Fluency with Information Technology, 6e (Snyder)
Chapter 6 An Introduction to Debugging: To Err Is Human
6.1 True/False Questions
1) One of the first steps in debugging is to call tech support.
2) Perfectly safe software is possible through extensive program testing.
3) If our computer isn’t working, it is probably our own fault.
4) We can be assured that the software running safety-critical systems is perfect.
5) Testing and other techniques can give us confidence that software works “under abnormal
circumstances.”
6) The basic premise of fail-soft and fail-safe design strategies is to continue to operate as long as
productive service is safely provided, but when that isn’t possible, to avoid negative outcomes by
stopping entirely.
7) Debugging principles are not limited to IT.
8) It is practically impossible to have bug-free software.
9) Sometimes unnecessary changes are made during the debugging process.
10) The term bug for a glitch in a computer system evolved from an incident surrounding the
Volkswagen Beetle.
11) Debugging relies on logical reasoning and is learned by experience.
12) A basic strategy of debugging is to isolate the problem by dividing the operation into those
parts that are working and those that are not.
13) Fixing one error can reveal others you didn’t realize were present.
1) In software, a program that stops operating to avoid harm is called:
A) fault-tolerant
B) bug-safe
C) fail-safe
D) fail-soft
2) In software, a program that continues to operate but with possibly degraded functionality is
called:
A) fault-tolerant
B) bug-safe
C) fail-safe
D) fail-soft
3) What is the first step of debugging?
A) Generate a theory to explain the problem.
B) Check “obvious” error sources.
C) Check that the error is reproducible.
D) Isolate the problem.
4) In Firefox, what tool can you use to see the errors on a Web page?
A) Help menu
B) Web Console
C) Tech Support section
D) Firefox has no such tool.
5) How are hardware failures generally resolved?
A) employing a staff for 24 hour support
B) buying only hardware that does not break
C) by testing using the specification
D) using techniques such as redundancy
6) A nanosecond is:
A) 1/100th of a second
B) 1/1,000th of a second
C) 1/1,000,000th of a second
D) 1/1,000,000,000th of a second
7) A kind of software that translates a programming language into machine instructions is a(n):
A) algorithm
B) compiler
C) driver
D) browser
8) To assist with HTML debugging, errors discovered by Firefox while rendering a page can be
listed by going to the:
A) HTML Debugger
B) Web Console
C) Diagnostic Analyzer
D) HTML Compiler
9) Most hardware failures caused by manufacturing problems show up after only a few hours of
operation. This is known as the:
A) “infant mortality” property
B) “redundancy factor” property
C) “early failure” property
D) “specification failure” property
1) ________ is the goal of software programs to be reliable in safety-critical situations, such as
life support.
2) In programming, a precise definition of the input; how the system should behave and
how the output should be produced is known as a(n) ________.
3) When your cars don’t start, you figure out whether the battery is dead or whether the fuel tank
is empty using the process of ________.
4) Bypassing an error with an alternative approach is called a(n) ________.
5) The print ________ is a place where printing tasks wait before being processed.