Software Engineering Prep 3

Question 1

Which testing type verifies that individual units of code work correctly in isolation?

Accepted Answer

Unit testing

Answer

Unit testing checks the smallest testable parts of an application independently from other components.

Question 2

What is the difference between a compiler and an interpreter?

Accepted Answer

A compiler translates the whole program before execution; an interpreter executes line by line

Answer

Compilers translate source code entirely into machine code before execution, while interpreters execute it line by line at runtime.

Question 3

Which design pattern ensures only one instance of a class is created throughout the application lifecycle?

Accepted Answer

Singleton

Answer

The Singleton pattern restricts a class to a single instance and provides a global access point to it.

Question 4

In a relational database, what does a PRIMARY KEY enforce?

Accepted Answer

Uniqueness and non-null identity for each row

Answer

A primary key uniquely identifies each row in a table and cannot be NULL.

Question 5

What is the purpose of a REST API?

Accepted Answer

To enable communication between systems over HTTP using standard methods

Answer

REST APIs expose resources via HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) allowing systems to communicate in a stateless, scalable way.

Software Engineering Practice Test