Software Engineering Terms - D

DATA

Streams of raw facts representing events before they have been organized and arranged

into a form that people can understand and use. See information.

DATA DICTIONARY

A structured description of database objects such as tables, indexes, views and fields,

with further descriptions of field types, default values and other characteristics.

DATA ELEMENT

See field.

DATA ENTITY

A data representation of a real world object or concept. Usually represented as a row in

a database table, such as information about a specific Product in inventory.

DATA FLOW DIAGRAM

A primary tool in structured analysis that graphically illustrates a system's component

processes and the flow of data between them.

DATA TYPE

A description of how the computer is to interpret the data stored in a particular field. Data

types can include text or character string data, integer or floating point numeric data,

dates, date/time stamps, true/false values, or Binary Large Objects (BLOBs) which can

be used to store images, video, or documents.

DATABASE

A set of related data tables and other database objects, such as a data dictionary, that

are organized as a group. A collection of data organized to service many applications at

the same time.

DATABASE OBJECT

A component of a database, such as a table or view.

DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR

Person(s) responsible for the administrative functions of databases, such as system

security, user access, performance and capacity management, and backup and

restoration functions.

DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DBMS)

Software used to create and maintain a database and enable individual business

applications to extract the data they need without having to create separate files or data

definitions for their own use.

DEFAULT

An initial value assigned to a field by the application when a new database record is

created. Used to facilitate data entry by pre-entering common values for the user.

DELIVERABLE

A specific work product, such as requirements or design documentation, produced during

a task or activity to validate successful completion of the task or activity. Sometimes,

actual software is delivered.

DESIGN ELEMENT

A specification for a software object or component that fulfills, or assists in the fulfillment

of a functional element. A part of the system design specification.

DESIGN STAGE

A stage in the software development lifecycle that produces the functional and system

design specifications for the application under development.

DEVELOPER SKILLS/RESOURCES

The availability of developers and other resources with appropriate skills is a significant

factor in project success. When developers and resources are readily available, the

likelihood of project success is very high. Most development firms manage multiple

projects, allowing some contention between projects for developers and other resources.

This project risk factor is considered high when one or more developers with specific skill

sets, or resources with specific capabilities, need to be acquired before the project can

continue.

DOCUMENTATION

Information made available to: 1) assist end-users in the operation of a software

application, generally in the form of on-line help, or 2) assist developers in locating the

correct root procedure or method for a specific software function, generally in the form of

an implementation map. Note that printed manuals are rarely delivered with software

anymore; on-line documentation is more consistently available from within the application

and is easier to use.