Understanding Pseudocode in Coding

Importance of using pseudocode in coding

Photo by Tudor Baciu on Unsplash

Pseudocode is not a widely used terminology in coding but I decided to write about it as writing in pseudocode really helps me in coding in any programming language for that matter.

PSEUDOCODE

Pseudocode is a non-coding way of writing instructions in a text- based style for the particular programming project that does not involve using typical coding syntaxes. When I say non-coding, I mean, it is written in the human language , which is none other than the language that you chose to speak — it could be English, Hindi, Spanish or any other language that you choose. I choose to write pseudo code in English as it is a universal language worldwide, besides being my good old favorite language that I am most comfortable with while learning as well as teaching any subject. That was about my idea of pseudo coding. Ideally , pseudo coding involves a combination of human language(mostly English) and some code terms such as for , while, loop, iterates, etc. In my case, so far, I have been using more of English(which is so close to Python language), to define problem and write out the steps of the pseudo code.

Pseudocode is not a very common practice among expert and experienced programmers, but, then again, I am writing this post for newbies in programming so that this practice could help them not only in doing their projects, but also, help them during their interview process. During interviews of newbie programmers, it is a very common situation of being provided with a complex programming task, and the candidates are not able to solve all the portions of the task, wherein, by writing pseudo code, they are able to prove to the Interviewer that they may have forgotten the coding syntaxes but surely confident of how to solve the problem using appropriate Data structure and Algorithm in programming. As we all know already, Data structures and Algorithms remain the same for all the programming languages. For example, be it Python or JavaScript, there is always something to do with different types of loops, conditional statements, objects, arrays, filter, etc.

WHY USE PSEUDOCODE

Listed below are some of the reasons that helps programming made easier, especially, for beginners either while learning to do coding or after getting a job as a Programmer, without having had much experience in the job.

Using pseudocode helps in achieving :

1. Logical Focus

This text based , non coding way of writing instructions will focus on logical reasoning of the problem rather than worrying about the code syntaxes.. This way, we can concentrate more on the overall logics of the problem/project before getting down to the coding part. This will also help to make you a problem solver rather than merely being a coder. Learning the code syntaxes can come to you slowly with practice, but learning how to crack a problem in a logical way, is a great plus point in becoming an expert Programmer in the years to come. For example , if you are provided with a task of developing a website to sell some products, instead of starting to code directly, you could write or type the pseudocode that would first write the goal of developing the website, the function it would serve, the target audience, what special features would be required in addition. By writing this way, you would be more creative while coding , giving more importance to special requirements of the site rather than just sit and code a normal website that you have been doing all the while.

For students learning web development or Programming, the learning process also becomes much more fun because, your task is not boring , as it has a goal and certain specifics to do based on logical reasoning and remember, any task based on logical reasoning can be learnt faster and even absorbed faster ! Imagine doing a for loop in your project, even without understanding the reason for doing it .

When you talk of logical thinking, it involves programming data structures and algorithm thereby improving Programming logic. Logical focus involves detailed and strategic thinking which also involves splitting the main problem into small bits to ensure that the focus is on smaller ones before proceeding to solve the entire problem.

2)Program flow

The program flow, is really an essential part of doing a project. In order to complete a programming project, I like to write /key down the steps involved and what’s better than doing that in pseudocode , rather than get involved in the intricacies of the actual programming language code right at the beginning of the project? Ideally, a pseudocode would also involve a bit of code as well as English , but, I go all the way and write it in English, and I really find it easier to have the flow maintained this way. For example, if I want to make a website to sell products , I would require to prepare the steps : first build the navbar, then build the body, then the footer and then within the navbar, first write down the parts of the navbar that is required by the task, and then, where to place the header, logo etc., and so on and so forth. Without building the navbar, one would not be able to think of building the footer right?

Maintaining the program flow helps to visualize the code, leading to a cleaner code syntaxes.

3)Helps in finishing Projects faster

I would Write down the steps involved in a non-coding way , much faster than than using a coding language, and this speed, would in turn, help to finish my projects faster. Moreover, after writing the non-coding instructions for the project is not time consuming as English is my favorite language and this also gives me a very clear picture of the project from start to finish. Understanding of the project is a must for completing it faster or else as a beginner, any one would get lost in the ocean of all the coding syntaxes and concepts while attempting to finish the project straight away with the code syntaxes, unless, you are an experienced Programmer !

4)Acts as a Blueprint and a reusable Architect

The steps that we write down in pseudocode also serves as a Blueprint for not merely solving that particular project but also for similar projects that we may need to solve in the future, since, it has the complete outlines of the project along with the step by step plan to solve the same. As you know already, a Blueprint is like a detailed plan with outlines and detailed steps involved, and it is normally used before doing any project. A Blueprint serves like a map that is guiding you all along the way from beginning to the end of the project. A Blueprint helps you to visualize your project and serves as a Reusable Structured Plan with sequential steps, based on code concepts, to solve a project and visualizing the problem helps to reach the solution smoothly.

As all Blueprint ought to be, a pseudocode needs to be clear, simple, concise, and neatly written with complete details , making it readable to anyone be it a Programmer or a newbie without programming knowledge.

An example of a pseudocode for a user log in dashboard:

if user login is successful

API call to get user data

Assign data to variables

Re-route User to the dashboard

Execute Greeting Message to the User

else log bad login attempt

Show error Message

Clear login form

So, this way, you feel that you are not merely coding, but also solving a problem . pseudo-code has really helped me in completing many Python projects, even, during my early learning phase. If you too are in your early learning phase of any programming language, use pseudo-code to make your learning journey easier. It can also help you in your newbie engineering job or while you are being interviewed for a newbie software engineer job.

Do you also feel comfortable doing pseudocode? Do mention in the comments below, I'm all ears to all your opinions! 😀!