APCSP Exam Vocab Review

Prototype

preliminary sketch or idea for something new

Bit

single unit of info

Bit rate

- # of bits per unit of time ex: 8 bits/sec

Protocol

- a set of rules about transmitting data

Bandwidth

- amount of bits that can travel

measured in bit rate

latency

- time it takes for a bit to travel from its sender to its reciever

(American Standard Code for Information Interchange) universal raw text formula

ASCII

Code

- instructions for a computer

IP Address -

a number assigned to any item connected to the internet

Packets -

small chunks of info that have been formed form larger chunks or info

Abstraction -

reducing info and details to focus on the essential characteristics; to break problems up into parts which can be solved separately and recombined to form a complete solution; to focus and use something based on what it does without concern for how it does it

Lossless Compression -

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

Metadata -

data that describes other data. ex: digital images may include picture size, resolution, etc

Pixel - "Pixel Element"

Pixel

Bit

fundamental unit of a digital unit

Hexadecimal Number System -

a number system with 16 distinct symbols: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F

Lossless

- a compression scheme in which every bit of the original data can be recovered from the compressed file

Lossy -

a compression scheme in which "useless" or less-than-totally-necessary info is removed to reduce the size of the data

Algorithm -

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

Sequencing -

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

Selection -

using a Boolean condition to determine which of the two parts of an algorithm is used

Iteration -

repeating part of an algorithm until a condition is met or for a specified number of times

Function -

A piece of code that is easily called over and over again

API (Application Programming Interface) -

A collection o commands that can be used in a programming language to carry out a variety of processes (the "interface" used by the programmer to build apps)

Parameter -

Extra information used to customize a function

Loop -

A programming construct that repeats code

For Loop -

:Type of loop that runs until the counting variable is met

Big Data -

A broad term for datasets so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate

Encryption -

Process of encoding messages

Decryption -

Process of reversing a secret message into its original text (opposite of decryption)

Mod (Modulo) -

Mathematical operation

UI (User Interface) -

How a person interacts with the computer

UI Elements -

objects such as buttons, images, text boxes, etc

Event-driven program -

Program that runs codes in response to events

Event Handling -

Term for coding tasks that respond to events by calling functions

Event Listener -

A command (onEvent) that calls a function when a specified event occurs

Debugging -

Finding and fixing problems in an algorithm

Expression -

Unit of code that resolves to a single value

String -

Sequence of characters between quotation marks

Concatenate -

To link together or join; typically used when joining together strings

if Statement -

Programming structure that implements "conditional statements"

Conditionals -

aka "if Statemens". statements that only run under certain conditions

Boolean -

A single value of either TRUE or FALSE

Boolean Expression -

An expression that evaluates to either TRUE or FALSE

while Loop -

Programming construct used to repeat a set of commands while a boolean condition is true

List -

Variable that holds multiple items

Array -

A list in JavaScript

Recursion -

A programming technique where a function calls itself in its own definition

Binary Search -

An efficient algorithm for finding a target value within a sorted array

Pointer

- A variable that stores the memory address of another variable

Stack Overflow -

An error that occurs when a program's call stack consumes more memory than it has been allocated

Exception Handling -

The process of responding to the occurrence of exceptions during program execution