water value using microconroler

iam new to this blog i am a btech ece student of 3rd year i and my 4friend planed to make a mini project using microcontroler to control a water value
we just started it can any one give some tipes

Welcome,

Tip #1: use a transistor to switch a solenoid.
Tip #2: use a diode across the solenoid.
Tip #3: Brush up on English

can u tell me how to design algoritham for a solenoid vaule control using 8051 microcontroller.