This textbook is an introduction to the design and writing of computer
programs. It leads the reader through all the stages of program
construction from the original specifications through to the final
program. The formal verification of intermediate versions of the program
is studied in considerable detail. The authors show how, given the
formal specification of a program, data structure and program structure
diagrams are drawn and then converted into a procedural program in a
program design language (PDL). They demonstrate the conversion of PDL
into a variety of real programming languages including Pascal, FORTRAN,
COBOL, and Assembler. The book also includes chapters on abstract data
types, analysing existing programs, and a small case study. First-year
undergraduates in computer science and graduates taking courses in
computing will find this a comprehensive introduction to program
construction.