Key Terms
Program Development Lifecycle
The formal process of developing a program. There are 5 general
stages of his lifecycle; Analysis, Design, Coding, Testing and
Maintenance.
Design
The second stage of the Program Development Lifecycle.
The process of designing how the program should work so that it
can complete the required tasks.
Common techniques include State-transition diagrams, Pseudocode
and Flowcharts.
Testing
The fourth stage of the Program Development Lifecycle.
Testing the program with various methods to ensure that it works as
intended.
Techniques include a Dry run, Walkthrough, White-box and Black-
box testing, Alpha testing, Beta testing and Acceptance testing.
Waterfall Model
A type of development lifecycle whose core principle is that each
stage is fully completed before starting the next stage in the
lifecycle.
Suitable for smaller projects or developing in a short timescale.
Rapid Application Development (RAD)
A type of development lifecycle where the program is split into
different parts along with the development team and each team will
work on a part of the program and go through their own
development lifecycle. Each team works simultaneously.
This is suitable for big and complicated projects that needs to be
developed in short time frame or when developing with evolving
requirements.
Analysis
The first stage of the Program Development Lifecycle.
A process of investigating the problem which leads to producing a
required specification for the program.
Common techniques include a Feasibility study, Fact finding and
Requirements specification.
Coding
The third stage of the Program Development Lifecycle.
Writing of the program/suite of programs in a chosen computer
language.
Maintenance
The fifth stage of the Program Development Lifecycle.
Maintaining the program throughout its “lifespan”.
This includes fixing errors, improving the program or adding new
features to the program for more use.
Iterative Model
A type of development lifecycle whose core principle is starting with
a small sub-system which is enhanced and expanded through
iterations of the ‘waterfall’ method. Waterfalls can be repeated
many times and the sub-system evolves into a full and final system
at the end
This is suitable for bigger projects or developing with a major idea,
but minor details may change with time.
Key Terms
Structure Chart
A modelling tool where a problem is decomposed into smaller sub-
tasks. This chart shows the structure of the different modules and
how they connect and interact with each other.
State-Transition Diagram
A diagram used to visually represent how a finite-state machine
transitions from one state to another with the use of nodes and
arrows.
Key Terms
Finite-State Machines (FSM)
A mathematical machine that shows the set of fixed states that a
program can be in. The program transitions from one state to
another state depending on the input/event. FSM are represented
by State-Transition diagrams and State-Transition tables.
State-Transition Table
A table that displays every possible state in a finite-state machine,
each possible input and the state after a certain input.
Syntax Error Logic Error
An error caused by writing code that does not obey the grammar of A type of error where a running program executes a task incorrectly
a chosen computer language. A program cannot run with a syntax and gives the wrong outcome. This is caused by the design of the
error. program.
Run-Time Error Test Strategy
An error that occurs during a program’s run-time in which they come An overview of the testing of a particular program to determine if it
across a faulty piece of code that cannot be executed causing the meets the requirements. It contains information about how and
program to crash. when the program will be tested.
Test Plan Normal Test Data
A detailed list of all stages of testing and every test that will be Test data that a program should accept gracefully.
conducted on a particular program.
Abnormal Test Data Extreme Test Data
Test data that a program should reject gracefully. Test data that is the minimum or maximum of a range of data that
should be accepted by the program.
Dry Run Walkthrough
A method of testing. A person manually goes through a program or a A formal version of the Dry Run testing method. It involves more
module of a program. people, pre-defined test cases and the use of a table format to set
out a test plan and store results.
Trace Table White-Box Testing
A table used in the Dry Run testing method. It shows the process of A method of testing a program that tests the structure and logic of
dry running a program by showing the value of each variable as it every path through a program module.
changes in a column of the table. Effective in finding the source of the error.
Black-Box Testing Integration Testing
A method of testing a program that tests a module’s inputs and A method of testing. Tests combinations of program modules that
outputs. work together.
Quick and Easy.
Stub Testing Alpha Testing
Part of the Integration testing method. Modules that are needed for In-house test session on a complete or nearly program conducted by
testing but have not been written yet can be replaced by a dummy the development team.
module for testing purposes.
Beta Testing Acceptance Testing
Test session on a complete program conducted by a small group of Testing a program to prove to a customer that it works.
users.
Corrective Maintenance Perfective Maintenance
Maintenance focused on fixing errors found during use. Maintenance focused on improving the performance of the
program.
Adaptive Maintenance
Maintenance focused on altering the program so that it can perform
new tasks.

Key Terms
Data Type Identifier
A classification attributed to an item of data that determines the
types of values it can store and how it can be used.
Records
A composite data type comprising of several related items but have
different data types.
Array
A data structure consisting of several elements of the same data
type.
Lower Bound
The index of the first element within an array, usually 0 or 1.
Linear Search
A method of searching an array. Each element of an array is checked
in order of the index.
File
A collection of data stored into secondary memory by a computer
program to be used again.
Stack
An ADT whose core principle is last in, first out (LIFO), meaning the
first data item to be inputted is the last data item to be taken out. It
consists of two operations; “Push” which is inputting data and “Pop”
which is takin out data.
Circular Queues
Queues can be made into a Circular queue which adds a rule that if
both pointers should point to the lower bound of the array after an
operation where that pointer is pointing to the upper bound of the
array. This ensures the queue length does not exceed the size of the
array, making it more stable.
A unique name given to an item of data.
Composite Data Type
A data type constructed using several of the basic data types
available in a particular language.
Index
An indicator of an item of data’s position within an array.
Upper Bound
The index of the last element within an array.
Bubble Sort
A method of sorting an array, especially for a 2D array into
alphabetical or numerical order. Each element is compared to an
element in the slot adjacent to theirs. Depending on the evaluation,
the two elements may or may not switch slots.
Abstract data types (ADTs)
A collection of data and the type defines the set of operations on
that data.
Queue
An ADT whose core principle is first in, first out (FIFO), meaning the
first data item inputted is the first data item out. It consists of two
operations; “Enqueue” which is inputting data and “Dequeue” which
is taking out data.
Linked List
An ADT where each item in the list points to the next item in the list.