Software Engineering Glossary

"V" Glossary Content



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V&V
Acronym for verification and validation.

validation

The process of evaluating a system or component during or at the end of the development process to determine whether it satisfies specified requirements. Contrast with: verification.

value trace

See: variable trace.

variable

A quantity or data item whose value can change; for example, the variable Current_time. Contrast with: constant. See also: global variable; local variable.

variable trace

A record of the name and values of variables accessed or changed during the execution of a computer program. Syn: data-flow trace; data trace; value trace. See also: execution trace; retrospective trace; subroutine trace; symbolic trace.

variant

In fault tolerance, a version of a program resulting from the application of software diversity.
VDD
Acronym for version description document.

verification

  1. The process of evaluating a system or component to determine whether the products of a given development phase satisfy the conditions imposed at the start of that phase. Contrast with: validation.
  2. Formal proof of program correctness.
See: proof of correctness.

verification and validation (V&V)

The process of determining whether the requirements for a system or component are complete and correct, the products of each development phase fulfill the requirements or conditions imposed by the previous phase, and the final system or component complies with specified requirements. See also: independent verification and validation.

verifying implementation

See: common features.

version

  1. An initial release or re-release of a computer software configuration item, associated with a complete compilation or recompilation of the computer software configuration item.
  2. An initial release or complete re-release of a document, as opposed to a revision resulting from issuing change pages to a previous release.
See also: configuration control; version description document.

version description document (VDD)

A document that accompanies and identifies a given version of a system or component. Typical contents include an inventory of system or component parts, identification of changes incorporated into this version, and installation and operating information unique to the version described.

vertical microinstruction

A microinstruction that specifies one of a sequence of operations needed to carry out a machine language instruction. Note: Vertical microinstructions are relatively short, 12 to 24 bits, and are called "vertical" because a sequence of such instruction, normally listed vertically on a page, is required to carry out a single machine language instruction. Contrast with: diagonal microinstruction; horizontal rnicroinstruction.

virtual address

In a virtual storage system, the address assigned to an auxiliary storage location to allow that location to be accessed as though it were part of main storage. Contrast with: real address.

virtual memory

The space on your hard disk that Windows uses as if it were actually memory. Windows does this through the use of swap files. The benefit of using virtual memory is that you can run more applications at one time than your system's physical memory would otherwise allow. The drawbacks are the disk space required for the virtual-memory swap file and the decreased speed when swapping is required.
See: virtual storage.
virtual printer memory In a PostScript printer, a part of memory that stores font information. The memory in PostScript printers is divided into two areas: banded memory and virtual memory. The banded memory contains graphics and page-layout information needed to print your documents. The virtual memory contains any font information that is sent to your printer either when you print a document or when you download fonts.

virtual printer memory

In a PostScript printer, a part of memory that stores font information. The memory in PostScript printers is divided into two areas: banded memory and virtual memory. The banded memory contains graphics and page-layout information needed to print your documents. The virtual memory contains any font information that is sent to your printer either when you print a document or when you download fonts.