1. Introduction to programming techniques

Any computer program needs to be able to do the following:

Set data values that will not change as the program runs.
Keep track of data that does change as the program runs.
Carry out calculations.
Compare data.
Allow the user to enter data.
Display data to the user.

Every programming language does this using a common set of tools, called constructs. We will discuss some of the most common of these over the next few pages.