Topic 4 - Software Design

Question 1

Software Design

Answer 1

Deriving a solution that satisfies software requirements

Question 2

Major categories of Software design

Answer 2

• Component
• Algorithm
• Data structure
• Interface

Question 3

Open systems approach

Answer 3

Designing software in modules that can be re-used all over the place and maintained using standards.

Question 4

Modularity

Answer 4

Keeping unrelated aspects of the system seperate. You do it through coupling and cohesion

Question 5

Coupling

Answer 5

How many connections modules have

Question 6

Degrees of coupling

Answer 6

the amount of control one module has over the other

Question 7

Types of coupling

Answer 7

• content
• common
• control
• stamp
• data

Question 8

Cohesion

Answer 8

How much a module’s internal elements depend on each other

Question 9

Types of cohesion

Answer 9

• coincidental
• logical
• temporeal
• procedural
• communicational
• functional
• informational

Question 10

Interface

Answer 10

Shows what services the software unit provides

Question 11

Information hiding

Answer 11

Only giving as much control from outside the module as you need. This helps with cohesion and coupling.

Question 12

Modular Design Criteria

Answer 12

The way you design your modules to work together.

Criteria: Modular …

• Decomposability
• Composability
• Understandability
• Continuity
• Protection
• Reusability

Question 13

Refactoring

Answer 13

cleaning up code, removing old code, improving efficiency

Question 14

Complexity (formula)

Answer 14

A way to measure how difficult your code is to understand.

Complexity = e - n + p, where
e = number of edges
n = number of nodes
p = number of connected components

Question 15

Design Pattern

Answer 15

A coding method or structure that is used alot. One example is the proxy pattern (creating a copy instead of giving client direct access)