Glossary of Computer Software Development Terminology

The terms are defined, as much as possible, using available standards. The source of such definitions appears immediately following the term or phrase in parenthesis, e.g. (NIST).

The source documents are listed at the bottom of this page.

HDD. hard disk drive.

HIPO. hierarchy of input-processing-output.

Hz. hertz.

half duplex. Transmissions [communications] which occur in only one direction at a time, but that direction can change.

handshake. An interlocked sequence of signals between connected components in which each component waits for the acknowledgement of its previous signal before proceeding with its action, such as data transfer.

hard copy. Printed, etc., output on paper.

hard disk drive. Hardware used to read from or write to a hard disk. See: disk, disk drive.

hard drive. Syn: hard disk drive.

hardware. (ISO) Physical equipment, as opposed to programs, procedures, rules, and associated documentation. Contrast with software.

hazard. (DOD) A condition that is prerequisite to a mishap.

hazard analysis. A technique used to identify conceivable failures affecting system performance, human safety or other required characteristics. See: FMEA, FMECA, FTA, software hazard analysis, software safety requirements analysis, software safety design analysis, software safety code analysis, software safety test analysis, software safety change analysis.

hazard probability. (DOD) The aggregate probability of occurrence of the individual events that create a specific hazard.

hazard severity. (DOD) An assessment of the consequence of the worst credible mishap that could be caused by a specific hazard.

hertz. A unit of frequency equal to one cycle per second.

hexadecimal. The base 16 number system. Digits are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, & F. This is a convenient form in which to examine binary data because it collects 4 binary digits per hexadecimal digit; e.g., decimal 15 is 1111 in binary and F in hexadecimal.

hierarchical decomposition. See: modular decomposition.

hierarchy of input-processing-output. See: input- processing-output.

hierarchy of input-processing-output chart. See: input-process-output chart.

high-level language. A programming language which requires little knowledge of the target computer, can be translated into several different machine languages, allows symbolic naming of operations and addresses, provides features designed to facilitate expression of data structures and program logic, and usually results in several machine instructions for each program statement. Examples are PL/1, COBOL, BASIC, FORTRAN, Ada, Pascal, and "C". Contrast with assembly language.

Source Documents

1. The New IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics Terms, IEEE Std. 100-1992.
2. IEEE Standards Collection, Software Engineering, 1994 Edition, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Inc.
3. National Bureau of Standards [NBS] Special Publication 500-75 Validation, Verification, and Testing of Computer Software, 1981.
4. Federal Information Processing Standards [FIPS] Publication 101, Guideline For Lifecycle Validation, Verification, and Testing of Computer Software, 1983.
5. Federal Information Processing Standards [FIPS] Publication 105, Guideline for Software Documentation Management, 1984.
6. American National Standard for Information Systems, Dictionary for Information Systems, American National Standards Institute, 1991.
7. FDA Technical Report, Software Development Activities, July 1987.
8. FDA Guide to Inspection of Computerized Systems in Drug Processing, 1983.
9. FDA Guideline on General Principles of Process Validation, May 1987.
10. Reviewer Guidance for Computer Controlled Medical Devices Undergoing 510(k) Review, Office of Device Evaluation, CDRH, FDA, August 1991.
11. HHS Publication FDA 90-4236, Preproduction Quality Assurance Planning.
12. MIL-STD-882C, Military Standard System Safety Program Requirements, 19JAN1993.
13. International Electrotechnical Commission, International Standard 1025, Fault Tree Analysis.
14. International Electrotechnical Commission, International Standard 812, Analysis Techniques for System Reliability - Procedure for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis [FMEA].
15. FDA recommendations, Application of the Medical Device GMP to Computerized Devices and Manufacturing Processes, May 1992.
16. Pressman, R., Software Engineering, A Practitioner's Approach, Third Edition, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992.
17. Myers, G., The Art of Software Testing, Wiley Interscience, 1979.
18. Beizer, B., Software Testing Techniques, Second Edition, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990.
19. Additional general references used in developing some definitions are:
20. Bohl, M., Information Processing, Fourth Edition, Science Research Associates, Inc., 1984.
21. Freedman, A., The Computer Glossary, Sixth Edition, American Management Association, 1993.
22. McGraw-Hill Electronics Dictionary, Fifth Edition, 1994, McGraw-Hill Inc.
23. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, Fifth Edition, 1994, McGraw-Hill Inc..
24. Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Deluxe Second Edition, 1979.

The bulk of this information was obtained from FDA.gov.