Students' Guide to Program Design

Students' Guide to

Program

Design

6 The final step is to

desk check

the

solution

algorithm.

By desk checking

the algorithm, you attempt to find any logic errors which have crept

into the solution.

Desk checking involves tracing through the logic of the

algorithm with some chosen test data exactly as the computer

would operate. The programmer keeps track of all variable values

in a table as the algorithm is walked through. At the end, the

programmer checks that the output expected from the test data

matches the output developed in the desk check.

This detection of errors, early in the design process, can save

many frustrating hours during th ...