POS 371 All DQs

Week 1

Discussion Questions

Review the document on code citation and documentation guidelines in the Course Materials section of your student Web site and the Avoiding Plagiarism tutorial available on your student Web site. Discuss the issues of proper citation as they apply to computer programs. What are the consequences of not citing computer programs properly?

Based on McBrides (2007) article, what personal and professional development activities should software developers pursue to prepare themselves to become software architects? What activities is the article missing that would help with this pursuit?

Identify the most common characteristics and elements within a computer program. Why do you believe this is the case? Explain.

Identify the most common characteristics and elements within a computer program. Why do you believe this is the case? Explain.

In the article "Microsoft Begins Its Radical Shift to Software as a Service" (2008), Orr discusses Microsoft's new software delivery model. How will this model affect the way software is designed, built, and maintained? What special end-user considerations exist?

What are the components that make up a computer language? Which of the components, if any, are not always required or present? Are certain components more critical to a program? If so, explain which ones and why they are more critical.

Week 2

Discussion Questions

Hogans (2007) article discusses many software development issues. Pick one of these issues, explain its significance, and critically examine the article's discussion.

Structured programming techniques may not be necessary or as helpful today as in the past. Do you agree or disagree with this perspective? Explain why or why not.

Differentiate between primitive and user-created methods of programming. Provide a scenario in which each method is preferred.

Crosss (2007) article discusses the advantages for a software company to release beta versions of products instead of final versions. What is the authors reasoning? Do you agree? Why might some companies prefer purchasing final releases to beta releases from other companies?

Week 3

Discussion Questions

Find a website that explains the use of a selection structure or an iteration structure in programming. Provide the link and explain why the site is helpful.

How are logical comparison operations used to create Boolean conditions? Provide an example.

Based on the Mund, Fabiano, & Cassola (2007) article, discuss lessons that beginning or experienced computer programmers can learn. In what way can you apply these lessons to your current position or a future position?

Explain a software internationalization challenge from Mlers (2007) article. Suggest another challenge not discussed and how a software company might address it.

Leibs (2008) reports on a novel form of outsourcing software development. Describe the approach and share your opinions about this approach to software development.

Week 4

Discussion Questions

Based on Wirfs-Brocks (2007) article, discuss whether there is more to good design than beautiful code.

The use of open source products and solutions is popular. What is open source? Identify open source languages. What is their intent? How should open source products be used or not used? How do open source products relate to functions in a programming language? What are some pros and cons of its use?

What are application programming interfaces (APIs)? Identify several APIs that could or do exist in the software developed and maintained by a company for which you work or want to work. What is the basic limitation of APIs? Are they useful as opposed to object-oriented programming? Explain your answer.

Based on Bookers (2007) article, explain widgets in terms of programming functions. What are the advantages to a company in developing and using widgets? Are there any disadvantages from a business or technical perspective? Explain your answer.

Based on the Cherbakov, Bravery, Goodman, Pandya, & Baggett article (2007), discuss how grassroots computing changes the way software is designed, developed, tested, and maintained in a typical organization. What are the advantages and disadvantages of grassroots computing?

Week 5

Discussion Questions

How are recursion and iteration used in programming? Provide examples of the various types of recursion and iteration, and explain why each is used.

Based on Sokolovs (2007) article, discuss techniques for reducing array and other programming errors. Which technique is most beneficial? Explain.

Based on McCabes (2007) article, discuss issues related to the backup of various data types. How can these issues be minimized?

Based on Tratt and Wuyts (2007) article, explain why dynamically typed programming languages are superior to statically typed languages. Why do you think statically typed languages are used today?

Amblers (2008) article discusses requirements development in an agile environment. Pick an issue and explain its significance from a software development perspective.