Comp. Science Test 2

Algorithm

A finite set of instructions that accomplish a specific task.

Algorithmic thinking

The process of solving problems by identifying the tasks required to solve a problem and using algorithms to clearly describe each task.

Iteration

A repeating portion of an algorithm that repeats a specified number of times or until a given condition is met.

Code segment

A collection of program statements that is part of a program.

Relational operators

Operators used to test the relationship between two variables, expressions, or values.

Boolean expression

An expression that evaluates to either true or false.

Conditional expression

A comparison that evaluates to a Boolean value of True or False.

Bug

A part of a program that causes an error or undesired output.

Incrementing counter

A variable that stores an integer with an increasing (or decreasing) value.

List

An ordered collection of items or values.

Loop variable

A variable set to a value in a sequence or other data collection in each iteration step.

Conditional statement

A feature of a programming language that performs different computations or actions depending on a Boolean condition.

Modular code

A group of instructive code that exists as an independent unit and is easy to use with other code.

Concatenate

The act of attaching two things side-by-side, frequently strings of text.

Return value

Any value that a method or function gives back to the statement command from which it is called.

Personally identifiable information (PII)

Information about an individual that can be used to identify them.

Data breach

The unauthorized access or retrieval of confidential or protected data.

Cookie

Small text-based bits of information about your browser that a web server saves.

Phishing

The practice of sending fraudulent emails to induce people to share sensitive information.

Keystroke logger

A program that records every keystroke made by a computer user to gain fraudulent access to confidential information.

Malware

Software intended to damage a computing system or take partial control over its operation.

Rogue access point

A wireless access point that gives unauthorized access to secure networks.

Encryption

The process of encoding data to prevent unauthorized access.

Decrypt

The process of decoding encrypted data to make it human-readable again.

Substitution cipher

A cipher in which each letter in an alphabet is replaced with a different character or symbol.

Encryption key

A string of characters used as a parameter that determines the output of an encryption algorithm.

Brute force

A method for determining a solution to a problem by sequentially testing all possible solutions.

Private key encryption

An encryption method where the sender and receiver share a private key to use in the encryption algorithm.

Symmetric key encryption

A process in which a single key is used in both the encryption and decryption algorithm to encode/decode data.

Public key encryption

A method of paired key encryption in which the key used to encrypt data is made available to anybody and its corresponding decryption key is kept secret.

Paired keys

Two keys that are related in such a way that one can be used to encrypt data, which can then only be decrypted by the other key.

System administrator

A person responsible for managing computers, networks, servers, and other computing resources.

Multi-factor authentication

A method of computer access control that requires presenting several separate pieces of evidence to an authentication mechanism.

Graphical user interface (GUI)

The dominant method for designing human-computer interaction.

Application programming interface (API)

A way programmers share their code with other programmers.

Widget

A standard component of a graphical user interface.

Argument

An input value to a command that specifies the values of the parameters when a procedure is called.

Logic error

A mistake in the algorithm or program that causes it to behave incorrectly.

Syntax

Precise rules defining how the elements of a programming language are required to be used together.

Runtime error

A mistake in the program that occurs during its execution.

Global variable

A variable that can be used in any part of the program.

Pseudocode

An outline of the basic ideas behind how algorithms will work.