Chapter

 1  
 
Inclusivity  
• Cultural  and  social  (numbers,  currencies,  date,  time,  images)  
• Economic  
• Gender  (colour  schemes,  images)  
• Disability:  
o Visual  disability    
! Scalable  fonts  and  graphics  
! Accommodate  colours  for  the  colour  blind  
! Interface  with  speech  generation  and  braille  utilities)  
o Hearing  disability  
! Events  give  visual  cue  
! Interface  with  voice  over  utilities  
o Physical  disability  
! Ability  for  application  to  be  controlled  with  only  a  keyboard  
(e.g.  allowing  shortcut  combinations)  
 
Software  Developer  Skills  
• Communication  skills  
• Ability  to  work  in  teams  
• Creativity  
• Design  skills  
 
 
Chapter  2  
 
Computer  System  
Define  each  of  the  following  terms:  
• Hardware  
• Software  
• Data  
• Personnel  
• Procedures  
 
 
Hardware  
• Primary  storage  
o Data  is  stored  for  quick  and  direct  access  by  the  computer's  
processor  
o Volatile:  cannot  retain  data  values  indefinitely  (power  turned  off,  
contents  are  lost)  
o Examples:  RAM,  ROM  (but  it  is  non-­‐volatile),  cache  
• Secondary  storage:  
o External  storage  
o Non-­‐volatile  
o Examples:    hard  drive,  CDs,  USB  flash  drive  
• Cache  
• Register  

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Operating  System  Software  
 
Types  
• Real-­‐time  OS:  
o Performing  tasks  immediately  and  in  the  same  amount  of  time  
every  time.    E.g.  industrial  machinery,  scientific  instruments.  
• Single-­‐User,  single-­‐task  OS:      
o One  user  can  complete  a  single  task.    E.g.  Symbian  mobile  phones  
(old  Nokia  phones)  
• Single-­‐user,  multi-­‐task  OS:      
o Allow  multiple  programs  to  execute  on  a  single  computer.    E.g.  MS  
Windows  and  Apple  Macintosh  
• Multi-­‐user  OS:      
o OS  must  ensure  each  user  has  sufficient  resources  to  complete  
their  task.  
o Separate  tresources  so  errors  encounted  by  one  user  do  not  affect  
other  users  
o Used  on  mini  and  mainframe  computers  
 
Purpose  
• Application  interface  
o Allows  application  software  to  communicate  with  operating  
system,  and  utilize  OS’  functions  without  worrying  about  the  
details  of  how  they  process  is  accomplished  
• Device  management  
o Controls  when  a  software  driver  can  send  and  receive  data  
• Memory  and  storage  management  
o Each  process  must  be  allocated  sufficient  memory  to  execute.    The  
OS  balances  the  demands  of  each  process  and  allocates  memory  
appropriately.  
• Processor  management  
o Ensures  each  process  receives  enough  of  the  processor’s  time,  
which  becomes  a  complex  task  when  there  are  a  number  of  
applications  running  at  the  same  time.  
• User  interface  
o Provides  the  graphical  user  interface  allowing  users  to  interact  
with  the  OS.  
 
Operating  System  Utilities  
• File  compression  
• Defragmentation  
• Virus-­‐checking  
• Embedded  licence  count  
• Batch  job  scheduling  
 
 
 
 

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 Other  terms:  
• COTS  –  Custom  off  the  shelf  package  
• Custom  designed  packages  
 
Programming  Languages  
• Source  Code  "  (translated)  "  Machine  Code  "  (compiled)  "  object  
code  
• Object  language  
o The  output  of  a  compiler  
o Contains  compact  and  optimised  instructions  in  binary  form  
• Machine  language  
o Represented  by  binary  digits,  cannot  be  understood  by  humans  
o Specific  to  different  processors  
• Assembly  language  
o Use  mnemonics  to  represent  different  commands  available  within  
the  language  
o Cannot  be  understood  by  CPU,  is  required  to  be  translated  into  
machine  language  
o Specific  to  different  processors  
• High  level  language  
o Uses  elements  of  natural  language,  making  the  process  of  
developing  easier  for  humans  to  understand  
o Allow  programmers  to  concentrate  on  solving  problems  rather  
than  dealing  with  details  of  the  hardware  system.  
• Declarative  language  
o Expresses  the  logic  of  a  computation  without  describing  its  control  
flow  
o E.g:  Lisp  (function  argument1    argument  2  argument3)  and  prolog  
 
Translation  Types  
• Interpretation  
o Translate  source  code  statement  by  statement  
o After  each  statement  has  been  translated  into  machine  code  it  is  
immediately  executed  
o Process  of  translation  continues  until  either  an  error  in  the  source  
code  is  found  or  the  application  ends  
o Used  in  testing  stage  of  development  
o The  other  user  needs  to  have  the  same  software  for  interpretation  
installed  and  requires  the  source  code  to  run  interpretation  for  
themselves  
• Compilation  
o Translates  the  entire  source  code  into  object  code  
o Object  code  is  then  combined  with  other  linked  files  to  create  the  
final  executable  file  
o Executes  fast  as  there  is  no  translation  required  at  run  time  
o Very  difficult  to  determine  the  original  high-­‐level  language  source  
code,  which  provides  intellectual  property  rights  protection  to  
developer  
 

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 Fetch  Execute  Cycle  
• Fetch  
o Control  unit  fetches  the  next  instruction  as  directed  by  the  
Program  Counter  
o The  instruction  is  loaded  to  the  Instruction  Register  
o The  Program  Counter  increments  and  points  to  the  next  line  
• Decode  
o The  instruction  inside  the  Instruction  Register  is  decoded  
• Execute  
o Control  Unit  executes  the  instruction  
o ALU  is  used  for  any  arithmetic  (+,  -­‐,  x,  /  )  or  logical  (<,  >,  =,  !=)    
calculations  
o FPU  is  used  for  floating  point  calculations  
• Store  
o If  required,  results  are  stored  in  the  Accumulator,  or  other  general-­‐
purpose  data  registers  
 
Chapter  3  
 
Software  Development  Approaches  
 
Factors:  
-­‐ Size  of  project  
-­‐ Nature  of  product  (simple  /  complex)  
-­‐ User  requirements  (flexible  /  inflexible)  
-­‐ Skills  of  development  personnel  
-­‐ Budget  
-­‐ User  feedback  
 
Discuss  each  of  the  above  factors  for  the  following  approaches:  
-­‐ Structured  approach  (Defining  /  Understanding,  Planning,  
Implementation,  Testing  and  Evaluation,  Maintenance)  
-­‐ Prototyping  
o Concept  prototype  
o Evolutionary  prototype  
-­‐ RAD  (Rapid  Application  Development)  
-­‐ End  User  Development  
 
Be  able  to  discuss  the  processes  involved  for  each  of  the  above  development  
approach.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Chapter  4  
 
Key  Words  
• Abstraction:    Taking  away  or  separating  part  of  the  solution  so  it  may  be  
considered  in  isolation.    (e.g.  calling  on  a  sub-­‐routine,  and  passing  on  a  
parameter  enables  a  developer  to  consider  the  problem  in  isolation,  thereby  
freeing  up  more  time,  as  the  problem  will  be  solved  by  a  different  member  of  
the  team  or  freeing  up  more  time).  
 
• Top-­‐Down  Design:    progressively  breaking  a  larger  problem  into  a  series  of  
smaller  easier  to  solve  problems  (i.e.  starting  from  the  Main  module  and  
creating  sub-­‐routines  to  solve  lower  levels,  and  lower  levels  of  problems).  
 
Concepts:  
• Binary  
• Hexadecimal  
 
Data  Types  
• Integer  
• Float  
• String  
• Boolean  
 
Data  Dictionary  
When?    During  designing  stage  
Why?    For  better  communication  with  other  team  members  and  better  
understanding  of  the  application’s  data  structure.  
 
Data  Item   Data  Type   Size  for   Description   Example  
Display  

userID   String   30   Uniquely  identifies  the   [email protected]  

user  by  their  email.  
Gender   Boolean   1   Gender  of  the  user.    “f”   f  
represents  female  and  
“m”  represents  male.  
 
Control  Structure  
• Sequence  
• Selection  
o Binary:  
  IF  condition  THEN  
    process  
  ELSE  
    process  
  END  IF  
 
 

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• Multi-­‐way  
CASEWHERE  expression  is  
    Choice  A:    process  1  
    Choice  B:    process  2  
    Choice  C:    process  3  
    Otherwise:    Process  n  
  ENDCASE  
 
• Iteration  
o Pre-­‐Test  
WHILE  condition    
  Process  
END  WHILE  
 
FOR  i=1  to  (e.g.  length  of  array,  number  of  lines,  etc)  
  Process  
NEXT  i  
 
o Post-­‐Test  
REPEAT  
  Process  
UNTIL  condition    
 
Chapter  5  
 
EBNF  (Extended  Backus-­‐Naur  Form)  &  Railroad  diagram  
How  would  you  create  the  following  in  both  EBNF  and  Railroad  diagram?  
1. Optional    
2. 0  or  more  times  
3. 1  or  more  times  
4. Terminal  –  symbol  ?  
5. Non-­‐Terminal  –  symbol?  
 
Types  of  Errors  
• Syntax  
o When  source  code  statements  do  not  adhere  to  the  rules  of  the  
programming  language.  
o Can  be  caused  by  a  typing  mistake  (e.g.  mis-­‐spelling  of  “if”),  or  lack  
of  knowledge  by  developer  (e.g.  if    x  =  10  rather  than  x  ==  10)  
o Detected  when  it  is  translated  by  an  interpreter  or  compiler  
• Logic  Error  
o When  programs  have  unexpected  outputs  
o The  program  will  continue  to  execute  
o Difficult  to  detect  and  fix  as  it  is  a  result  of  flawed  reasoning  made  
by  the  developer  
 
 
 

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 • Runtime  Error  
o Not  caught  by  compiler  but  appears  when  the  program  is  run  
o Computer  is  unable  to  continue  executing  instructions  
o E.g.:  division  by  zero,  infinite  loops,  insufficient  memory,  missing  
file  inclusions,  linker  errors  
 
Debugging  Techniques  (Manual)  
• Stubs  
• Flags  
• Debugging  output  statements  
 
 
Debugging  Techniques  (CASE  Tools)  
• Breakpoint  
• Single  line  stepping  
• Watch  expressions  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Key  Terms  (document  on  website)  
• Sub-­‐routines  
• Methods  
• Functions  
• Local  scope  /  global  scope  
• Library  of  Code  
 
Documentation  (Users)  
• Reference  manuals  
• Embedded  tutorials  
• Online  help    
 
Documentation  (Developers)  
• Project  specifiction  document  
• Gantt  charts  
• Data  dictionary  
• Data  flow  diagram,  structure  diagram,  flowcharts  
• Documentation  of  testing  
 
 

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 Diagrams  
• Context  diagram  
• Elements:    Entities,  Processes,  Data  Stores,  Data  Flow  
• Data  Flow  Diagram  
• Structure  Chart  
• System  Flow  Chart  

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