defensive design

defensive design

1. defensive design helps to ensure programs function properly

   • when programs are functioning correctly they should never break and produce errors
   • programmers try to protect their program through defensive design

2. It makes sure inputs cannot be exploited

   • the easiest way for a user to accidentally or intentionally misuse a program is when entering data
   • there are two ways that you can prevent users from entering something you don't want them to
   • programs can be a mixture of input sanitisation and validation to verify that the inputted data has an acceptable format before passing it into the program

3. authentication can help protect your programs

   • authentication can confirm the identity of a user before they are allowed access to certain pieces of data or features of the program
   • passwords are usually associated with a username. when someone tries to access a protected part of data it should ask for their password to check if they are who they claim to be
   • it is important that programmers get the level of authentication right

4. your programs should be easy to maintain

   • as part of the defensive design of a program programmers should make sure that it is well maintained
   • a well maintained program makes it easy for other programmers to understand what the code does