Introduction
In this assignment 1.3, we are to choose a term in a particular discipline and explain that term to the audiences that are outside of that field. This is a technical writing that requires us to write in a professional tone and format. The objectives of this assignment are:
- Appreciate the importance and role of definitions in technical writing
- Understand how audience and purpose indicate the need for definition
- Differentiate between the levels of details in definition
- Select the right level of detail according to the situation
Below is my definition for “bug”
Situation
People often ask for help when they try to access a computer program that is malfunctioning.
Parenthetical Definition
The computer program is bugged (contains programing error).
Sentence Definition
Bug is a programming error that causes computer programs to malfunction.
Expanded Definition:
How did its name originate?
A computer programming bug is a glitch in the system. On September 9, 1947, a group of computer scientists reported the world’s very first computer bug. However, this is a literal bug that was found inside a computer that caused a computer malfunction. It was all over the news at that time and therefore, computer scientists name a glitch or programming error a “bug”.
What does it look like?
You have probably encountered some programming errors at least once. For example, when you try to start a program, let’s say Internet Explorer or Microsoft Word, and an error message shows up saying you cannot open it. The pop-up message indicates some sort of error as shown in the figure below. These pop-up messages is the system trying to tell you that there is a bug in the program.
FIGURE 1 Example of system error
What are its parts (different types of bugs)?
In computer technology, a program involves many lines of code. Arithmetic bug, interface bug, logic bug and syntax bug can all occur within the code. Arithmetic bug occurs when numeric value goes out of range. For example, when the system is designed to only takes value from 1 to 100, so it does not know how to deal with numbers like 200 that is outside of that range. Interface bugs happen when the language, program and system are incompatible. Logic bug exists within the codes where incorrect functionality are established. Finally, Syntax bug is when there is a misplacement of characters within a code.
What is needed to make it work or occur?
Another term computer scientists use is called debugging. It is a process of locating the program bug and use methods or programing tools to correct these errors. Everyone this field will go through this process because no one will write the perfect code on the first try. People will have to know where the problems exist and go back and try to fix it.
Reference
Sue, Caryl. (2020). Sep 9, 1947 CE: World’s First Computer Bug. National Geographic Society. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/sep9/worlds-first-computer-bug/#:~:text=On%20September%209%2C%201947%2C%20a%20team%20of%20computer%20scientists%20and,bug%20identified%20in%20a%20computer.
Techopedia. (2020). Debugging. Techopedia. https://www.techopedia.com/definition/16373/debugging
Techslang. (n.d.). What is a Computer Bug?. Techslang. https://www.techslang.com/definition/what-is-a-computer-bug/
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