178. d. An inspection is an evaluation technique in which software requirements, design, code, or other products are examined by a person or group, other than the author, to detect faults, violations of development standards, and other problems. Input/output description errors are detected in the interface testing phase. The type of errors detected in inspections includes incomplete requirements errors, infeasible requirements errors, and conflicting requirements errors.
179. Which of the following is an example of a dynamic analysis to detect application software errors?
a. Inspections
b. Code reading
c. Testing
d. Tracing
179. c. Dynamic analysis techniques involve the execution of a product and analysis of its response to sets of input data to determine its validity and to detect errors. The behavioral properties of the program are also observed. The most common type of dynamic analysis technique is testing. Testing of software is usually conducted on individual components (for example, subroutines and modules) as they are developed, on software subsystems when they are integrated with one another or with other system components, and on the complete system. Another type of testing is acceptance testing performed before the user accepts the product.
Inspections, code reading, and tracing are examples of static analysis. Static analysis is the analysis of requirements, design, code, or other items either manually or automatically, without executing the subject of the analysis to determine its lexical and syntactic properties as opposed to its behavioral properties.
180. Decision tables are used in which of the following phases of a system development life cycle (SDLC)?
a. Initiation
b. Development/acquisition
c. Implementation
d. Operation/maintenance
180. a. The purpose of decision tables is to provide a clear and coherent analysis of complex logical combinations and relationships. This method uses two-dimensional tables to concisely describe logical relationships between Boolean program variables (for example, AND and OR). Advantages of decision tables include (i) their conciseness and tabular nature enables the analysis of complex logical combinations expressed in code and (ii) they are potentially executable if used as specifications. Disadvantages include that they require tedious effort. The requirements analysis, which is a part of initiation phase, is the best place to use the decision table.
181. Data-flow diagrams are used in which of the following phases of a system development life cycle (SDLC)?
a. Initiation
b. Development/acquisition
c. Implementation
d. Operation/maintenance
181. a. Data-flow diagrams are used to describe the data flow through a program in a diagrammatic form. They show how data input is transformed to output, with each stage representing a distinct transformation. The diagrams use three types of components:
1. Annotated bubbles represent transformation centers, and the annotation specifies the transformation.
2. Annotated arrows represent the data flow in and out of the transformation centers; annotations specify what the data is.
3. Operators (AND and OR) link the annotated arrows.
Data-flow diagrams describe only data and should not include control or sequencing information. Each bubble can be considered a black box that, as soon as its inputs are available, transforms them to outputs. Each bubble should represent a distinct transformation, whose output is somehow different from its input.
182. Desk-checking is practiced in which of the following phases of a system development life cycle (SDLC)?
a. Initiation
b. Development/acquisition
c. Implementation
d. Operation/maintenance
182. c. In desk-checking, programming code is read by an expert, other than the author of the code, who performs any of the following: (i) looking over the code for obvious defects, (ii) checking for correct procedure interfaces, (iii) reading the comments to develop a sense of what the code does and then comparing it to its external specifications, (iv) comparing comments to design documentation, (v) stepping through with input conditions contrived to exercise all paths including those not directly related to the external specifications, (vi) checking for compliance with programming standards and conventions, or (vii) any combination of these. As can be seen, desk-checking is a technical exercise performed by programmers.
