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Christine Zeelie |
2.1 Software development process Read Online
2.2 Requirements analysis Read Online
2.3 Software design Read Online
2.4 Software construction Read Online
2.5 Software testing Read Online
2.6 Software maintenance Read Online
2.7 Software configuration management Read Online
Virtually all countries now depend on complex computer-based systems. More and more products incorporate computers and controlling software in some form. The software in these systems represents a large and increasing proportion of the total system costs. Therefore, producing software in a cost-effective way is essential for the functioning of national and international economies.
Software engineering is an engineering discipline whose goal is the cost-effective development of software systems. Software is abstract and intangible. It is not constrained by materials, governed by physical laws or by manufacturing processes. In some ways, this simplifies software engineering as there are no physical limitations on the potential of software. In other ways, however, this lack of natural constraints means that software can easily become extremely complex and hence very difficult to understand.
Software engineering is still a relatively young discipline. The notion of ‘software engineering’ was first proposed in 1968 at a conference held to discuss what was then called the ‘software crisis’. This software crisis resulted directly from the introduction of powerful, third generation computer hardware. Their power made hitherto unrealisable computer applications a feasible proposition. The resulting software was orders of magnitude larger and more complex than previous software systems.
Early experience in building these systems showed that an informal approach to software development was not good enough. Major projects were sometimes years late. They cost much more than originally predicted, were unreliable, difficult to maintain and performed poorly. Software development was in crisis. Hardware costs were tumbling whilst software costs were rising rapidly. New techniques and methods were needed to control the complexity inherent in large software systems.
These techniques have become part of software engineering and are now widely although not universally used. However, there are still problems in producing complex software which meets user expectations, is delivered on time and to budget. Many software projects still have problems and this has led to some commentators (Pressman, 1997) suggesting that software engineering is in a state of chronic affliction.
As our ability to produce software has increased so too has the complexity of the software systems required. New technologies resulting from the convergence of computers and communication systems place new demands on software engineers. For this reason and because many companies do not apply software engineering techniques effectively, we still have problems. Things are not as bad as the doomsayers suggest but there is clearly room for improvement.
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Christine Zeelie |
Question: Information is...
Choices:
unprocessed
data used before processing
raw, processed data
result of processing data
Question: What is the basic model of a computer system? (The answer must be in correct order.)
Choices:
Input, Output, Processing
Output, Processing, Input
Input, Processing, Output
Processing, Input, Output
Question: What is the main components of a computer?
Choices:
Motherboard and ROM
RAM and ROM
Hardware and software
OS and application software
Question: The difference between dedicated devices and general purpose devices is:
Choices:
devices that have more than one purpose and devices set up for only one task
devices dedicated to one network and devices that can be set up for use on multiple networks at the same time
devices with no purpose and devices with many purposes
devices designed for one purpose and devices that performs a variety of tasks
Question: Information should always be... (This answer may contain more than one correct answer, please choose all the answers you deem correct.)
Choices:
relevant
useful
meaningful
current
Question: A computers is a ... (correct order is important)
Choices:
multi-purpose tool that can process data and output information.
multi-purpose electronic tool that can process data and output information.
multi-purpose tool that can receive data, process it and output information.
multi-purpose electronic tool that can receive data, process it and output information.
Question: Data is...
Choices:
unprocessed facts
the result of processing the data
processed facts
information
Question: What does a processor do?
Choices:
executes instructions
processes data
controls other parts of the computer
all of the above
Question: A computer is defined as a...
Choices:
system
device
laptop
desktop
Question: What's the difference between input, output and storage devices?
Choices:
Input: get feedback from computer; Output: get data into computer; Storage: keep instructions and data computer is not currently working on
Input: get data into computer; Output: get feedback from computer; Storage: keep instructions and data computer is not currently working on
Input: keep instructions and data computer is not currently working on; Output: get feedback from computer; Storage: get data into computer
Input: get data into computer; Output: keep instructions and data computer is not currently working on; Storage: get feedback from computer
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