Software Engineering Glossary

Software Engineering Glossary

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back-to-back testing	Testing in which two or more variants of a program are executed with the same inputs, the outputs are compared, and errors are analyzed in case of discrepancies. See also: mutation testing.
Back button	Returns you to the Help topic you have just viewed. Use this button to backtrack through the topics you have viewed so far. The Back button is in the Help button bar, which is located directly below the menu bar.
background	In job scheduling, the computing environment in which low-priority processes or those not requiring user interaction are executed. Contrast with: foreground. See also: background processing
backup	A system, component, file, procedure, or person available to replace or help restore a primary item in the event of a failure or externally caused disaster. To create or designate a system, component, file, procedure, or person as in (1)..
backup programmer	The assistant leader of a chief programmer team; a seniorlevel programmer whose responsibilities include contributing significant portions of the software being developed by the team, aiding the chief programmer in reviewing the work of the other team members, substituting for the chief programmer when necessary, and having an overall technical understanding of the software being developed. See also: chief programmer.
backward recovery	The reconstruction of a file to a given state by reversing all changes made to the file since it was in that state. A type of recovery in which a system, program, database, or other system resource is restored to a previous state in which it can perform required functions. See: reversible execution. Contrast with: forward recovery.
base address	An address used as a reference point to which a relative address is added to determine the address of the storage location to be accessed. See also: indexed address; relative address; self-relative address.
base I/O port address	The location within the input/output address space of your computer that is used by a device such as a printer, modem, or network adapter.
base memory address	The location in computer memory that a device, such as a network adapter, uses to move information into and out of memory. This location is also referred to as the RAM start address.
base-level synthesizer	A synthesizer that can play a minimum of six notes on three melodic instruments and three notes on three percussive instruments simultaneously.
baseline	A specification or product that has been formally reviewed and agreed upon, that thereafter serves as the basis for further development, and that can be changed only through formal change control procedures. A document or a set of such documents formally designated and fixed at a specific time during a configuration item's life cycle. Note: Baselines, plus approved changes from those baselines, constitute the current configuration identification. See also: allocated baseline; functional baseline; product baseline. Any agreement or result designated and fixed at a given time, from which changes require justification and approval.
baseline configuration management	The establishment of baselines that are formally reviewed and agreed on and serve as the basis for further development. Some software work products, e.g., the software design and the code, should have baselines established at predetermined points, and a rigorous change control process should be applied these items. These baselines provide control and stability when interacting with the customer. See also: baseline management.
baseline management	In configuration management, the application of technical and administrative direction to designate the documents and changes to those documents that formally identify and establish baselines at specific times during the life cycle of a configuration item.
batch	Pertaining to a system or mode of operation in which inputs are collected and processed all at one time, rather than being processed as they arrive, and a job, once started, proceeds to completion without additional input or user interaction. Contrast with: conversational; interactive; on-line; real time.
batch program	An ASCII file (text file) that contains one or more MS-DOS commands. A batch program filename has a .BAT extension. When you run a batch program, the commands are processed sequentially.
bathtub curve	A graph of the number of failures in a system or component as a function of time. The name is derived from the usual shape of the graph: a period of decreasing failures (the early-failure period), followed by a relatively steady period (the constant-failure period), followed by a period of increasing failures (the wearout-failure period).
beginend block	A sequence of design or programming statements bracketed by begin and end delimiters and characterized by a single entrance and single exit.
benchmark	A standard against which measurements or comparisons can be made. A procedure, problem, or test that can be used to compare systems or components to each other or to a standard as in (1). A recovery file.
bidder	An individual, partnership, corporation, or association that has submitted a proposal and is a candidate to be awarded a contract to design, develop, and/or manufacture one or more products.
big-bang testing	A type of integration testing in which software elements, hardware element, or both are combined all at once into an overall system, rather than in stages.
binary digit (bit)	A unit of information represented by either a zero or a one. An element of computer storage that can hold a unit of information as in (1). A numeral used to represent one of the two digits in the binary numeration system; zero (0) or one (1). See also: byte; word.
binary-file transfer	A method of transferring binary files from Terminal to a remote computer. Binary files consist of ASCII characters plus the extended ASCII character set. These files are not converted or translated during the transfer process.
binding	The assigning of a value or referent to an identifier; for example, the assigning of a value to a parameter or the assigning of a absolute address, virtual address, or device identifier to a symbolic address or label in a computer program. See also dynamic binding, static binding.
bit	Acronym for binary digit
bit steering	A microprogramming technique in which the meaning of a field in a microinstruction is dependent on the value of another field in the microinstruction. Syn: immediate control. Contrast with: residual control. See also: two-level encoding.
black box	A system or component whose inputs, outputs, and general function are known but whose contents or implementation are unknown or irrelevant. Contrast with: glass box. Pertaining to an approach that treats a system or component as in (1). See also: encapsulation.
black-box testing	See: functional testing (1).
block	A group of contiguous storage locations, computer program statements, records, words, characters, or bits that are treated as a unit. See also: block-structured language; delimiter. To form a group as in (1). Contrast with: deblock.
block structured language	A design or programming language in which sequences of statements, called blocks, are defined, usually with begin and end delimiters, and variables or labels defined in one block are not recognized outside that block. Examples include Ada, ALGOL, PL/1. See also: structured programming language.
block allocation	See: paging (1).
block diagram	A diagram of a system, computer, or a device in which the principal parts are represented by suitably annotated geometrical figures to show both the functions of the parts and the functional relationships. Syn: configuration diagram; system resources chart. See also: box diagram; bubble chart; flowchart; graph; input-process-output chart; structure chart.
blocking factor	The number of records words, characters, or bits in a block.
boot	To initialize a computer system by clearing memory and reloading the operating system. Derived from bootstrap.
bootstrap	A short computer program that is permanently resident or easily loaded into a computer and whose execution brings a larger program, such as an operating system or its loader, into memory. To use a program as in (1). Syn: initial program load.
bootstrap loader	A short computer program used to load a bootstrap.
bottomup	Pertaining to an activity that starts with the lowest level software components of a hierarchy and proceeds through progressively higher levels; for example, bottomup testing. Contrast with: topdown. See also: critical piece first.
boundary value	A data value that corresponds to a minimum or maximum input, internal, or output value specified for a system or component. See also: stress testing.
box diagram	A control flow diagram consisting of a rectangle that is subdivided to show sequential steps, if-then-else conditions, repetition, and case conditions. Syn: Chapin chart; Nassi-Shneiderman chart; program structure diagram. See also: block diagram; bubble chart; flowchart; graph; input-process-output chart; program structure diagram; structure chart.
branch	A computer program construct in which one of two or more alternative sets of program statement is selected for execution. See also: case; jump; go to; if-then-else. A point in a computer program at which one of two or more alternative sets of program statements is selected for execution. Syn: branchpoint A segment of the directory tree that represents a directory and any subdirectories it contains. Any of the alternative sets of program statements in (1). To perform the selection in (1).
branch testing	Testing designed to execute each outcome of each decision point in a computer program. Contrast with: path testing; statement testing.
branchpoint	See: branch (2).
breakpoint	A point in a computer program at which execution can be suspended to permit manual or automated monitoring of program performance or results. Types include code breakpoint, data breakpiont, dynamic breakpoint, epilog breakpoint, programmable breakpoint, prolog breakpoint, static breakpoint. Note: A breakpoint is said to be set when both a point in the program and an event that will cause suspension of execution at that point are defined; it is said to be initiated when program execution is suspended.
browse	To look through a list of workgroups and computers for shared resources, or to view files and directories. When using some dialog boxes, you can use the Browse button to view a list of files and directories and then select the file you want.
bubble chart	A data flow, data structure, or other diagram in which entities are depicted with circles (bubbles) and relationships are represented by links drawn between the circles. See also: block diagram; box diagram; flowchart; graph; input-process-output chart; structure chart
buffer	A device or storage area used to store data temporarily to compensate for differences in rates of data flow, time of occurrence of events, or amounts of data that can be handled by the devices or processes involved in the transfer or use of the data. A routine that accomplishes the objectives in (1). To allocate, schedule, or use devices or storage areas as in (1). See also: anticipatory buffering; dynamic buffering; simple buffering.
bug	See: error; fault.
bug seeding	See: error seeding.
build	An operational version of a system or component that incorporates a specified subset of the capabilities that the final product will provide.
build plan	An overall calendarized graphical view of the sequence of software construction/test events, including the sequence of the builds, relationships of the builds to each other, the allocation of threads to builds, and the sequence of the threads.
burn-in period	See: early-failure period.
busy	Pertaining to a system or component that is operational, in service, and in use. See also: down; idle; up.
busy time	In computer performance engineering, the period of time during which a system or components is operational, in service, and in use. See also: down time; idle time; set-up time; up time.
byte	A group of adjacent binary digits operated upon as a unit and usually shorter than a computer word (frequently connotes a group of eight bits). An element of computer storage that can hold a group of bits as in (1) See also: bit, word.