Key Words

Question 1

Analysis

Answer 1

part of the program development life cycle; a process of investigation, leading to the specification of what a program is required to do

Question 2

Design

Answer 2

part of the program development life cycle; uses the program specification from the analysis stage to show to how the program should be developed

Question 3

Coding

Answer 3

part of the program development life cycle; the writing of the program or suite of programs

Question 4

Testing

Answer 4

part of the program development life cycle; systematic checks done on a program to make sure that it works under all conditions

Question 5

Abstraction

Answer 5

a method used in the analysis stage of the program development life cycle; the key elements required for the solution to the problem are kept and any unnecessary details and information that are not required are discarded

Question 6

Decomposition

Answer 6

a method used in the analysis stage of the program development life cycle; a complex problem is broken down into smaller parts, which can then be sub divided into even smaller parts that can be solved more easily

Question 7

Top down designs

Answer 7

the breaking down of a computer system into a set of sub-systems, then breaking each subsystem down into a set of smaller sub-systems, until each sub-system just performs a single action

Question 8

Inputs

Answer 8

the data used by the system that needs to be entered while the system is active

Question 9

Processes

Answer 9

the tasks that need to be performed by a program using the input data and any other previously stored data

Question 10

Output

Answer 10

information that needs to be displayed or printed for the users of the system

Question 11

Storage

Answer 11

data that needs to be stored in files on an appropriate media for use in the future

Question 12

Structure diagram

Answer 12

a diagram that shows the design of a computer system in a hierarchical way, with each level giving a more detailed breakdown of the system into subsystems

Question 13

Flowchart

Answer 13

a diagram that shows the steps required for a task (sub-system) and the order in which the steps are to be performed

Question 14

Algorithm

Answer 14

an ordered set of steps to solve a problem

Question 15

Pseudo code

Answer 15

a simple method of showing an algorithm; it describes what the algorithm does by using English key words that are very similar to those used in a high-level programming language but without the strict synta rules