Problem

1. Discuss the concept of the software prototype illustrated here, as opposed to the concept of a prototype used by engineers in other industrial branches (e.g., the prototype of a bridge or a car).

2. Suppose you are writing a program that manipulates files. Among the facilities you offer is a command to sort a file in both ascending and descending order. Among the files you manipulate, some are kept automatically sorted by the system. Thus, you might take advantage of the fact: If the file is already sorted, you do not take any action; or you apply a reverse function if the file is sorted in the opposite order. Discuss the pros and cons of using such specialized solutions instead of executing the sort algorithm every time the sort command is issued.