GCSE A451 - Software

Question 1

State what is meant by custom written software. (1)

Answer 1

Software created especially for a user.

Question 2

State two reasons why a business might decide to go with custom written software. (2)

Answer 2

• Appropriate software may not already exist off-the-shelf
• Existing software may not do exactly what the business wants
• Existing software may not be compatible with business’s hardware
• Existing software may contain additional features (more complex and expensive)

Question 3

State two advantages of off-the-shelf software (2)

Answer 3

Available now
Tried and tested
Costs less than custom-written
More (third party) support / documentation

Question 4

State two disadvantages of off-the-shelf software (2)

Answer 4

May contain features which are not needed

May not contain features which are needed

Question 5

Describe what is meant by open source software (2)

Answer 5

The source code is distributed with the software
The customer can modify the source code
The customer can redistribute the source code

Question 6

State the validation rule that could be used for entering personal data in a website:

Email address
Gender
Password

Answer 6

Email address
 Must contain an @ sign
 Must contain a full stop (after the @ sign).
Gender
 Must be one of Male, Female, (Other).
Password
 Must have a given minimum length
 Must contain a non-letter.

Question 7

Describe the difference between proprietary and off-the-shelf software (2)

Answer 7

• Proprietary software cannot be copied/altered (without permission of the copyright owner)
• Open source software can be modified (provided it remains open source)
• Proprietary software is distributed only as a compiled program/source code not available
• Open source software is distributed with its source code.