Additional Notes for Lectures 15 and 16 9.
9. Check that all parameters are used and that all input and
Choice of a Programming Language
In a Software Engineering Project, the choice of a programming
language to use for the coding of an application depends on the
following:
- The problem being addressed
- The available skills
- The project budget
- The project time frame
Software engineers should remember that a programming language is
only a means to an end i.e. a tool to produce a working application
with minimum effort.
Different programming languages have different strengths e.g. C
works well for graphics while java works well for web applications.
FORTRAN is sill the best language for scientific programming. It is
possible to combine object oriented languages such as C++ and Java
with FORTRAN libraries to take advantage of their different
strengths
Guidelines for coding:
1. Agree on structure and naming conventions and document the
agreement especially when working as a team. Use coding
standards developed by other organisation wherever possible
(Search for ‘Coding standards’ on Google to obtain links to
information on standards for different programming
languages)
2. Wherever possible, review software that solves a similar
problem
3. Reuse existing code and libraries
4. Avoid deep nesting
5. Use clear unambiguous names for procedures, functions, data
structures etc.
6. Try to develop incrementally i.e. start with the smallest
possible version that will run, test it for correctness and then
keep adding functionality until you complete the application.
7. Use global variable only when absolutely necessary
8. Use as few parameters as possible in functions.
output is accounted for.
10. Document within the source code and outside the code
(technical documentation)
11. Adopt a ‘Defensive Programming’ approach i.e. if a
procedure is passed invalid data, it will not fail in an
unexpected manner.
n.b. Good code is easy to debug, easy to maintain, and easy to
extend. Good code can be achieved through good structure and good
documentation.
Guidelines for Documentation
1. Within the code, comment on :
- Long/ nested loops
- Lines before a control statement
- any assumptions made in the code e.g. assuming the an
amount entered is in TShs.
2. Outside of the code (technical manuals)
- document as you code
- use concise statements
- automated tools such as javadoc or twintext may be used
Useful tools in coding:
- Source Control System: allows you to keep a clearly defined
audit trail of modifications that are made to the code. Source
Control Systems allows programmers to keep track of
versions especially when more than one programmer is
involved in a project. As example of a source control system
is Concurrent Version System (CVS).
- Debuggers: A debugger helps to catch runtime errors i.e.
bugs. Most programming languages come packaged with a
debugger, There are however some stand alone debuggers
such as TotalView for C and C++. Common software bugs
include:
 o Segmentation violation e.g. trying to read beyond the
bound of an array or to write to an unassigned pointer
o Underflow: The result of an arithmetic operation
being so small that is rounded to zero
o Imprecise results: the rounded result of an operation if
different from the exact result
o Invalid operation: e.g. square-root of a negative
number
o Divide by zero
o Overflow: correctly rounded result would be larger in
magnitude than the largest finite number representable
o Indefinite loops

Software Inspections
Software inspections involve people examining the source code with
the aim of discovering anomalies and defects. Inspections may also
be applied to documents such as SRS documents and analysis/ design
models.
Software inspection does not require the execution of the code.
Software inspection, if carried out by experienced programmers is a
very effective technique for discovering errors. Many different
defects may be discovered in a single inspection. Inspections and
testing are complementary techniques. Inspections cannot check non-
functional characteristics e.g. performance and usability.

Procedure for carrying out a Software inspection

1. A precise specification of what the code should do is
presented to the inspection team.
2. Code and assoicated documents are distributed to the team in
advance. The team should include inspectors (programmers
who were not involved in the coding) and the programmers
who did the coding.
3. Inspection takes places and discovered errors are
documented. An inspection checklist comprising of common
errors/ bugs may be used
4. Modifications are made to correct the discovered errors
5. Re-inspection may be done.