Chapter 7 Algorithm Design And Problem Solving: Unit 7.1: The Program Development Life Cycle

Question 1

What are the 5 stages of the program development life cycle?

Answer 1

Analysis
Design
Coding
Testing
Maintenance

Question 2

Define abstraction

Answer 2

Keeps the key elements required for the solution to the problem and discards any unnecessary details and info that is not required.

Question 3

Describe the process of decomposition.

Answer 3

Decomposition breaks down a complex problem into smaller parts, which then can be subdivided into even smaller parts, that can be solved easily.

Question 4

Describe the design step in the program development cycle.

Answer 4

Used to show how the program should be developed
Outlines the tasks that need to be completed, how each task needs to be performed and how the tasks work together.
Can be presented using structure charts, flowcharts and Pseudocode.

Question 5

Describe the coding step in the program development life cycle.

Answer 5

Program or set of programs is developed. Each module is written using a suitable programming language and then tested to see if it works.

Question 6

Define iterative testing.

Answer 6

Modular tests are conducted, code amended, and tests repeated until the module performs as required.

Question 7

Describe the testing step of the program development life cycle.

Answer 7

The completed program or set of programs is run many times with different sets of test data. This ensures that all tasks completed work together as specified in the program design.