythical Man-Month

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