Glossary

A-C

ad hoc

For this specific purpose; for a special case only, without general application [an ad hoc committee].

adjunct processor

A secondary CPU that is in communication with a primary CPU. This secondary CPU or processor handles a specific task or function. Typically, the primary CPU sends traffic to the adjunct processor to be processed. Also called an attached processor.

Agile development methods

See AgileAlliance. "Agile Software Development Manifesto." February 13, 2001. www.agilemanifesto.org

art

1. The human ability to make things; creativity of human beings as distinguished from the world of nature. 2. Skill; craftsmanship. 3. Any specific skill or its application (the art of making friends). 4. Any craft, trade, or profession or its principles. 5. Making or doing of things that display form, beauty, and unusual perception; art includes painting, sculpture, architecture, music, literature, drama, the dance, etc. 6. Artful or cunning. 7. Sly or cunning trick; wile. (Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, Second College Edition, Prentice Hall, 1984)

assumption

1. The act of assuming, a taking upon oneself, taking over, or taking for granted. 2. Anything taken for granted; supposition. 3. Presumption. (Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, Second College Edition, Prentice Hall, 1984)

basis suite

A highly optimized test suite used to establish the baseline behavior of a system.

See also diagnostic suite.

behavioral testing

Tests that verify the output is correct for a given input, without verifying the process that produced the output; data testing.

benchmark

1. A surveyor's mark made on a permanent landmark of known position and altitude; it is used as a reference point in determining other altitudes. 2. A standard or point of reference in measuring or judging quality, value, and so on. (Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, Second College Edition, Prentice Hall, 1984)

bias

Error we introduce by having knowledge and therefore expectations of a system.

black box testing

See behavioral testing.

bottom-up testing

Each module or component is first tested alone, and then the modules are combined a few at a time and tested with simulators used in place of components that are necessary but missing.

See also unit test.

brainstorming

Using group synergy to think up ideas.

branch

In program logic, a branch refers to a decision in the code, usually a conditional branch such as an if statement, but it could also be an unconditional branch like a goto statement.

branch coverage

The count of the minimum number of paths required to exercise both branches of each decision node in the system. Best known in unit testing as the number of logic branches in the source code (such as the number of if statements multiplied by 2).

branch test

A test that exercises a logic branch in a program. Traditionally part of unit testing.

calculate

To determine by using mathematics, to compute.

Capability Maturity Model (CMM)

Scheme for measuring the levels of process maturity in a company. Developed at Carnegie Mellon University.

client/server

A name given to the architecture that gives the user or client access to specific data through a server.

code generator

A software application that generates program source code.

code inspections

A formal process where the source code is inspected for defects.

coding

The act of writing a software program. Program language statements are called code. This is an old term from precompiler days when programmers translated programming instructions directly into machine language.

CPU

Central processing unit.

cyclomatic complexity

A term used interchangeably with the cyclomatic number.

cyclomatic number

The minimum number of linearly independent paths through a structured system.