SD1230 Unit 6 Desktop Applications

Course Objectives During this unit, we will cover the following course objectives: – Identify the characteristics of desktop applications. – Describe the differences and similarities of desktop, website, and mobile technology.

Learning Outcomes Completing this unit should help enable you to: – Identify the characteristics of desktop applications. – Create a simple desktop application. – Given a website or application, identify characteristics that affect its usability on a desktop computer. – Compare the application development learning path for applications typically supported on desktop computers with the learning path for those found on mobile devices.

Learning Outcomes (cont.) – Use the programming IDE environment with Visual Basic – Understand how to create and modify a console-based application. – Understand the logic of decision programming with conditional and loop statements. – Understand how to create and modify a windows application with objects such as text boxes, buttons, and message boxes.

Desktop Applications Applications you run on a laptop or desktop computer Examples: – Microsoft Office – Graphics programs – Integrated development environments (IDEs) – Games

Desktop Application Types Graphical User Interface (GUI) – Typically has one or more windows – User interacts through menus, buttons, and text fields Console application – User interacts by typing commands

Desktop vs. Mobile Applications DesktopMobile Window sizeLarge and adjustableLimited by screen size User inputKeyboard, mouse, audio, other recording devices Keypad, touch screen, d- pad, voice OutputScreen, printer, larger internal storage Smaller SD card storage, printing through Bluetooth ResourcesLarge range of processing and memory configurations Limited to mobile processing and memory resources

Desktop vs. Mobile Application Context Typically stationary Dedicated concentration Desktop On the move Distracted concentration Mobile

Program Scale Small program Large program

Scale of a Problem Based on the following factors: – Difficulty of the solution – Number of functions in the solution – Amount and diversity of data in the solution

Analyzing a Small-Scale Problem What is the input data? What is the output information? What are the formulas/processes you have to use to solve this problem by hand? Are there special conditions?

Rock-Paper-Scissors Example Input – Mode – Names of the players – Choice of paper, rock, or scissors Output – Winner of the game

Rock-Paper-Scissors Example Tasks – Determine the winner and display the result. – Compute the computer’s move. – Obtain the user’s move. – Obtain the name of the user.

Rock-Paper-Scissors Example Ordered tasks 1.Obtain the name of the user. 2.Compute the computer’s move. 3.Obtain the user’s move. 4.Determine the winner and display the result.

Algorithm to Obtain Name

Algorithm for the Computer’s Move

Options for Obtaining Input for User’s Move Menu – Less error prone – More consistent – Short menus are user friendly – Long menus are difficult to follow User enters a string – High probability for error User enters an abbreviation – Must convert to string for output purposes

Algorithm for the User’s Move

Input Validation

Algorithm for Determining the Winner

Main Algorithm

Random Numbers

Demographics Program Example Input Data – Ethnicity information – Number of people in the chosen population Output data – Data and distribution table

Demographic Example Tasks Display a menu Obtain the user’s selection Execute the selection Menu-related tasks Display a list of data Enter data into a list Compute the diversity distribution Operations performed after menu option is selected

Main Algorithm

Enter Data Algorithm

Display Data Algorithm

Display Demographics Algorithm

Switch Statement

Switch Statement vs. If-Else

Summary In this unit, we covered the following topics: – Desktop applications – GUI applications – Desktop vs. mobile applications – Console applications – Algorithms – Visual Basic