Producing Robust Programs

Producing Robust Programs

1. defensive design

   • design that makes your program more robust
   • can include:
     • protection against unexpected user inputs or actions
       • can be done using validation, check for: type, length, format, range or presence
     • maintainability - to make code more readable and understandable
       • commenting
         • code can be understood by those who have no written it
       • indentation
         • makes code more readable
       • formatting
         • use of subroutines can condense code making it more readable, therefore errors are easier to spot
       • naming conventions
         • standard names
     • minimising/ remove bugs
   • testing
     • beta testing
     • ensures a program functions as intended without errors
     • iterative testing - ongoing throughout the development
     • final testing - at the end of development
     • test table
       • list of inputs / conditions to be tested, and the results are recoded
       • types of test: valid, invalid, borderline
       • expected outcomes
   • authentication
     • usernames and passwords
     • access rights - certain credentials only allow some access, eg admin vs guest
     • update password regularly, complex passwords and limit login attempts