Introduction

Abstract

Why should a programming methodology be used? Let us consider the purpose of writing programs in this context. The aims and objectives of using a program design methodology (such as Jackson Structured Programming) are to produce correct software to carry out a given task and to achieve user satisfaction with the software that has been designed for that purpose. We must also consider that there may be changes over time: the user requirements, or the task itself, may change; alternatively, the data requiring processing may change. Programs may need to be changed, and not necessarily by the person who wrote them; program maintenance is a major workload. In addition, the provision of ad hoc reports may mean that “one-off “ queries need to be made. We need a programming methodology to allow us to construct programs to carry out certain tasks, and to permit changes to be made quickly and easily. We will be using Jackson Structured Programming (jsp), a method developed by Michael Jackson and described in his book, Principles of program design, in 1975.