Application Programmer Study Guide

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering flowchart symbols, programming logic, object-oriented concepts, SDLC phases, data structures, and SQL commands for SQL and matrix algebra.

Process Block

Part of a flowchart that tells the program what action to take. Use rectangles to capture process steps like basic tasks or actions in your process.

Decision Block

The diamond-shaped block used for YES/NO questions. These blocks have two outputs: 1 (for yes) and 2 (for no).

Stored Data block

A general data storage object used in the process flow as opposed to data which could be also stored on a hard drive, magnetic tape, memory card, or any other storage device.

data block (i/o)

The Data object, often referred to as the I/O Shape shows the Inputs to and Outputs from a process. This takes the shape of a parallelogram.

Flowchart Terminal/Terminator

The terminator shows where your process begins or ends. You can use words like 'Start', 'Begin', 'End' inside the terminator shape to make things more obvious.

Flowchart Document

A rectangle with a wave-like base used to represent a Document or Report in a process flow.

Direct Data

A process flow object representing information stored which can be accessed directly, often representing a computer's hard drive; usually cylinder or cone shaped laying on its side.

internal storage

A shape used in programming flowcharts to illustrate information stored in memory (RAM), as opposed to on a file. Historically referred to as magnetic core memory.

sequential access

A method of data access used by tape drives (shaped like a reel of tape) where data is read or written sequentially from beginning to end until the desired data is found.

Manual Input

Represented by a rectangle with the top sloping up from left to right; it signifies an action where the user is prompted for information that must be manually input into a system.

Subroutine

A sequence of computer instructions for performing a specified task that can be used repeatedly; also called a Predefined Process.

sequence programming

A basic logic structure where an action or event leads to the next ordered action in a predetermined order without skipping any actions.

Selection Programming

A logic structure where a question is asked and the program takes one of two courses of action (if-then-else) depending on the answer before moving to the next event.

Loop (programming)

A set of instructions that the program repeats until a condition is met or count is reached.

Iteration

A single pass through a group of instructions within a loop.

Encapsulation

The concept of hiding the internal state of an object and bundling it with methods that provide access to it; achieved by keeping state private inside a class.

Abstraction

A concept in OOP where internal implementation details are hidden, providing only the necessary methods and parameters to trigger operations.

Inheritance

A mechanism where a child class is derived from a parent class, reusing its fields and methods while potentially implementing its own unique parts.

Polymorphism

The concept that objects of different types can be accessed through the same interface, with each type providing its own independent implementation.

SDLC Analysis

The stage of determining user requirements, developing logical system models, and getting input from stakeholders to identify manual problems and system strengths/weaknesses.

SDLC: Planning

The stage where total information system needs are prioritized, and the team determines feasibility, cost, required resources, and risks.

SDLC: Design

The phase where software specifications are converted into a Design Specification plan for stakeholder review and feedback.

SDLC Development Phase

The phase where detailed design documents are transformed into the actual system by developers following a blueprint and code style guidelines.

SDLC Testing

The stage used to verify that the system meets business requirements by writing test conditions, performing tests, and fixing defects.

SDLC Deployment

The stage where software is deployed to the production environment, often moving through testing or staging environments first to allow for safe stakeholder interaction.

Data Structure: Graphs

A set of connected nodes where each node is called a Vertex and the connection between two of them is called an Edge.

Undirected Graph

A graph where the order of vertices in the edge pairs does not matter, such as Facebook friendships.

Directed Graph

A graph where edges have an associated direction, such as an Instagram follow or a one-way plane flight.

Binary Tree

A data structure consisting of nodes with one root, where each node has at most two children (left and right).

Full Binary Tree

A proper or plane binary tree in which every node has either $0$ or $2$ children.

Complete Binary Tree

A binary tree where every level except the last is completely filled, and all nodes in the last level are as far left as possible.

Perfect Binary Tree

A binary tree in which all interior nodes have two children and all leaves have the same depth.

Queue data structure

A FIFO (first in, first out) structure where new elements are added at the end (enqueue) and removal occurs at the head (dequeue).

Hash Table

A data structure using key-value pairs where a calculated value marks the storage position for direct access; it is inefficient at sorting data.

linked list

A collection of nodes where each node contains a link or pointer to the next; it does not allow random access and must be accessed sequentially.

Stack data structure

A LIFO (last in, first out) structure where elements are added (push) and removed (pop) only from the top.

scalar multiplication

The process of multiplying each element of a matrix by a real number or scalar.

Addition of Matrices

The process where $(A + B) = (A) + (B)$, adding all corresponding entries together.

Matrix Multiplication

Performed by multiplying the elements of each row of the first matrix by the elements of each column of the second matrix and adding the products.

Matrix Transpose

An operation that returns the transpose of a matrix by switching its rows and columns.

Gap buffer

A dynamic array that allows efficient insertion and deletion operations clustered near the same location.

Heap Binary Tree

A complete binary tree that follows the heap property (max or min heap).

AVL Tree

A self-balancing sorted binary tree in which the heights of subtrees differ by at most $1$.

decision tree

A structure consisting of three types of nodes: decision, chance, and end.

Red-Black Tree

A self-balancing binary tree with red or black colored nodes where the longest path from root to leaf is no more than twice the shortest path.

SQL Distinct

Keyword used with SELECT to eliminate duplicate records and return only unique ones.

SQL Limit

Used to return a subset of records that satisfy a condition.

Fully Qualified Names

The practice of specifying the table name with the column, such as SELECT customers.City from customers;.

SQL WHERE

A clause used to extract only those records that fulfill a specific criterion.

SQL LIKE

A search condition within a WHERE clause, often used with wildcards like 'A%' to find specific patterns.

SQL Custom Names

The use of aliases for tables or columns, such as SELECT ct.ID FROM customers AS ct.

inner join

The most common join type; includes rows only when the joined field matches records in both tables.

left outer join

A join where all rows from the left table are included regardless of whether they match rows in the right table.

right outer join

A join where all rows from the right table are included regardless of whether they match rows in the left table.

SQL Union

Combines result sets of two or more SELECT statements and returns results without duplicates.

SQL Union All

Combines result sets of two or more SELECT statements and returns all results including duplicates.

ALTER TABLE

An SQL command used to make changes to a table structure, such as adding or modifying columns.

SQL DROP

A command used to delete existing database objects or columns.

SQL view

A window displaying the SQL statement for a query; in Access, it reflects the SQL equivalent of a query created in design view.