Unit 1 - Problem solving - Pattern recognition & abstraction

• Matplotlib is a python module needed for paper 1, it allows you to represent data
• A pattern is something that repeatedly appears in many computer programming problems
• IMS use patterns to moniter data which can be used to monitor attendance etc
• once a pattern has been found in a problem you may find it must be used numerous times within a program
• For example a separate part may need to reference the pattern twice for two different parts
• A pattern is likely to have a prexisting solution which can be used
• If a search interface is being made which of these would be a pattern?

  1. Item search
  2. Sort alphabetically
  3. Sort price
  4. Display search results

  2,3
• When making a program what 3 things should be identified?

  The environment of the program

  What is the purpose of it

  What data/info does it need
• abstraction is particularly hiding complexity from anything that doesn't need to see that complexity
• An example of abstraction is most user input such as turning a computer off
• An example of abstraction in programming is creating a layer which holds all the functionality to contact a database, get a result, and close the connection to the database; when creating a search feature
• abstraction is often found with functions