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The area of a circle is calculated using the formula π × r² where π is equal to 3.142 and r is the radius - OCR - GCSE Computer Science - Question 7 - 2023 - Paper 1
Question 7
The area of a circle is calculated using the formula π × r² where π is equal to 3.142 and r is the radius. A program is written to allow a user to enter the radius ... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The area of a circle is calculated using the formula π × r² where π is equal to 3.142 and r is the radius - OCR - GCSE Computer Science - Question 7 - 2023 - Paper 1
Step 1
Explain, using examples from the program, two ways to improve the maintainability of the program.
Answer
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Use Constants: Instead of hardcoding the value of π (3.142), it would be better to declare it as a constant at the beginning of the program. This way, if the value of π needs to be changed, it can simply be updated in one place. For example:
pi = 3.142This makes the code clearer and minimizes errors.
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Input Validation: The program can be improved by implementing more robust input validation. Instead of just checking if the radius is between 1 and 30, we can ensure that the input is indeed a number. If a non-numeric value is entered, the program should handle this gracefully and prompt the user again. This adds stability to the program and makes it user-friendly.
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Step 6
Identify two features of an IDE that might be used when writing the program.
Answer
- Code Editor: An IDE typically provides a syntax-highlighted code editor that helps in writing code with better clarity.
- Debugging Tools: IDEs come with debugging tools that allow developers to run the program step by step, helping to identify and fix errors easily.