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
Situation
People often seek 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?
One has most likely 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. Bugs can appear in many different shape or forms. The pop-up message is one of them, indicating some sort of error as shown in the figure below. Ultimately it is the system reporting that there is a bug in the program.
FIGURE 1 Example of system error
What are some 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. Meaning they cannot be run together.
- Logic bug exists within the codes where incorrect functionality are established.
- 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. It is the most common thing that people in this field do 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.
Conclusion
In conclusion, bug is a programming error which cause malfunctions in various applications. It appears in every computer program, and it is more common than people think. Hopefully this document provided some useful information on the term “bug” and hopefully it was useful to you.
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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