Programming

4. Programming
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Once the blue-print of the whole system is ready, the job of the programmer starts. A programmer would typically get all specifications from the designer in terms of the input, output, processing needs, etc and translate it in the programs. Programming is writing the logical processing steps in some computer language like C, Cobol, Java, etc.

Generally each program aims at one of the moderate sized tasks. For example, in a payroll system, there would be one program for getting the changes for the current month (like increments, new deductions, current DA percentage, etc.), another program for actual computations (like Provident Fund, gross & net pay) and yet another for printing the pay-sheet. This is just an illustration and in reality there may be several more programs.

A programmer has to adopt both a micro as well as macro approach. She focuses on the task on hand for a given program in a minute way while she has to look at the broader canvas, articulating a smooth handshake across multiple programs that together make up the complete application software.

It will be pertinent to mention here that programming is a separate branch in its own right - quantitatively there have been hundreds of programming languages and qualitatively there have been plethora of concepts like structured programming, modular approach, naming and scoping of variables, granularity of cohesion, coupling issues etc.