Software Development Concepts Flashcards

Which design pattern ensures a class has only one instance and provides a global access point to it?

Answer: Singleton

The Singleton pattern restricts instantiation of a class to a single object and provides a static method to access it.

In version control, what does 'rebasing' a branch accomplish?

Answer: Moves or replays commits onto a new base commit

Rebasing re-applies commits from one branch on top of another, resulting in a linear commit history.

What is the primary purpose of a code linter?

Answer: Analyze code for stylistic and programmatic errors

A linter statically analyzes code to flag programming errors, bugs, stylistic issues, and suspicious constructs.

Which principle does the 'D' in SOLID stand for?

Answer: Dependency Inversion Principle

The Dependency Inversion Principle states that high-level modules should not depend on low-level modules; both should depend on abstractions.

What does 'technical debt' refer to in software development?

Answer: The accumulated cost of shortcuts and suboptimal code decisions

Technical debt represents the future cost of rework required because quick, easy solutions were chosen over better long-term approaches.

In a REST API, which HTTP method is idempotent and used to fully replace a resource?

Answer: PUT

PUT is idempotent and replaces the entire resource at the specified URI, while PATCH only partially updates it.

What is 'pair programming' in agile development?

Answer: Two developers sharing one workstation, collaborating on the same code simultaneously

Pair programming has two developers sharing one workstation — one writes code (driver) while the other reviews in real time (navigator).