Interface description languageAn interface description language or interface definition language (IDL), is a generic term for a language that lets a program or object written in one language communicate with another program written in an unknown language. IDLs describe an interface in a language-independent way, enabling communication between software components that do not share one language, for example, between those written in C++ and those written in Java. IDLs are commonly used in remote procedure call software.
Participatory designParticipatory design (originally co-operative design, now often co-design) is an approach to design attempting to actively involve all stakeholders (e.g. employees, partners, customers, citizens, end users) in the design process to help ensure the result meets their needs and is usable. Participatory design is an approach which is focused on processes and procedures of design and is not a design style. The term is used in a variety of fields e.g.
Control-flow diagramA control-flow diagram (CFD) is a diagram to describe the control flow of a business process, process or review. Control-flow diagrams were developed in the 1950s, and are widely used in multiple engineering disciplines. They are one of the classic business process modeling methodologies, along with flow charts, drakon-charts, data flow diagrams, functional flow block diagram, Gantt charts, PERT diagrams, and IDEF. A control-flow diagram can consist of a subdivision to show sequential steps, with if-then-else conditions, repetition, and/or case conditions.
Control-flow graphIn computer science, a control-flow graph (CFG) is a representation, using graph notation, of all paths that might be traversed through a program during its execution. The control-flow graph was discovered by Frances E. Allen, who noted that Reese T. Prosser used boolean connectivity matrices for flow analysis before. The CFG is essential to many compiler optimizations and static-analysis tools. In a control-flow graph each node in the graph represents a basic block, i.e.
FlowchartA flowchart is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process. A flowchart can also be defined as a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, a step-by-step approach to solving a task. The flowchart shows the steps as boxes of various kinds, and their order by connecting the boxes with arrows. This diagrammatic representation illustrates a solution model to a given problem. Flowcharts are used in analyzing, designing, documenting or managing a process or program in various fields.
Use caseIn software and systems engineering, the phrase use case is a polyseme with two senses: A usage scenario for a piece of software; often used in the plural to suggest situations where a piece of software may be useful. A potential scenario in which a system receives an external request (such as user input) and responds to it. This article discusses the latter sense. A use case is a list of actions or event steps typically defining the interactions between a role (known in the Unified Modeling Language (UML) as an actor) and a system to achieve a goal.
Programming toolA programming tool or software development tool is a computer program that software developers use to create, debug, maintain, or otherwise support other programs and applications. The term usually refers to relatively simple programs, that can be combined to accomplish a task, much as one might use multiple hands to fix a physical object. The most basic tools are a source code editor and a compiler or interpreter, which are used ubiquitously and continuously.
Legacy systemIn computing, a legacy system is an old method, technology, computer system, or application program, "of, relating to, or being a previous or outdated computer system", yet still in use. Often referencing a system as "legacy" means that it paved the way for the standards that would follow it. This can also imply that the system is out of date or in need of replacement. Legacy code is old computer source code that is no longer supported on the standard hardware and environments, and is a codebase that is in some respect obsolete or supporting something obsolete.