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CISC 3140 EXAM 2 QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS
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Question : How might Backus-Naur form be used in a
business programming situation?
CORRECT ANSWER : To specify input and output
syntax for things like correct inputs for fields within firms, for business applications.
Question : In which country was the Therac-25
manufactured?
CORRECT ANSWER : Canada
Question : Recall that re-entrant code is code that does
not modify itself. Give one example of what this makes possible that would not be possible otherwise.
CORRECT ANSWER : It allows multiple users to use
code at the same time.
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Question : Why would you use the add subcommand of
Subversion?
CORRECT ANSWER : It puts files under version
control.
Question : Even though the Java language itself has no
graphics facility, it is often considered a language of choice for graphic programming. Why?
CORRECT ANSWER : Because it has many libraries
for graphics.
Question : When is agile programming a programming
methodology of choice?
CORRECT ANSWER : Firefighting.
Question : At what point in the programming process
should a programmer begin writing comments?
CORRECT ANSWER : Before they start writing code.
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Question : How is the programming methodology of
successive refinement related to OOP?
CORRECT ANSWER : You can assign each refinement
to a class.
Question : Why must global variables be considered
"poison"?
CORRECT ANSWER : Because they can modify only
part of the program and make it difficult to detect errors.
Question : What is the purpose of an X-server? That is,
what does an X-server do when it is in use?
CORRECT ANSWER : It displays/reorders graphics,
essentially it provides the GUI.
Question : What is the difference between declarative and
imperative language?
CORRECT ANSWER : Declarative - specify what you
want.
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CORRECT ANSWER : Imperative - specifies how to
get what is wanted.
Question : What is the function of the "little old lady" of
the programming group (for what is this person responsible)?
CORRECT ANSWER : Takes care of a nasty little
details.
Question : There are a number of different types of tools
available to assist in debugging and testing a program.What is one such type of program? (You need not name a specific example of such a tool; it is sufficient to say what it does, but you may name such a tool if you wish).
CORRECT ANSWER : GNU debugger - GDB which
keeps record of bugs and fixes.
Question : Give an example of where the global variables
MUST be used.
CORRECT ANSWER : When using multiple threads, in
order for them to communicate.