The Basics of Software Engineering Fundamentals
Software Engineering Fundamentals covers a broad spectrum of topics that start with statistical basics. The main statistical topic discussed in this module is a sampling. The next topics include data preparation, analysis, modeling, optimization, documentation, testing, and simplification. Data modeling deals with the fundamental problems of data representation and control; this topic includes statistical distributions, decision trees, and graphical data presentations.
Security is a topic that every software engineer must know. It covers issues like designing stronger code to prevent vulnerabilities and better identification and authentication of users. Another security topic is testing which includes both formal and informal techniques for finding and eliminating security defects. Operational support software engineering fundamentals introduces developers to the concept of user training and to better understand how user groups interact with software products. Designing software product requirements deal with both technical and user requirements and their relationship.
Complexity is another aspect of software engineering fundamentals that need to be understood. This topic deals with the ability to reuse existing software systems, managing change, designing and maintaining large programs, and problem-solving through the use of programming languages, code libraries, interfaces, and components. Database and data management fundamentals deal with the implementation of software systems and proper database organization, proper data security, and the maintenance of data types and structures.
Testing is one of the important software engineering fundamentals that all programmers need to master. It deals with the verification of the program and the output of the software product. A programmer can either write or use testing tools to verify program executions. Programmers may choose to test the program manually, or they can use automated tools for testing. A better understanding of software testing principles is needed to determine the appropriate approach to software testing.
Software engineering fundamentals have different levels of importance depending on the complexity of the software development process. The first level of fundamentals is a software specification. Software specifications describe the basic functions of a program or software system and specify the types of inputs and outputs of a software system should have. After the software specification, the next software development principle is to create a test case or software acceptance test. This principle requires the developers to describe the different types of tests that should be performed during the software development process and the software requirements of the end users or customers.
Another software engineering fundamental is to define software testing methods. Software testing methods are primarily designed to detect bugs in the programming code and to check the implemented functions or programs. Principles of software engineering also involve the implementation of necessary security measures such as preventing vulnerabilities, handling memory errors and keeping application security standards high. Software engineering disciplines also include database design and maintenance, interface designing and related fields, web system programming, and multimedia technologies, and software creation. In addition, some of the areas that software engineering principles involve our communication systems, desktop, and laptop computers, digital signal processing, consumer electronics, automotive, medical, military, video, and Web technology. With the increase in demand for information technology and software development, there is an increasing need for professionals with information technology and software development experience.
