8.9. General characteristics of the technology for creating application software

Solving a problem on a computer is the process of obtaining the resulting information based on the processing of the initial information through the use of a program composed of commands from a computer control system. The program is a normalized description of the sequence of actions of certain computer devices depending on the specific nature of the task conditions.

Technologies for developing problem solving programs depend on two factors:

1) whether the development of a program for solving a problem as an integral part of a unified system of automated information processing is carried out Otherwise, as a relatively independent, local component of a common software complex that provides for solving computer-aided control problems;

2) what software tools are used to develop and implement tasks on a computer.

Software tools are software components that allow you to program management tasks. They include:

1) algorithmic languages ​​and their corresponding translators;

2) database management systems (DBMS) with language programming tools in their environment;

3) spreadsheets containing their means of adjustment.

The process of solving applied problems consists of several basic steps. The first step is the formulation of the problem. At this stage, the organizational and economic essence of the problem is revealed, that is, the goal of its solution is formulated; determines the relationship with other previously studied tasks; the frequency of its decision is given; establishes the composition and presentation of input, intermediate and results information; describes the forms and methods of monitoring the reliability of information at the main stages of solving the problem; forms of user interaction with computers are specified when solving a problem, etc.

Of particular importance is a detailed description of the input, output and intermediate information characterizing the following factors:

• type of presentation of individual details;

• the number of characters that are allocated to record details based on their maximum significance;

• type of props, depending on its role in the process of solving the problem;

• the source of the props.

The second stage is an economic-mathematical description of the problem and the choice of a method for its solution. The economic-mathematical description of the task allows you to make the task unambiguous in the understanding of the program developer. In the process of its preparation, the user can apply various sections of mathematics. For a formalized description of the statements of economic problems, the following classes of models are used:

1) analytical - computational;

2) matrix - balance;

3) graphic, a particular type of which is networked.

By choosing the model class, you can not only facilitate and speed up the process of solving the problem, but also improve the accuracy of the results obtained.

When choosing a method for solving problems, it is necessary that the chosen method:

1) guaranteed the required accuracy of the results obtained and the absence of the property of degeneration (infinite looping);

2) allowed to use ready-made standard programs for solving the problem or its individual fragments;

3) focused on the minimum amount of source information;

4) ensured the fastest obtaining of the desired results.

The third stage is the algorithmization of the solution of the problem, that is, the development of the original or the adaptation of an already known algorithm.

Algorithmization is a complex creative process based on the fundamental concepts of mathematics and programming.

The process of algorithmic solution of the problem is most often implemented according to the following scheme:

1) the selection of autonomous stages of the process of solving the problem;

2) formalized description of the content of the work performed at each selected stage;

3) validation of the use of the selected algorithm on various examples of solving the problem.