CISC 3140 FINAL QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS(RATED A+)
What kind of machine was the Therac-25 (i.e., what was the machine used for)? -
ANSWERIt was a radiation therapy machine, used to cure cancer patients.
What is the purpose of the gprof program? That is, what does the program do? -
ANSWERIt formats and displays profiling information.
The Therac report noted several failures in the way error reports for the machine
were handled. What was one such failure? - ANSWERone of the failure was, they
didn't listen to end user complaints.
Why is the Therac report of great importance to programmers (i.e., what is the most
important single fact demonstrated by the report that should be of major importance
to the approach that should be taken when software is developed?) - ANSWERBad
Software kills people. so program should be design carefully and programmer
shouldn't think their software is prefect.
What kind of person should not be invited to a code review? - ANSWERo Managers.
o Those at the code review should be all peers.
Why is it so important to comment your code? - ANSWERo So that you can read it
later.
You won't remember how the code works.
o So that you stay on track.
o So that other people can easily figure out that is going on.
If someone else comes in to use it, it will be impossible for them to figure out
how and what it does.
What is the first task to be completed when beginning a major software project (after
basic management and programmer teams are assembled)? - ANSWERYou should
talk to the end user to see what they want.
Under what conditions might it be desirable (and useful) to use the "agile
programming" methodology? - ANSWERFirefighting
What is the Backus-Naur form used for in the present time? - ANSWERIt is mainly
used to describe context-free grammars in programming language.
In class we mentioned several different programming methodologies, such as
"structured programming" and "HIPO charts." What is the only one that has been
almost universally successful? - ANSWERSuccessive Refinement
ANSWERS(RATED A+)
What kind of machine was the Therac-25 (i.e., what was the machine used for)? -
ANSWERIt was a radiation therapy machine, used to cure cancer patients.
What is the purpose of the gprof program? That is, what does the program do? -
ANSWERIt formats and displays profiling information.
The Therac report noted several failures in the way error reports for the machine
were handled. What was one such failure? - ANSWERone of the failure was, they
didn't listen to end user complaints.
Why is the Therac report of great importance to programmers (i.e., what is the most
important single fact demonstrated by the report that should be of major importance
to the approach that should be taken when software is developed?) - ANSWERBad
Software kills people. so program should be design carefully and programmer
shouldn't think their software is prefect.
What kind of person should not be invited to a code review? - ANSWERo Managers.
o Those at the code review should be all peers.
Why is it so important to comment your code? - ANSWERo So that you can read it
later.
You won't remember how the code works.
o So that you stay on track.
o So that other people can easily figure out that is going on.
If someone else comes in to use it, it will be impossible for them to figure out
how and what it does.
What is the first task to be completed when beginning a major software project (after
basic management and programmer teams are assembled)? - ANSWERYou should
talk to the end user to see what they want.
Under what conditions might it be desirable (and useful) to use the "agile
programming" methodology? - ANSWERFirefighting
What is the Backus-Naur form used for in the present time? - ANSWERIt is mainly
used to describe context-free grammars in programming language.
In class we mentioned several different programming methodologies, such as
"structured programming" and "HIPO charts." What is the only one that has been
almost universally successful? - ANSWERSuccessive Refinement
