:sanity check: n. 1. The act of checking a piece of code (or
anything else, e.g., a USENET posting) for completely stupid mistakes.
Implies that the check is to make sure the author was sane when it
was written; e.g., if a piece of scientific software relied on a
particular formula and was giving unexpected results, one might
first look at the nesting of parentheses or the coding of the
formula, as a `sanity check', before looking at the more complex
I/O or data structure manipulation routines, much less the
algorithm itself. Compare {reality check}. 2. A run-time test,
either validating input or ensuring that the program hasn't screwed
up internally (producing an inconsistent value or state).
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
anything else, e.g., a USENET posting) for completely stupid mistakes.
Implies that the check is to make sure the author was sane when it
was written; e.g., if a piece of scientific software relied on a
particular formula and was giving unexpected results, one might
first look at the nesting of parentheses or the coding of the
formula, as a `sanity check', before looking at the more complex
I/O or data structure manipulation routines, much less the
algorithm itself. Compare {reality check}. 2. A run-time test,
either validating input or ensuring that the program hasn't screwed
up internally (producing an inconsistent value or state).
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
Related:
- anity check n.
[very common] 1. The act of checking a
piece of code (or anything else, e.
g., a Usenet posting) for completely stupid mistakes.... - eality check: n. 1. The simplest kind of test of software or
hardware
doing the equivalent of asking it what 2 + 2 is and seeing if you get 4.... - eality check n.
1. The simplest kind of test of software
or hardware
doing the equivalent of asking it what 2 + 2 is and seeing if you get 4.... - moke test: n. 1. A rudimentary form of testing applied to
electronic equipment following repair or reconfiguratio
in which power is applied and the tester checks for sparks, smoke, or other dramatic signs of fundamental failure.... - fence: n. 1. A sequence of one or more distinguished
({out-of-band}) characters (or other data items)
used to delimit a piece of data intended to be treated as a unit (the computer-science literature calls this a `sentinel').... - firewall code: n. 1. The code you put in a system (say, a
telephone switch) to make sure that the users can't do any
damage.
Since users always want to be able to do everything but never want to suffer for any mistakes, the construction of a firewall is a question not only of defensive coding but also of interface presentation, so that users don't even get curious about those corners of a system where they can burn themselves.... - buffer overflow: n. What happens when you try to stuff more data
into a buffer (holding area) than it can handle.
This may be due to a mismatch in the processing rates of the producing and consuming processes (see {overrun} and {firehose syndrome}), or because the buffer is simply too small to hold all the data that must accumulate before a piece of it can be processed.... - moke test n.
1. A rudimentary form of testing applied to
electronic equipment following repair or reconfiguratio
in which power is applied and the tester checks for sparks, smoke, or other dramatic signs of fundamental failure.... - fence n. 1.
A sequence of one or more distinguished
(out-of-band) characters (or other data items)
used to delimit a piece of data intended to be treated as a unit (the computer-science literature calls this a `sentinel')....
