CSCI 1301 Mid Term

program

A set of instructions written in a programming language that a computer can execute to perform specific tasks.

software

all the different kinds of programs and applications that run on a computer.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) (Processor)

The primary component of a computer that performs calculations, executes instructions, and manages the flow of information within the system.

main memory

a form of computer memory that temporarily stores data and program instructions currently in use by the CPU, allowing for quick access and processing. (VOLATILE)

auxiliary memory

a type of computer memory used for long-term data storage, typically including hard drives, SSDs, and other external storage devices. (NOT VOLATILE)

RAM

random access memory - main memory (main memory consists of a long list of numbered bytes)

Address

number of a byte

byte

smallest addressable unit of memory
contains 8 digits (0 or 1)

binary digit (bit)

two values (usually 0 or 1)

files

bytes grouped into much larger units (contains any sort of data) (auxiliary memory)

folder (directory)

organized groups of files

operating system

supervisory program that oversees the entire operation of the computer (ex: Windows, MacOS, Linux, UNIX)

high-level languages

modern programming levels designed to be easy for people to understand/use (ex: Java, C++ C#, Python) (not understandable by computer hardware)

machine language

The language that the computer can directly understand

assembly language

symbolic form of machine language that is easier for people to read (similar to machine language, but has additional translations before it runs on computers)

low-level lanugage

includes both machine and assembly language, it is language that computers can execute

compiler

a program that translates a program from high-level to low-level language (runs only once, faster)

source program (source code)

input program for compiler

object program (object code)

machine-language program that the compiler produces

interpreter

a type of program that also translates high-level languages. Interpreters execute a portion of code right after translating rather than translating the entire program at once (runs each time) (slower than compiler)

bytecode

a language that the java compiler translates java programs into

virtual machine

a hypothetical computer that bytecode is the machine language for (similar to all typical computers)

Java Virtual Machine (JVM)

the program that translates bytecode into a machine-language program for a computer (in this case, Java)

run command

tells bytecode interpreter to execute the bytecode

classes

A different “piece” of a java program, each class is a different piece of bytecode

class loader

“a program that automatically connects the classes

application

regular program but applications are run straight thru computers

applet

little application (almost identical to application), but applets are sent to another location on the internet and run there from a browser

methods

parts inside braces, for example “main”

body

statements/instructions within a method

objects

actions defined by methods (ex: System.out = object used to send output to screen")

argument

items inside parentheses that provide the info the method needs to carry out (ex: println(____") )

variable

something that can store a piece of data (ex: int = integer, String = letters)

expression

output made of variables

syntax

grammatical rules for any programming/natural language

Object Oriented Programming (OOP)

a programing methodology that views a program consisting of objects that can act alone/interact

attributes

characteristics each object has

state

the values of an objects attributes

behaviors

the actions an object can take, defined by code called a method

class

defines a kind of object (blueprint for objects)

encapsulation

packages and hides detail (information hiding)

polymorphism

enables objects to behave appropriately

inheritance

organizes related classes

algorithm

a set of directions for solving a problem

pseudocode

combo of english + programming language, which algorithms are usually made of

bug

mistake in program

debugging

eliminating bugs from program

syntax error

grammatical mistake (will be detected by compiler)

run-time error

errors occurring during executing (produces error message)

logic error

conceptual mistakes in algorithm (ex: using a - instead of a +, program runs but not as wanted)

variable

used to store data like letters and numbers

value

number, letter, or other data item in a variable

variable declaration

declaring the variable’s data type (int, string, etc)

int

integer

double

numbers with decimals

char

any one character on the keyboard

class type

data type for objects of a class (Strings)

primitive type

simpler than objects, a single number or letter (int, double, char)

float (floating-point number)

number with fractions (decimals, ex: 5.0, 5.1120831)

boolean

true/false

identifier

technical term for name in programming language (letters, digits 0-9, underscore)

keywords (reserved words)

words with special meanings that cannot be used as variables/classes/mehtods (primitive words + if)

constant (literal)

terms that have unchanging values

final double

a double value that cannot be changed because of “final”

type cast

changes data type of a value from normal type to another type (ex: double to int)

operands

variables and numbers

unary operator

operators with only one operand (one thing it applies to, ex: balance = -cost)

binary operator

2 operands (ex: total = cost + tax)

I/O

Input/Output

nextInt

reads an int value

nextDouble

reads a double

next

reads a word

delimiter

separators by whitespace characters and/or line breaks

nextLine

reads the entire line

printf

print + special instructions

empty string

string with 0 characters (““)

concatenation

joining 2 strings with a + operator

index

a position in a string

substring

portion of a string

escape sequences/characters

special characters that escape the usual meaning of a character

character set

list of characters

unicode

ASCII character set + many characters used in other languages than english

=

assignment operator

+ , -

arithmetic operators, combine variables and numbers

*

multiplication

/

division

%

remainder operator

++

increment operator

- -

decrement operator

(-+/%*)=

specialized assignment operators (variable (-+/%*) something)

compound statement

statements formed by enclosing a list of statements in braces

&&

“and” for boolean expressions

||

“or” for boolean expressions

!

“not” for boolean expressions

equals

“equals” for Strings

equalsIgnoreCase

ignores differences between uppper/lowercase

compareTo

compares Strings

lexicographic order

ordering based on unicode sequence

toUpperCase

changes to upper case