What is Structured Programming? Definition, Pros, and Cons

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What is Structured Programming? Definition, Pros, and Cons

Vinay Khatri
Last updated on December 11, 2022

    Here in this article, we are going to discuss the definition of structured programming and its advantages and disadvantages.

    There are many programming paradigms we use in programming languages. They determine the way in which a programming language solves a particular problem. A programming language can consist of more than one programming paradigm. The programming paradigm also controls the flow of program execution.

    What is Structured Programming?

    Structured programming is similar to procedural programming . In fact, it is a subset of the same. It is used to improve the quality and clarity of the programming language, so the execution of the program becomes more logical and readable.

    By its name, you might have noticed that the programming languages which support the structured programming paradigm - such as C, Java, and Python - use structured control flow, which involves selection, iteration, subroutines, and sequence block structure.

    The code of such a programming language executes according to the structure in which it is written. Like procedural programming, structured programming also follows the top to bottom approach. This means the code written in this way executes one operation after the other in sequential order from top to bottom.

    Structured Control

    Structured programming involves 4 elements, which are sequence, iteration, selection, and subroutines. Each of them is explained as follows:

    1. Sequence

    In structured programming, the code is written in sequential order so the program can follow the approach of top to bottom. The sequence of the program also increases the readability. This means that a human reading the code can tell what that program is doing.

    2. Selection

    The programming paradigm also consists of a Selection block, such as if…else statements. The execution of the subsequent code depends upon the selection statement.

    3. Iteration

    In iteration, we can repeatedly execute a block of code again and again with the help of loop statements. We can specify how many times we want to execute the same block of code.

    4. Subroutines

    Subroutines are the functions, methods, procedures, or subprograms which perform as a single block of code.

    Advantages and Disadvantages of Structured Programming

    Advantages

    • Easy to understand.
    • Consists of statements resembling the English vocabulary.
    • Needs less time to write code.
    • Easier to maintain.
    • It can be debugged easily.
    • Most high-level programming languages support this paradigm.
    • It is machine-independent. This means such a program written on one computer can run on any other computer.

    Disadvantages

    • As it is machine-independent, we need a translator to convert it into machine language.
    • The program depends upon changeable factors, like data types. Therefore, it needs to be updated with the need on the go.

    Conclusion

    That sums up this article on structured programming. Hope you have built a better understanding of the programming paradigm now.

    Have any queries for us? Drop the same in the comments section below.

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    FAQs


    It is called structured programming because we can divide a large program into small functional structured or modules using the function procedure.

    The elements of the structured programming sequence, iteration, selection, and subroutines.

    Structured programming is important because it makes applications easy to read and understand and they are more likely to contain fewer errors.

    While structure programming is associated with dividing a program into functional modules or structures, object-oriented programming works on the concept of objects and classes.

    Some popular structured languages include C, C++, C#, Perl, ALGOL, Pascal, PL/I, PHP, Ruby, and Ada.

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