My maturity test

[FlatAssembler]

I simply don't understand what's that algorithm supposed to achieve on the high-level. I suppose it counts the number of ones in the binary representation of the numbers and searches for some kind of maximum. But such low numbers (from 14 to 17) can't have 15 ones in their binary representation, they are only 4-5 digits long in the binary system.

[GrandizerII]

Thanks, SteelCurtain. 15 is the correct answer.
And I agree with you that the tasks are very confusing. Pseudocode itself can be confusing, especially if you didn't go to a high school with informatics as a subject, where the same pseudocode as one on the maturity test is used. Looking at an algorithm you've never seen before and trying to guess what it's doing is very confusing.

Step by step is the key. Go slowly and carefully, bit by bit. Note down all relevant values that you may need to use or refer to again.

[I_am_not_mafia]

Welcome to the black hole of careers. Once you enter the event horizon (your first programming job) you won't be able to escape a career as a code monkey.

It's too late for me but you can still save yourself.

[polymath257]

I simply don't understand what's that algorithm supposed to achieve on the high-level. I suppose it counts the number of ones in the binary representation of the numbers and searches for some kind of maximum. But such low numbers (from  14 to 17) can't have 15 ones in their binary representation, they are only 4-5 digits long in the binary system.

Yes, it counts the number of 1s in the binary description. In the for loop, t starts out with the value of i. then, setting z=t mod 2 gets the last binary digit, which is added to the running total, s. Then t=t div 2 divides t by 2, discarding the remainder. This happens as long as t>0. At the end, s holds the number of 1s (actually, the total of the binary digits, which is the same thing).

Now, m keeps track of the largest number of 1s so far, and p keeps track of the corresponding number. If s is larger than m, we replace m by s and p by i.

At the end, p=15, which in binary is 1111 (and has four 1s, more than any other number in the for loop). So, m=4, but we only print p.

[SteelCurtain]

The point of these exercises usually isn't to figure out what the program does on the high level, but whether you can look at a code snippet and follow the logic through.

Unless the problem specifically asks you to give a description of what the code does, my suggestion is to always stick to what the problem asks.