2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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sanity check
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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n. [very common] 1. The act of checking a piece of code (or anything else,
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e.g., a Usenet posting) for completely stupid mistakes. Implies that the
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check is to make sure the author was sane when it was written; e.g., if a
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piece of scientific software relied on a particular formula and was giving
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unexpected results, one might first look at the nesting of parentheses or
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the coding of the formula, as a sanity check , before looking at the more
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complex I/O or data structure manipulation routines, much less the algorithm
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itself. Compare reality check. 2. A run-time test, either validating input
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or ensuring that the program hasn't screwed up internally (producing an
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inconsistent value or state). 3. Conversationally, saying sanity check means
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you are requesting a check of your assumptions.
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