skillsusa computer programming study set

abstract class

a class that cannot be directly constructed, one that can only be constructed only through construction of some of its subclasses

actual argument

a value, or reference to a value, passed to a function

app

an application that executes on a small, handheld device

application

a program or integrated suite of programs that has a defined function

argument

a value, or a reference to a value, passed to a function; an actual argument

an ordered sequence of same-typed values whose elements are fast to access by their numerical index in the array

boolean

a data type for yes or no, true or false values

class

a set of objects having the same behavior, or a template defining such a set

compiler

a computer program which transforms source code into object code

constant

an identifier that is bound to an invariant value

constructor

a class method that creates and initializes each instance of an object

data type

a classification or category of various types of data, that states the possible values that can be taken, how they are stored, and what range of operations are allowed on them

destructor

in object-oriented programming, the command sequence that is launched when the execution of an object is finished

dump

a formatted listing of the contents of program storage, especially when produced automatically by a failing program

enumeration

a data type whose values are a set of mutually exclusive named constant

exception

an interruption in normal processing, especially as caused by an error condition

floating point

a method of representing real numbers as a pair of integers

flow chart

a schematic representation of the logic that defines the flow of control through a program

formal argument

a parameter in a function definition

function

a routine that receives zero or more arguments and may return a result

functional programming

a programming paradigm that treats computation as the evaluation of mathematical functions, avoids state and mutable data, and makes it easy to construct functions as if they were data objects

goto/ go to

a statement that transfers control unconditionally to another part of a program

heap

an area of memory reserved for dynamically allocated data objects, contrasted to the stack

identifier

a formal name used in source code to refer to a variable, function, procedure, package, etc

integer

a data type for integer values

interpreter

a program which executes another program written in a programming language other than machine code

linker/link editor

a computer program that takes one or more objects generated by compilers and assembles them into a single executable program

logic programming

a style or paradigm of computer programming exemplified by the language of Prolog

machine code

system of instructions and data directly understandable by a computer's CPU

method

in object oriented languages, a subroutine or function belonging to a class or object

module

a program that is linked with others to form a functioning application; one method of implementing a subroutine

object

an instance of a class

object code

the output of a compiler or assembler, not necessarily executable directly without linking it to other modules

object oriented

using entities called objects that can process data and exchange messages with other objects

paradigm

a fundamental style of computer programming to which the the design of a programming language typically has to cater, such as imperative programming, declarative programming, or, on a finer level, functional programming, logic programming, or object-oriented programming

parameter

a name in a function or subroutine definition that is replaced by, or bound to, the corresponding actual argument when the function or subroutine is called

procedure

a subroutine or function coded to perform a specific task

program

a software application, or a collection of software applications, designed to perform a specific task

real

a number containing a decimal point, e.g. the number pi is a real number with a value of approximately 3.14159268....

run time

the time during which a program is executing, as oppose to the compile time

source code

human readable instructions in a programming language, to be transformed into machine instructions by a compiler, interpreter, assembler, or other such system

stack

the portion of the computer memory used to keep track of called procedures of call instructions

string

a data type for a sequence of characters such as letters of English alphabet

subclass

in object oriented programming, an object class derived from another class from which it inherits a base set of properties and methods

subprogram

a program contained within a larger program

subroutine

a section of code that implements a task. while it may be used at more than one point in a program, it need not be

superclass

a class that passes attributes and methods down the hierarchy to subclasses

type

a tag attached to variables used in determining what values may be assigned to what variables

variable

a named memory location in which a program can store intermediate results and from which it can read them