AP CSP midterm?

Prototype

a preliminary sketch of an idea or model for something new. It's the original drawing from which something might be built or created

binary question

a question to which there are only two possibly answers

Bit

a contraction of "Binary Digit." A bit is the single unit of information in a computer, typically represented as a 0 or 1

Bit rate

(sometimes written bitrate) the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time. e.g. 8 bits/sec

Protocol

a set of rules governing the exchange or transmission of data between devices

bandwith

transmission capacity by bit rate

latency

time it take for a bit to travel from its sender to its receiver

ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange

the universally recognized raw text format that any computer can understand

code

to write code, or to write instructions for a computer

Request for Comments (RFC)

documents are how standards and protocols are defined and published for all to see on IEFT website

IP Address

A number assigned to any item that is connected to the Internet

Packets

small chunks of information that have been carefully formed from larger chunks of information

Network Redundancy

having multiple backups to ensure reliability during cases of high usgae or failure

Router

a type of computer that forwards data across a network

Packets

small chunks of information that have been carefully formed from larger chunks of information

TCP - Transmission Control Protocol

provides reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of a stream of packets on the Internet. TCP is tightly linked with IP and usually seen as TCP/IP in writing

DNS (Domain Name System)

the Internet's system for converting alphabetic names into numeric IP addresses

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

is the protocol used by the WWW. It describes how messages are formatted and interchanged, and how web servers respond to commands

Abstraction

Reducing information and detail to focus on essential characteristics

Server

a computer that awaits and responds to requests for data

client

a computer that requests data stored on a server

Heuristic

a problem solving approach (algorithm) to find a satisfactory solution where finding an optimal or exact solution is impractical or impossible

Lossless Compression

a data compression algorithm that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data

Image

a type of data used for graphics or pictures

metadata

data that describes other data. For example, a digital image may include metadata that describes the size of the image, number of colors, or resolution

pixel (short for picture element)

the fundamental unit of a digital image, typically a tiny square or dot which contains a single point of color of a larger image

Hexadecimal

a base-16 system that uses sixteen distinct symbols 0-9 and A-F to represent number from 0 to 15

RGB

the RGB color model uses varying intensities of (R)ed, (G)reen, and (B)lue light are added together in to reproduce a broad array of colors

Lossy

a compression scheme in which "useless" or less-than-totally-necessary information is thrown out in order to reduce the size of the data. The eliminated data is unrecoverable.

Abstraction

removing unnecessary details to focus on the essential characteristics. To break problems up into separate parts which can be solved separately and recombined to form a complete solution. To focus on and use something based on what it does and without concern for how that functionality is accomplished (simplified representation of something more complex. Abstractions allow you to hide details to help you manage complexity, focus on relevant concepts, and reason about problems at a higher level)

Algorithm

a precise sequence of instructions for processes that can be executed by a computer and are implemented using programming languages

low level programming language

a programming language that captures only the most primitive operations available to a machine. Anything that a computer can do can be represented with combinations of low level commands

high level programming

a programming language with many commands and features designed to make common tasks easier to program. Any high level functionality is encapsulated as combinations of low level commands

iterate

to repeat in order to achieve, or get closer to, a desired goal

selection

a generic term for a type of programming statement (usually an if-statement) that uses a Boolean condition to determine, or select, whether or not to run a certain block of statements

sequencing

putting commands in correct order so computers can read the commands

function

a named group of programming instructions. Function are reusable abstractions that reduce the complexity of writing and maintaining programs

Top Down Design

a problem solving approach in which you break down a system to gain insight into the sub-systems that make it up

API

a collection of commands made available to a programmer

Documentation

a description of the behavior of a command, function, library, API, etc.

Library

a collection of commands / functions, typically with a shared purpose

Parameter

an extra piece of information that you pass to the function to customize it for a specific need

Loop

a programming construct that repeats a group of commands

iteration

"loop" by another name - the repetition of a statement, process, or procedure

For Loop

a particular kind of looping construct provided in many languages. Typically, a for loop defines a counting variable that is checked and incremented on each iteration in order to loop a specific number of times