Error
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Error
</dt>
1. In mathematics, the difference between the true value and a calculated
or observed value.
</dd>
A quantity (equal in magnitude to the error) added to a calculated or
observed value to obtain the true value is called a correction.
</dd>
2. In a computer or data-processing system, any incorrect step, process,
or result.
</dd>
In addition to the mathematically usage, in the computer field the term
is also commonly used to refer to machine malfunctions as machine
errors and to human mistakes as human errors. It is frequently
helpful to distinguish between these as follows: errors result from
approximations used in numerical methods; mistakes result from incorrect
programming, coding, data transcription, manual operation, etc.; malfunction
result from failures in the operation of machine components such as gates,
flip-flops, amplifiers, etc.
</dd>
References
This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use