CSC 300 
Fall 2006
Final exam instructions.

You had this exam handed out in class.  You must attach a cover sheet with 
your name, the course name and the date on it.  Attach it firmly to your 
2 essays.  DO NOT put your name on the individual essays, I like to grade them 
blind to the author's name.  The exam must be turned into my office by 7 pm 
on Monday, 11 December (normal exam time).  It may be turned in earlier, 
and it may be turned in to the CSC office for a time/date stamp and delivery 
to me (the office closes at 5 pm, remember that.)

Exam text:

Turner, Fall 2006.

300 Final exam:  2 essays.  Limit 2 pages, single spaced, for each essay.  
With such a limit, every sentence and paragraph must be crisp, well written 
and meaningful.  The essay must flow and build to a rational conclusion.  

1.  Many bemoan the SE Code's central theme: the "Public Good."  Computer 
Science and Software Engineering don't need to grapple with such ambiguous 
qualities - or do they?  Consider such "nonfunctional" requirements as 
"Usability," "Security," and "Maintainability."  These are common quality 
attributes customers demand and Software Engineers are required to provide.  
Can we learn anything about how to analyze the "nonfunctional" SE Code 
provisions by studying how we already analyze nonfunctional requirements 
during software development?  Explain.

2.  Glenford Myers, in his seminal book, "The Art of Software Testing" 
(nearly 30 years ago!) notes that software testing can only show the 
presence of bugs, not their absence.  With this in mind, evaluate the 
ethical efficacy of Dr. Cem Kaner's thesis in his article "Lawsuits, 
Lawyers and Quality-Related Costs" (at www.badsoftware.com/plaintif.htm).  
His thesis is summarized in the first paragraph of the article.