1. Pseudocode

Pseudocode is known as Structured English.

Pseudocode is a way of writing a program that generalizes it for conversion into a programming language.

Pseudocode represents the steps of the program in natural language and mathematical notation.

Pseudocode describes the logic of the program or algorithm.

See: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/curriculum/vce-curriculum/vce-study-designs/pseudocode

VCAA uses bold lowercase for pseudocode keywords, but in this documentation the common standard is to use UPPERCASE.

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1.1. Python to Pseudocode Summary

The keywords below are in UPPERCASE.

Pseudocode typically starts with BEGIN and ends with END.

The table below has the typical pseudocode for common keywords and operators in python.

The quoted text in the python is not python. It is there to indicate the purpose.

Pseudocode Summary

Python	Pseudocode
==	=
=	←
print	OUTPUT or PRINT or DISPLAY
input	INPUT or GET
if	IF ….THEN
elif	ELSEIF ….THEN
else	ELSE
“end of if”	ENDIF
for	FOR
“end of for”	ENDFOR
while	WHILE
“end of while”	ENDWHILE
def	FUNCTION
“end of def”	ENDFUNCTION
return	RETURN
or	OR
and	AND
not	NOT
True	TRUE
False	FALSE
try	TRY
except	EXCEPT
pass	PASS
class	CLASS
“end of class”	ENDCLASS
import	IMPORT
open “a file”	OPEN
read “a file”	READ
write “to a file”	WRITE

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1.2. Arithmetic Operators

Operator	Symbol	Meaning	Example	Result
Addition	+	Adds two values	5 + 3	8
Subtraction	-	Subtracts right from left	5 - 3	2
Multiplication	× or *	Multiplies two values	5 × 3 or 5 * 3	15
Division	÷ or /	Divides left by right	6 ÷ 3 or 6 / 3	2
Integer Division	DIV	Quotient without remainder	7 DIV 3	2
Modulus	MOD or %	Remainder after division	7 MOD 3 or 7 % 3	1
Exponentiation	^	Raises to a power	2 ^ 3	8
Negation	-	Unary minus (sign change)	-5	-5

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1.3. Relational and Logical Operators

Operator	Symbol	Meaning	Example	Result
Equal	=	Tests equality	5 = 5	TRUE
Not Equal	≠ or <>	Tests inequality	5 ≠ 3	TRUE
Greater Than	>	Left greater than right	7 > 3	TRUE
Less Than	<	Left less than right	2 < 5	TRUE
Greater or Equal	≥ or >=	Left greater or equal to right	5 ≥ 5	TRUE
Less or Equal	≤ or <=	Left less or equal to right	3 ≤ 5	TRUE
AND	AND	Logical conjunction	TRUE AND FALSE	FALSE
OR	OR	Logical disjunction	TRUE OR FALSE	TRUE
NOT	NOT	Logical negation	NOT TRUE	FALSE

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Extra Pseudocode Keywords

Keyword	Meaning / Usage
BEGIN	Entry point of the pseudocode program
PROCEDURE	Defines a procedure (subroutine)
ENDPROCEDURE / END PROCEDURE	Marks the end of a procedure
PROCESS	Defines a process (similar to procedure, sometimes used in flowcharts)
ENDPROCESS / END PROCESS	Marks the end of a process
CALL	Calls a function or procedure
CASE / OF	Multi-way branch (like switch/case)
ENDCASE / END CASE	Marks the end of a case block
STEP	Increment in a FOR loop
LOOP	General loop construct
REPEAT / UNTIL	Repeat loop until condition is true
END UNTIL	Marks the end of a repeat-until loop
DO	Loop body keyword (used with WHILE or UNTIL)
EXIT WHEN	Exit loop when condition is met
DISPLAY / SHOW / PROMPT / SCAN	Variants of output/input operations
WRITE LINE / READ LINE	File or console I/O line operations
ARRAY / LIST / RECORD / TABLE / STACK / QUEUE	Data structures
DECLARE / CONSTANT / VARIABLE / TYPE / OF TYPE	Declarations of variables, constants, or types
SET / SET OF	Set data type or assignment
BEGIN / START / END	Block delimiters
EXIT / BREAK / CONTINUE	Loop control statements
COMMENT	Marks a comment
WITH / BY	Used in structured statements (e.g. WITH record BY field)
DEFAULT / OTHERWISE	Default branch in CASE statements
NULL / EMPTY	Null or empty value
IS / IN	Membership or comparison operators