software development

what is a structure chart

a graphical representation of the modular structure of a solution

what are parameters

a value passed between modules

what does FSM stand for

finite state machine

what is a finite state machine

a machine that consists of a fixed set of possible states with a set of inputs that change the state and set of possible outputs

what is a state-transition table

a table that gives information about the state of an FSM

what is a state transition diagram

a diagram that describes the behaviour of a FSM

what is syntax error

an error in which a program statement does not follow the rules of the language

what is logic error

an error in the logic of the solution that causes it not to behave as intended

what is run-time error

an error that causes program execution to crash or freeze

what is test data

carefully choses values that will test a program

what is black-box testing

comparign expected results with actual results when a program is run

what is white-box testing

testing every path through the program code

what is dry-run testing

the process of checking the execution of an algorithm or program by recording variable values in a trace table

what is a trace table

a table with a colum for each variable that records their changing values

what is intergration testing

individually tested modules are joined into one program and tested to ensure the modules interact correctly

what is alpha testing

testing of software in-house by dedicated testers

what is acceptance testing

testing of software by customers before sign-off

what is beta testing

testing of software by a lined number of choses users before general release

what is corrective maintainance

correcting identified errors

what is adaptive maintainance

amending a program to enhance functionality or in respone to specification changes

what is perfective maintainance

modiffying a program to improve performane or maintanabiltity

what is the program development lifecycle

process of developing a program set out in fize stages

what are the five stages of the program development lifecycle

analysis, design, coding, testing, maintainance

in the program development lifecycle, what is this?: analysis

a process of investigation, leading to the specification of what a program is requried to do

in the program development lifecycle, what is this?: design

it uses the program specification from the analysis stage to show how the program should be developed

in the program development lifecycle, what is this?: coding

the writing of the program or suite of programs

in the program development lifecycle, what is this?: testing

testing of the program to make sure that it works under all conditions

in the program development lifecycle, what is this?: maintainace

process of making sure that the program continues to work during use

what are the three kinds of way to go about the program development lifecycle

waterfall model, iterative model, rapid application development

what is the waterfall model

liner sequenctial program development cycle in which each stage is completed before the next is begun

what is the iterative model

simple subset of requriements is developed then expanded or enhanced, with the cycle being repeated until the full system has been developed

what is the RAD method

parts of the requirements are developed in parallel, using prototyping to provide early user involvement in testing

what is a trace table

table showing the process of dry-running a program showing each variable and how it changes

what is a test strategy

overview of the testing required to meel the requirements specified for a particular program

what does a test trategy show

how and when the program is to be tested

what is a test plan

detailed showing of all the stages of testing and every test that will be performed for a particular program

what is a walkthrough

formal version of a dry run using pre-defined test cases

what is normal test data

test data that should be rejected by a program

what is extreme test data

test data that is on the limit of that acceped by a program

what is boundary test data

limit of that accpeted by a program or data that is just ouside the limit of that rejected by a program

what is stub testing

use of dummy modules for testing process