Ex. 2. Match the terms with their definitions

A. System errors affect the computer or its peripherals. For example, you might have written a program which needs access to a printer. If there is no printer present when you run the program the computer will produce a system error message. Sometimes a system error makes the computer stop working altogether and you will have to restart the computer. A sensible way of avoiding system errors is to write code to check that peripherals are present before any data is sent to it. Then the computer would warn you by a simple massage on the screen, like “printer is not ready or available”.

B. Syntax errors are mistakes in the programming language (like typing PRNIT instead of PAINT). Syntax errors cause the program to fail. Some translator programs won't accept any line that has syntax errors. Some only report a syntax error when they run the program. Some languages also contain special commands such as debug, which will report structural errors in a program. The programming manual for the particular language you’re using will give details of what each error message means.

C. Logic errors are much more difficult to detect than syntax errors. This is because a program containing logic errors will run, but it won’t work properly. For example, you might write a program to clear screen end then print ‘hello’. Here is a code for this:

The code has a logic error in it, but the syntax is right so it will run. You can get rid of logic errors from simple programs by ‘hand-testing’ them or doing a “dry run” which means working through each line of the program on paper to make sure it does what you want it to do. You should do this long before you type in the code.