CSP: Collegeboard: Terminology

Computing innovation

includes a program as an integral part of its function. I.e. It can be physical (self-driving car), nonphysical computing software (picture editing software), or a nonphysical computing concept (e-commerce)

Program

a collection of program statements that performs a specific task when run by a computer, often called software. Needs to work for a variety of inputs and situations

Code segment

a collection of program statements that is part of a program

Behavior of a program

how a program functions during execution and is often described by how a user interacts with it

Program Input

data sent to a computer for processing by a program (i.e. tactile, audio, visual, text). It affects the output produced by the program and come from user or other programs

Event

associated with an action and supplies input data to a program. I.e. Generated when a key is pressed, a mouse is clicked, a program is started, or any defined action that occurs and affects the flow of execution

Program Output

any data sent from a program to a device (i.e. tactile, audio, visual, text). Based on program input, or prior state

Iterative development process

requires refinement and revision based on feedback, testing, or reflection. Includes revisiting earlier phases.

Incremental development process

is one that breaks the problem into smaller pieces, ensuring they work before piecing it together

Investigation in a development process

essential to understand and identify the requirements through the perspective of users

Program requirements

describe the function of a program, and can include a description of user interactions the program will provide

Program specification

defines the requirements for the program

Design phase (in a development process)

outlines how to accomplish the program specification

Program documentation

a written description of the function of a code segment, event, and procedure, or program and how it was developed

Comments

a form of program documentation written into the program to be read by people and do not affect how a program runs

Logic error

a mistake in the algorithm or program that causes it to behave incorrectly or unexpectedly

Syntax error

a mistake in the program where the rules of the programming language are not followed

Run-time error

a mistake in the program that occurs during the execution of a program. Programming languages define their own run-time error

Overflow error

an error that occurs when a computer attempts to handle a number that is outside of the defined range of values

Testing (in the development process)

uses defined inputs to ensure an algorithm or program produces an expected outcome. Allows programmers to revise and reflect.

Bit (binary digit)

either 0 or 1

Byte

8 bits

Abstraction

the process of reducing complexity by focusing on the main idea. Hiding irrelevant details and using useful details, abstraction reduces complexity and allows one to focus on the idea

Analog data

has values that change smoothly (i.e. pitch, volume, colors)

Sampling technique

allows a close approximation of analog data by measuring values of the analog signal at regular intervals (samples). Samples are measured to figure out the exact bits needed to store each sample.

Samples

the value of the analog signal at regular intervals.

Data compression

can reduce the size (# of bits) of transmitted or stored data

Lossless data compression algorithms

can usually reduce the number of bits stored or transmitted while guaranteeing complete preservation of the original data

Lossy data compression algorithms

can reduce the number of bits stored or transmitted but only allow a reconstruction of an approximation of the original data

Information

the collection of facts and patterns extracted from data

Metadata

data about data (the piece of data is an image, the meta data is the date, file size, location)

Cleaning data

a process that makes the data uniform without changing their meaning (i.e. replacing all equivalent abbreviations, spellings, or capitalization with the same word)

Process to extract and modify information from data

Transforming every element of a data set (doubling every element in a list, adding a parent email to each student). Filtering a data set (keeping only positive numbers, keep only students who choose band). Combining or comparing data (adding up a list of numbers, finding the student with the greatest GPA). Visualizing a data set through a chart, graph, visual representation

To gain insight and knowledge

Programs are used in an iterative and interactive way when processing information (by filtering and cleaning digital data). Combining data sources, clustering data, and classifying data. Translating and transforming digitally represented information

When data are transformed using programs, patterns emerge

Variable

an abstraction inside a program that can hold a value. Each variable has an associated data storage that represents a singular value (i.e. int, or list)

Data types

represent data which are referenced using variables (numbers, booleans, lists, and strings)

Assignment operator (←)

allows a program to change the value represented by a variable

List

an ordered sequence of elements. Syntax

Element

an individual value in a list that is assigned a unique index

Index

a common method for reference the elements in a list or string using ints—start at 1

String

an ordered sequence of characters

Algorithm

a finite set of instructions that accomplish a specific task

Sequencing

the application of each step of an algorithm in the order in which the code statements are given

Code statement

a part of program code that expresses an action to be carried out

Expression

can consist of a value, variable, operator, or procedure call that returns a value. Evaluated to produce a single value, following PENDAS

Arithmetic operators

apart of many programming languages (+, -, /, *, MOD)

Modulus (MOD)

to find the remainder between a and b. Syntax

String concatenation

joins together two or more strings end-to-end to make a new string

Substring

part of an existing string

Boolean value

either true or false

Relational Operators

to test the relationship between two variables, expressions or value. Syntax

Logical operators

evaluate to a boolean value (NOT, AND, OR)

NOT condition

evaluates true if condition is false, otherwise evaluate to false

Condition1 AND Condition2

evaluates true if both conditions are true, otherwise false

Condition1 OR Condition2

evaluates false if both conditions are false, otherwise true

Selection

determines which parts of an algorithm are executed based on a condition being true or false

Conditional statements (if-statements)

affect the sequential flow of control by executing different statements based on the value of a boolean expression

Nested Conditional Statements

consist of conditional statements within conditional statements

Iteration

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

Accessing an element by index

my_list[i]

Inserting Elements at a given index

INSERT(my_list, i, value)

Adding elements to the end of the list

APPEND(my_list, value)

Remove elements

Remove(my_list, i)

Length of a list

LENGTH(my_list)

Iteration statement to traverse a list

FOR EACH item IN my_list

Complete Traversal

all elements in the list are accessed

Partial Traversal

only a portion of elements are accessed

Linear search or sequential search algorithm

checks each element in a list, in order, until the desired value is found or all elements in a list have been checked

Procedure (method, function)

a named group of programming instructions that may have parameters and return values

Parameters

input variables of a procedure

Arguments

specify the values of the parameters when a procedure is called

Header of a Procedure in Code

PROCEDURE my_procedure (parameter 1, parameter 2)

Calling a Procedure in Code

my_procedure(arg1, arg2)

Displaying a expression in Code

DISPLAY (expression)

Returning an expression in Code

RETURN (expression)

To get input from a user, and returning the value in Code

INPUT (value)

Procedural Abstraction

an abstraction that provides a name for a process, and allows a procedure to be used, only knowing what it does, not how it does it

Modularity

the subdivision of a computer program into separate subprograms

Software library

contains procedures that may be used in creating new programs

Application Program Interfaces (APIs)

specifications for how the procedures in a library behave and can be used

How to randomly generate an integer in Code

RANDOM (a, b). Note

Simulations

a representation that uses varying sets of values to reflect the changing state of a phenomenon. Abstractions of more complex objects or phenomena for a specific purpose. Mimic real-world events without the constraints of the real world

Problem

a general description of a task that can (or cannot) be solved algorithmically.

An instance of a problem

includes specific input

Decision Problem

a problem with a yes/no answer (is there a path from A to B)

Optimization Problem; a problem with the goal of finding the “best” solution among many (what is the shortest path from A to B

Efficiency

an estimation of the amount of computational resources used by an algorithm. Expressed as a function of the size of the input

Reasonable Amount of Time

algorithms with a polynomial efficiency or slower (constant, linear, square, cube)

Unreasonable Amount of Time

algorithms with exponential or factorial efficiencies

Heuristic

an approach to a problem that produces a solution that is not guaranteed to be optimal—used when techniques that are guaranteed to always find an optimal solution are impractical

Decidable Problem

a decision problem for which an algorithm can be written to produce a correct output for all inputs (is the number even)

Undecidable Problem

a decision problem for which no algorithm can be constructed that is always capable of providing a correct yes or no problem

Computing device

a physical artifact that can run a program (computers, tablets, servers, routers, and smart sensors)

Computing system

a group of computing devices and programs working together for a common purpose

Computer network

a group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or receiving data

Path (specifically between two computing devices on a computer network)

a sequence of directly connected computing devices that begins at the sender and ends at the receiver

Routing

the process of finding a path from sender to receiver

Bandwidth

the maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time in a computer network. Measured in bits per second

Internet

a computer network that consists of interconnected networks that use standardized, open (non proprietary) communication protocols