Robustness is the ability of a system to continue to run after it detects an error (Steve McConnell, "Code Complete").
Robustness is the ability of a system to continue to run after it detects an error.
/Steve McConnell, "Code Complete"/
As per wikipedia:
In computer science, robustness is the ability of a computer system to cope with errors during execution or the ability of an algorithm to continue to operate despite abnormalities in input, calculations, etc.
The opposite of robust code is fragile code; an example of fragile code would be having a class with all its member variables marked as public.
The benefits of having robust code are many, some of the most important ones are:
1. Easy to change. Robust code is easier to change because external factors don’t affect its behaviour.
2. Less bugs. The more robust the code is, the less combinations that cause a bug in the code.
3. Better integration. Robust code is predictable, so from an integrator point view, is always going to have the same behavior.
4. Consistency. Robust code works fine no matter who, when or how it gets called.
/Robustness, the forgotten code quality/
Several links by theme:
Examples for Robustness Requirements
10 characteristics of a robust application or service
