Structured programming is one of the several different ways in which a programming language can be constructed. It was originally introduced as a means of getting away from the 'spaghetti' code that was used in the early days and to provide some means by which programmers could more easily follow code written by other programmers. Structured programming is a procedure oriented method of designing and coding a program.
A structured programming language does not allow just things to happen in any order within the code. There are a limited number of constructs that can be used within the code to define the execution flow. A structured program is one that only uses the constructs that are listed within this document. Most so called structured (or procedural) programming languages also permit constructs to be used that are not listed in this document. These additional constructs are to be avoided if a true structured program is to be produced.
A structured program may be written out using pseudo code prior to being translated into whatever programming language that the program is to be written in. This pseudo code forms part of the program specification and is readable by anyone who understands structured programming regardless of whether or not they know the specific language in which the program has been written.
The simplest structure type is the sequence.
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