Any of you ever play with "Psuedocode?" Any Programmers PLEASE HELP!

[Nutdotnet]

Hey all.

I have this Programming Class that I am taking that uses PsuedoCode. PsuedoCode is not real Code but it describes the LOGIC of Steps in a Program. Well I am having a little bit of a problem on a question.

How would one properly Write and Validate a "Part Number" that is 6 characters where the first two are alpha (AA, BB, etc.) and the last four characters are Numeric (1234, 5434, etc.) Now the Algorithm that I am writing would read the "Part Number" and check with it meets the criteria I just described. But how would I writh that?

I don't think "IF strPartNumber = 6 THEN......." Would work because I have nothing to tell the program that the first two need to be ALPHA and the last four need to be numerical.

Even if you haven't used Psuedocode I would still apprectiate the help, it is the logic that I am after.

Thanks!

 

[yiwonder]

What language are you using and how much have you covered?

 

[Nutdotnet]

The Topic says PsuedoCode, I am using Psuedocode. Like I said in my first post, it is not real code but it is what this class is using becuase we are focusing on the logic of Programming not the syntax.

 

[yiwonder]

I understand what Pseudo Code is, but how do I know what you can do and what you can't?

If you are using C++:
I was thinking of entering it as a String and then using the string like a vector(string[0] will be your first letter, string[1] will be your second, and so on). You coul djust use that in your if statements then:

String S;
cout << &quot;Enter the part number&quot;'
cin >> S;
if (S[0]==&quot;A&quot
...do something;

does it make any sense?

 

[beat mania]

enter input
check str has 6 characters
check str[0:1] =~ /A-Za-z/
check str[2:5] =~ /0-9/
do stuff with string
done

psuedocode is just like thinking out loud ...

 

[Nutdotnet]

beat, yeah you are right and what you wrote makes sense but I am having a hard time implementing it to the commands and what not I can use.

I can use &quot;IF-THEN&quot; Statements and Select Cases.

Does that help at all yiwonder? It is the basic aspects of programming.

 

[propellerhead]

You said the program needs to validate the part number. You did not mention anything about prompting the user and accepting input. So...

Pseudo-code (as in used to describe the logic, totally detached from any specific language):

If the first two characters alphabetic

If the last four characters are numeric

Do something with the valid input.

End if

End if

 

[Descartes]

propellerhead has the right idea although I'd scrap the &quot;end if&quot;, the rest of you, no idea

Generally pcode (more formally known as PDL - program design language) uses uppercase to denote more language specific elements.

 

[Phil21]

or just use perl.

if ($string =~ m/(^[A-Za-z]{2})(\d{4})/) {
# String matches criteria
# Letters are in $1
# Numbers are in $2
}

Perl == godly.

-Phil

 

[littleprince]

you dont implement psudeocode.
it just helps you understand the logic, in which this case there doesnt seem to be much.

i'd say propeller had it.

its just something that someone who noes any language would understand, it doesnt matter if you noe basic, or c, or fortran or wutever.

get part number
if part # is 6 characters and part # starts with 2 alpha, and ends with 4 #'s.
do something
else
try again

end program

 

[littleprince]

i think phil missed the point of psuedo code.....

 

[randomlinh]

yeah, prop had it. psuedocode was so damned annoying.. if we didn't have it out while coding, our teacher would yell at us. blah

 

[Phil21]

Well, I was trying to give an example of an implentation that would work, from there you get your logic.

That regex does &quot;If the first 2 characters are a letter, and the next 4 are digits then evaluate to true and store them in temp. vars&quot; (basically, you get the idea)

-Phil

 

[iamwiz82]

psuedo code is quite good to see an algorithm. Once you get into really complex programs, their relevence becomes apparent.