Exam-style question
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Explain why a programmer might define a user-defined data type. In your answer, refer to language-defined data types and give an example of a type that could be created.
Model answer
What a good answer should say
- A user-defined data type allows a programmer to create a new type based on one or more language-defined, built-in data types.
- This can represent information in a form that matches the problem more closely and can make variables and data structures easier to understand.
- For example, a programmer could define a Student record based on a string for a name, an integer for an age and a Boolean for whether the student is present.
Explanation
Why this works
The specification requires students to define and use user-defined data types based on built-in types. A record-based example is appropriate because it combines related fields while preserving the underlying data types.
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