Specimen Things To Work On

Question 1

Give two reasons why a client would be involved in the testing

Answer 1

1. Software can be tested on their own systems
2. Software can be tested on eventual users
3. Client can provide feedback to software development company

Question 2

Why is an emulator required when writing a program on a PC that is intended to run on a mobile phone?

Answer 2

To run the object code/exe/machine code for a different processor than the one in the computer

Question 3

What additional backups would be required to ensure no loss of data in the event of a system failure on a system which uses daily backups?

Answer 3

An incremental backup would ensure no loss of transaction data in between daily backups

Question 4

Explain why RAD could be beneficial to a company who are bidding for a contract to develop software for a multinational supermarket chain

Answer 4

RAD involves the creation of prototypes/models working software
Prototypes can stimulate user interest in the software as they can use a working copy with limited features

Question 5

How could agile methodologies be used in the effective production of the software?

Answer 5

Regular opportunities to assess development/success
Shorter iterations of work/quicker response to change
Gather requirements at the same time as developing software
Greater customer collaboration/cooperation

Question 6

How can 32 bits be used to store real, negative values?

Answer 6

Allocate 16 bits for the mantissa and 16 for the exponent
Two’s complement for the mantissa would allow negative values
Twos complement for the exponent would allow for smaller values

Question 7

Why are compilers often more efficient than interpreters?

Answer 7

A compiler saves the object code and so does not retranslate on each pass through the loop
It would not stop at every line one by one which is a slow process
An interpreter may retranslate on each pass through the loop using processor time
An interpreter is resident in memory where as a compiler does not need to be in memory

Question 8

Explain the benefits of code being kept in cache memory

Answer 8

The processor could fetch data in the query and save time (faster execution)
Faster access time than main memory

Question 9

Describe two advantages of using a 1-D array in order to store a list of values instead of individual variables

Answer 9

Only one line of code renamed to create multiple values
Passing parameters is easily implemented with one line
Each individual element in the array can be resembled by indexing

Question 10

Explain the purpose of a trace table

Answer 10

Used to test algorithms for logic errors by tracking the processes that occur throughout execution

Question 11

Explain why it is common for a loop to fail to terminate during program execution

Answer 11

If counter is reset to 1 on each iteration of a loop

This causes the terminating condition of the loop to never be met

Question 12

How could an algorithm be corrected should a loop fail to terminate?

Answer 12

Setting the counter to position + 1

Question 13

Describe an error which can occur during program execution other than an execution error

Answer 13

A logic error is when the code fails to produce a correct output because of the result of an incorrect formula or using incorrect/wrong algorithms
A syntax error occurs when the programmer enters a word which is incorrect for that environment and so stops the program from translating/executing eg if words are misspelt/used incorrectly

Question 14

Describe how a feature of a software development environment could have been used to locate the area of code which contains an error

Answer 14

Breakpoints

Allows execution of code to be stopped at a pre-defined point

Question 15

What two factors could be considered whilst using wire-framing?

Answer 15

Navigational Structure - Relationship between links and take into account the nature of navigation
Presentation of data - Placement of objects in order to maximise purpose of the page for end user

Question 16

Describe how a subroutine can make a value available to other parts of a program

Answer 16

By declaring it as a parameter which can pass a value to a corresponding parameter

Question 17

Give reasons why a dynamic database-driven website is a benefit for site users

Answer 17

1. A dynamic website will respond to information entered by the user
2. Information will be recent/up to date
3. Visitors will be presented with information that relates specifically to their needs

Question 18

Give an example of a type of input validation which can be applied to a username when it is first registered

Answer 18

1. Validated against the list of existing usernames
2. When registering the system must make sure that the username does not exist in the database already
3. To check that no invalid characters are included

Question 19

Describe the main features of a contemporary development in intelligent systems

Answer 19

Game playing program that can learn and develop strategies

Question 20

Describe two ways of improving form usability

Answer 20

Changing the data type of certain fields
Offering buttons for Boolean options
Create drop down menus for certain fields as a method of restricted choice

Question 21

How could a company use database software to produce a report?

Answer 21

Create a query with the required fields

And then create a report using data from the query

Question 22

Describe ways a company can ensure that a website is optimised for indexing by crawler software

Answer 22

1. Ensure that the title tag contains a concise description of the web sites content
2. Create a new title tag for each web page
3. Use the description meta tag to add more detail about the page
4. Use URLs that are as concise as possible

Question 23

Explain how HTML code can be altered to make web pages accessible should images fail to appear on screen

Answer 23

Through use of appropriate ALT tags to include a better description of each image

Question 24

Explain why the use of lossless compression would result in a significant reduction in file size for an image of a national flag

Answer 24

It has long runs of pixels the same colour which allows the colour and the repetitions to be stored using just two values

Question 25

Give reasons as to why server-side validation may be more appropriate than client-side validation when dealing with or so that keep track of progress

Answer 25

1. Updating constantly held data/data services is not possible with client side scripting 2. Validation cannot be disabled if it is handled on the server 3. Less security issues if data is managed at the server

Question 26

Explain why cloud storage might be best suited for storing updates on a shared web-based folder

Answer 26

- It allows multiple users to share, edit and save files/folders - Accessible via the Internet from any device and/or location

Question 27

Describe the financial implications of RIPA for Internet service providers

Answer 27

- ISPs must implement technical systems for the storing and interception of information which may be requested by the government

Question 28

Why is RIPA becoming increasingly difficult to enforce?

Answer 28

Encryption us becoming more sophisticated/difficult to decrypt and so this requires the cooperation of individuals to provide keys/information in order to decrypt/access data

Question 29

How can accessible design be achieved through the use of cascading style sheets?

Answer 29

- CSS media queries are used to identify the target device/system - CSS rules are created for different screen widths and devices

Question 30

How can code be altered to optimise load times?

Answer 30

- Through creation of a CSS file to hold the CSS rules so that less data is delivered with the main page - Merge any JavaScript files into one and include file to reduce fetches from the server - Merge any images into one image and use CSS rules to display only the relevant area of the image as this also reduces the number of fetches from the server.

Question 31

Describe two ways in which compression can be used to reduce the time taken to retrieve and display a webpage?

Answer 31

- Compression is used when the page is served, thus reducing the amount of data sent to the browser. The browser will decompress the page data when received - Compression reduces the amount of data exchanged from the server to the browser client, therefore reducing the time taken to load the data

Question 32

When should a company use beta testing?

Answer 32

Last stage of testing prior to release