Converting HKDSE Pseudocode to Real Python

Pseudocode Conventions in HKDSE

• INPUT x → x = input() (convert type as needed).
• OUTPUT x → print(x).
• IF…THEN…ELSE…ENDIF → if/else block.
• FOR i FROM 1 TO 10 → for i in range(1, 11).
• WHILE condition DO … END WHILE → while condition:.

Example 1 — Sum of N

INPUT n
total ← 0
FOR i FROM 1 TO n
    total ← total + i
END FOR
OUTPUT total

n = int(input())
total = 0
for i in range(1, n + 1):
    total += i
print(total)

Example 2 — Linear Search

found ← FALSE
FOR each x IN list
    IF x = target THEN
        found ← TRUE
        EXIT FOR
    END IF
END FOR

found = False
for x in lst:
    if x == target:
        found = True
        break

Tips

• Declare types in Python at first assignment — pseudocode types are implicit.
• Use range with the exclusive upper bound.
• Mirror pseudocode variable names to score follow-through marks.