Write a program that will calculate the cost of installing fiber optic cable at a cost of $0.87 per foot for a company. Your program should display the company name and the total cost.
Step 1: Examine the following algorithm as a base for how the program should flow. (Reference: Designing a Program, page 31).
1. Display a welcome message for your program.
2. Get the company name.
3. Get the number of feet of fiber optic to be installed.
4. Multiply the total cost as the number of feet times $0.87.
5. Display the calculated information and company name.
Step 2: Think of good variable names for the following pieces of data that will need to be stored with in this program.
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Purpose of Variable
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Variable Name
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Stores the cost of fiber
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fiberCost
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Stores the company name
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Stores the number of feet to be installed
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Stores the calculated cost of installed fiber
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Step 3: Complete the following pseudocode based on the algorithm and the variables you declared above.
Display "Welcome to the Fiber Optic Calculator Program"
Set fiberCost = ?
Display "What is the company name?"
Input ?
Display "How many feet of fiber will be installed?"
Input ?
Set ?
Display "For the company", ? ,"the total cost will be $",?
Now, think about the steps that take place in the above program of calculating the cost of installing fiber optic by designing a flowchart. While designing flowcharts can be done with paper and pencil, one mistake often requires a lot of erasing. Therefore, a flowcharting application such as Raptor or Visio should be used.
Step 4: Launch Raptor or Visio and convert your pseudocode from Lab 2-1 into a flowchart. Depending on what application you are using, select either lab2-2raptor.rap or lab2-2visio.vsd from the Lab 2 folder on the accompanying Lab Demo Media and Startup Files CD to get started. Once you double click on them to open, do a Save As to save it to your workspace. Watch the demo video 2-2 for instructions on how to input, calculate, and output using both applications.
Step 5: The final step is to insert your finished flowchart into a Word document. Inside Raptor, select File and then Print to Clipboard from the menu. If you are using Visio, select Edit, then Select All, then Edit and Copy. In your Word document, select Edit and Paste.