Question
A group of programmers are involved in creating a new software product. They create many new sub-programs but also use existing sub-programs within the product.
a. Outline why a sub-program is considered an example of abstraction.[2]
b. Evaluate the use of designing and developing different parts of software products concurrently.[3]
c. Outline one way in which users can be informed of software updates.[2]
Answer/Explanation
Ans:
a. )
A sub-program is a named section of code that performs a specific task (in a program) / can be called by name / referred by the identifier when needed; without knowing the details (of code and data structures) as these are wrapped / hidden within the sub-program;
b. )
different stages (of programming) (Accept examples!) run simultaneously (rather than consecutively); this decreases product development time / decreases the time to market; leading to improved productivity/reduces costs; however, it requires more resources/more software developers;
c.)
A message can be sent to the user (When the software is installed and registered, the user provides an email address / phone number); With a link to the update; notifications/alerts are sent to the computer (a cookie is placed on the user’s computer which communicates with the software developer); about automatic updates;
(when the program is run) it queries a URL the program developer has built in to check whether the current version matches the latest version; if not, notifications/alerts are sent;