What is the understanding of the program?
program understanding is the ability of the programmer to understand what the source code of the computer program is doing. When teaching computer science, understanding of the program is often overlooked in favor of learning the mechanics and syntax of computer language teaching. However, writing a comprehensible code is a universal need regardless of the computer language in which it is written. If the programmer writes a library or a piece of code, but no one can determine what it does, the algorithm and logic behind this code can be easily lost. It is becoming increasingly common that programmers cannot decipher their own code because it is often not written clearly and intuitively.
There are two main strategies that programmers can use to improve the program understanding and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The first method is to add documentation to the code during or after creating code and the second is to write a code with an emphasis on its structure. The combination of both Approaches is useful for most programmers, although there are some codecators who prefer one strategiEven before the second. Which method to use is a matter of personal preferences of the programmer and any attempt to clarify the code is much better than none at all.
Adding documentation to code is easier of two methods, and if well done, it can be a very useful crutch for a programmer that is not known to the language in which the code is written. Most computers have a specific documentation style that helps in understanding the program. If the code documentation is written thoroughly, the first step of the new programmer can be read all the documentation and comments in order to understand how the program works without the code read at all. Instead of being dependent on code syntax and mechanics, the programmer can see what is happening in a simple text, and then combine the text exactly with what happens at any given place. However, when adding documentation to code, programmers must be careful,Because too much documentation can be confusing and distracting, rather than useful.
When writing a code with an emphasis on the structure, the programmer assumes that anyone other maintainers who look at their code will have an equivalent knowledge of syntax and mechanics of language. Sometimes it is a valid assumption, but it is not always possible to rely on it. Understanding a program based on the structure is possible, but to facilitate its original programmer requires significantly more work. The mechanics and syntax of the language must be precisely followed, as well as all stylistic conventions and everything must be consistent. When writing a code in this way, the programmer must always be aware that what is clear to him may not be clear to another person.
Even when writing a code with an eye for later understanding of the program, further documentation or structural adjustments may be needed later. This is a natural part of code maintenance and not a failure in the hands of the programmer. The task of the programmer is to anticipate as many problems with understanding but allNY are not always caught.