I personally don't write pseudocode, primarily because the type of projects I work right now on tend to not need it. However, according to

Code Complete

, pseudocode should adequately describe the functioning of the routine in detail enough to implement it in any language, yet not go into so much detail that it's obvious what language it was designed for.

For example, you wouldn't say "Increment $i by 1.", because you've limited what languages you can write this pseudo-code in. Instead, you'd say "Increment the Bank Record Number by 1.". Or, even better, you would say "Go to the next Bank Record."

Say you were taking money out of a ATM. (This is a common example in the books.) It might look something like:

Put your card into the ATM
Input your PIN# when requested
Input desired amount of money
Wait for money to arrive
Take money and card and receipt
[download]

Now, you can take those five lines and convert them into running code in any language, given a set of functions that can interface an ATM. I haven't limited your choice of language.

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/me wants to be the brightest bulb in the chandelier!

Vote paco for President!

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