A Quick Study Guide

Translation from Source Code to Object Code is usually not what you have on your mind during the development of your software solution, however it is essential to know, to fully understand the execution of a program.

Translation is done firstly by one of three methods, compilation, interpretation and incremental compilation.

Compilation refers to the converting of source code into object code in reguards to a program as a whole. This means that the all the source in the program is converted into object code and stored for later execution. When stored, the code hides the original algorithm that it was compiled from and enables optimisation which make the compiled code smaller.

Interpretation is the process of translating source code to object code line by line; after a line is translated it is immediately executed before moving onto the next line. This method of translating is best used during the development stages of software design and development, due to itss ability to detect syntax errors immediately and also the ability to fix run-time errors with ease.

From textbook to textbook there actually isn’t a single definition for incremental compilation. However from experience, an incremental compiler receives the best from both “worlds”, and can be thought of as a very fast interpretater. What an incremental compiler does is store frequently used code so that it can be called and executed, instead of repeated the same instruction line by line with an interprator. However compilation is still faster and more secure.

An important point to note is that interpretation and incremental compilation do have a security factor, it is the fact that their object code isn’t stored, not stored wholly and therefore the object code cannot be duplicated like a compiled program.

Related articles for extra reading;

• Compiler theory (slideshare.net)
• The Best Code You Will Ever Write (elegantcode.com)
• Conditional Attribute (tirania.org)

Chapter 1 - Social and Ethical Issues

-      Preliminary Review

• o Quality
• o Authorship
• o Reliability
• o Response of Problems
• o Ethical Code of Conduct
• o Prevention of Viruses

-      Software Piracy and Copyright

• o Intellectual property is a work resulting from some creative activity.
• o Plagiarism
• o Shareware
• o Public Domain
• o Ownership vs Licensing
• o Copyright Laws
• o Reverse or Backwards Engineering
• o Decompilation
• o Licensing

-      The Software Market

• o Maintaining Market Position
• o Effect on Marketplace

-      Significant Social and Ethical Issues

• o Legal Action from Software Development

Chapter 2 - Application of software development approaches

-      Approaches used in Commercial Systems

• o Structured Approach
• o Prototyping
• o Rapid Applications Development
• o End-User Development

-      Methods of Implementation

• o Direct Cut Over
• o Parallel
• o Phased
• o Pilot

-      Current Trends in Software Development

• o Outsourcing
• o Popular Approaches
• o Popular Languages
• o Employment Trends
• o Networked Software
• o Customised Off-the-shelf

-      CASE Tools

• o Software Versions
• o Data Dictionary
• o Test Data
• o Documentation

Chapter 3 - Defining and Understanding the Problem

-      Defining the Problem

-      Design Specifications

-      Modelling

-      Communication Issues

Chapter 4 - Planning and Design of Software Solutions

-      Standard Algorithms for Searching and Sorting

-      Custom Designed Logic Used in Software Solutions

-      Standard Modules (Library Routines)

-      Customisation of Existing Software Solutions

-      Documentation of the Overall Software Solution

-      Selection of Language to be Used

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IMPORTANT: In Depth Analysis will be Later Implemented

Software Development and Design is a great subject and fantastic once you get the hang of it. This and Future Posts will be used for my own Revision, but if you get the urge to view or use my notes, feel free to. DO NOT plagiarise however, it is against the law. (as you should have learnt during the Prelimary course anyway)

Summary of the Preliminary Course:

If you were not listening or simply skipped the Preliminary Course because you thought you didn’t need it here are some quick tips and a summary of the entire course.

Algorithms

You must regularly practise your Algorithm Writing, especially if you want to do the HSC course. Most of the later sections in the HSC paper depends on in-depth knowledge about algorithm writing and checking algorithm.  So how do you practise writing algorithms.

There are 3 main steps:

Trial

Test

Modify

These Three Steps and practise ensure that you will excel during your Prelim and HSC tests.

An important thing to remember is that algorithm writing must have the correct structure and be written elegently, this means that loops should close together and a large complex program decomposed.

Preliminary Course Chapter 1 Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the study of the relationship between people and their work