Free Practice Questions for WGU Scripting-and-Programming-Foundations Exam

A function definition is the blueprint for a block of code designed to perform a specific task. Here's what it includes:

Function Name: A unique name to identify and call the function (e.g., calculate_area).

Inputs (Parameters/Arguments): Values or variables passed into the function when it's called (e.g., width, height).

Outputs (Return Value): The result the function produces after processing (e.g., the calculated area). This value may or may not be explicitly returned.

Statements (Function Body): Contains the code that performs the actions and calculations within the function.

A sequence diagram is a type of interaction diagram that details how operations are carried out within a system. It is used to model the interactions between objects or components in a sequence that reflects the order of operations, particularly focusing on the messages exchanged between these objects over time. The vertical axis of a sequence diagram represents time, and the horizontal axis represents the objects involved in the interaction. The purpose of a sequence diagram is to illustrate the sequence of messages or events that occur between these objects, typically in the context of a specific use case or scenario within the software system1234.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The tasks described involve creating a technical plan (listing objects and functions) and coding (writing the objects). According to foundational programming principles and Agile methodologies, these correspond to the design phase (planning the structure) and the implementation phase (coding).

Agile Phases Analysis:

Analysis: Defines requirements (e.g., “the game must support players and moves”).

Design: Specifies technical components (e.g., objects like Player, Board, and functions like makeMove()).

Implementation: Writes the code for the specified components.

Testing: Verifies the code works as intended.

Tasks Breakdown:

Creating a list of objects and functions: This is a design task, as it involves planning the program’s structure (e.g., class diagrams or function signatures).

Writing the code for each object: This is an implementation task, as it involves coding the objects (e.g., implementing the Player class).

Option A: "Analysis and design." This is incorrect. Analysis defines high-level requirements, not the specific objects and functions, which are part of design.

Option B: "Design and implementation." This is correct. Designing the list of objects and functions occurs in the design phase, and writing their code occurs in the implementation phase.

Option C: "Analysis and implementation." This is incorrect. Analysis does not involve listing technical components like objects and functions.

Option D: "Design and testing." This is incorrect. Testing verifies the coded objects, not the act of creating their list or writing their code.

Certiport Scripting and Programming Foundations Study Guide (Section on Agile Phases).

Sommerville, I., Software Engineering, 10th Edition (Chapter 4: Agile Software Development).

Agile Alliance: “Design and Implementation” (https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/design/).

 Behavioral diagrams are a key component in software engineering, particularly within the Unified Modeling Language (UML), which is used to model the dynamic aspects of systems. These diagrams help visualize the behavior of a system over time, including how it responds to various stimuli and the state changes it undergoes during its operation.

The types of behavioral diagrams include:

State Machine Diagrams: These show the state of a system or component at finite instances of time, focusing on state transitions in response to events.

Activity Diagrams: These illustrate the flow of control in a system, modeling both sequential and concurrent activities.

Use Case Diagrams: These depict the functionality of a system and its interaction with external agents.

Sequence Diagrams: These detail the interactions between objects in a sequential order, showing the order of operations.

Communication Diagrams: These show the sequenced messages exchanged between objects.

In the context of the provided image, a behavioral diagram would generally be used to visualize option D, the dynamic flow of software, as it captures the interactions, events, and states that occur within a system during its execution12345.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Markup languages, such as HTML and XML, are designed to structure and format content, not to perform computation or execute algorithms. According to foundational programming principles, this focus on describing content distinguishes markup languages from programming languages.

Option A: "It supports decomposing programs into custom types that often combine with other variable types into more concepts." This is incorrect. Markup languages do not support programming concepts like custom types or variable combinations. They focus on tagging content (e.g.,

for paragraphs).

Option B: "It allows variables to change type during execution." This is incorrect. Markup languages are not programming languages and do not involve variables or execution. Typing (dynamic or static) is irrelevant to markup languages.

Option C: "It requires fewer variables and variable conversions than other languages because the types can change during execution." This is incorrect. Markup languages do not use variables or support execution, so the concept of variable conversions or dynamic typing does not apply.

Option D: "It does not perform complex algorithms, but instead describes the content and formatting of webpages and other documents." This is correct. Markup languages like HTML and XML are used to define the structure and presentation of content (e.g., webpages, documents) without executing algorithms or performing computations.

Certiport Scripting and Programming Foundations Study Guide (Section on Markup Languages).

W3Schools: “HTML Introduction” (https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_intro.asp).

Mozilla Developer Network: “HTML Basics” (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Getting_started_with_the_web/HTML_basics).

 Dijkstra’s shortest path algorithm is designed to find the shortest path between nodes in a graph. This can be applied to various scenarios, such as routing problems, network optimization, and in this case, determining the most fuel-efficient flight plan. The algorithm works by iteratively selecting the unvisited vertex with the smallest tentative distance from the source, then visiting the neighbors of this vertex and updating their tentative distances if a shorter path is found. This process continues until the destination vertex is reached or all reachable vertices have been visited.

In the context of the given options, Dijkstra’s algorithm is best suited for option B, where the goal is to find the most fuel-efficient path (i.e., the shortest path) between multiple points (coordinates of five positions). The algorithm is not designed to solve problems like searching for an element in an array (option A), finding the longest common subsequence (option C), or searching for a name in a list (option D).

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The Waterfall methodology is a linear, sequential approach to software development, with distinct phases: requirements analysis, design, implementation, testing, and maintenance. According to foundational programming principles (e.g., Certiport Scripting and Programming Foundations Study Guide), the design phase in Waterfall produces technical specifications, including architectural decisions like the programming paradigm.

Waterfall Design Phase:

Translates requirements into a detailed blueprint for implementation.

Deliverables include system architecture, data models, programming paradigm (e.g., object-oriented, procedural), and module specifications.

Option A: "The programming paradigm to be used." This is correct. During the design phase, the team decides on the programming paradigm (e.g., object-oriented for Java, procedural for C) to structure the application, as this guides implementation. This is a key deliverable.

Option B: "A list of additional features to be added during revision." This is incorrect. Additional features are identified during requirements analysis or later maintenance phases, not design.

Option C: "A report of customer satisfaction." This is incorrect. Customer satisfaction reports are generated during or after deployment (maintenance phase), not design.

Option D: "A written description of the goals for the project." This is incorrect. Project goals are defined during the requirements analysis phase, not design.

Certiport Scripting and Programming Foundations Study Guide (Section on Waterfall Methodology).

Sommerville, I., Software Engineering, 10th Edition (Chapter 2: Waterfall Model).

Pressman, R.S., Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 8th Edition (Waterfall Design Phase).

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

A valid test checks if the algorithm produces the expected output for a given input, according to its specification. The algorithm outputs "OK" for numbers in the range [98.3, 98.9] (inclusive or exclusive bounds not specified, but typically inclusive in such problems) and "Not OK" otherwise. According to foundational programming principles, we evaluate each test case.

Specification:

Input in [98.3, 98.9] → Output: "OK".

Input outside [98.3, 98.9] → Output: "Not OK".

Option A: "Input 98.6. Ensure output is 'Not OK.'" Incorrect. Since 98.6 is between 98.3 and 98.9 (98.3 ≤ 98.6 ≤ 98.9), the output should be "OK", not "Not OK". This test is invalid.

Option B: "Input 98.6. Ensure output is 'OK.'" Correct. 98.6 is within the range, and the expected output is "OK", making this a valid test.

Option C: "Input 99.9. Ensure output is 'OK.'" Incorrect. 99.9 is outside the range (99.9 > 98.9), so the output should be "Not OK", not "OK". This test is invalid.

Option D: "Input 99.9. Ensure output is '98.9.'" Incorrect. The algorithm outputs either "OK" or "Not OK", not a numerical value like "98.9". This test is invalid.

Certiport Scripting and Programming Foundations Study Guide (Section on Algorithm Testing).

General Programming Principles: Testing and Validation.

W3Schools: “Python Conditions” (https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_conditions.asp).

A sequence diagram is a type of interaction diagram used in software engineering to model the interactions between objects within a system over time. It shows how objects interact with each other and the order in which those interactions occur. The sequence diagram is organized along two dimensions: horizontally to represent the objects involved, and vertically to represent the time sequence of interactions. This allows the diagram to depict not only the interactions but also the sequence of events as they occur over time12345.

Option B is incorrect because a sequence diagram does indeed specify an order of events. Option C is incorrect as sequence diagrams do not show static elements of software but rather the dynamic interactions. Option D is also incorrect because a sequence diagram does show all interactions along with their order.