CSP Vocab

What is a Binary representation?

A way of representing information using only two options.

What does Bit stand for?

A contraction of 'Binary Digit'; the single unit of information in a computer, typically represented as a 0 or 1.

How many bits are in a Byte?

8 bits.

What is an Overflow Error?

An error from attempting to represent a number that is too large.

What is a Round-off Error?

An error from attempting to represent a number that is too precise; the value is rounded.

What is abstraction?

It lets us hide the details and focus on problems at a higher level, creating simplified representations of something more complex.

What is Analog Data?

Data with values that change continuously over time, like music or the colors of a painting.

What is Digital Data?

Data that changes discretely through a finite set of possible values.

What is Sampling in data representation?

A process for creating a digital representation of analog data by measuring the analog data at regular intervals.

What is Lossless Compression?

A process for reducing the number of bits needed to represent something without losing any information. This process is reversible.

What is Lossy Compression?

A process for reducing the number of bits needed to represent something where some information is lost or thrown away; this process is not reversible.

What is Intellectual Property?

A work or invention that is the result of creativity, like writing or design, to which one has rights.

What is Creative Commons?

A collection of public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of copyrighted works.

What defines a Computing Device?

A machine that can run a program, including computers, tablets, servers, and smart sensors.

What is a Computing System?

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

What is a Computing Network?

A group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or receiving data.

What is Bandwidth?

The maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time, usually measured in bits per second.

What does IP Address refer to?

The unique number assigned to each device on the Internet.

What is the Internet Protocol (IP)?

A protocol for sending data across the Internet that assigns unique IP addresses to each connected device.

What does DNS stand for and what does it do?

Domain Name System; it translates requests for names into IP addresses, converting names into numeric IP addresses.

What is a Router?

A type of computer that forwards data across a network.

What is a Packet in networking?

A chunk of data sent over a network, which may arrive at the destination in order, out-of-order, or not at all.

What is Redundancy in a network?

The inclusion of extra components so a system can continue to work even if individual components fail.

What does HTTP stand for?

HyperText Transfer Protocol - the protocol used for transmitting web pages over the Internet.

What is the Internet?

A computer network consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols.

What is the World Wide Web?

A system of linked pages, programs, and files.

What is the Digital Divide?

Differing access to computing devices and the Internet based on socioeconomic, geographic, or demographic characteristics.

What is an Input in computer terms?

Data that are sent to a computer for processing by a program.

What is an Output in computing?

Using data that is sent from a program to a device and reacts accordingly

What is a User Interface?

The inputs and outputs that allow a user to interact with a piece of software.

Input

data that are sent to a computer for processing by a program. Can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile interaction, audio, visuals, or text.

Program Statement

a command or instruction. Sometimes also referred to as a code statement.

Program

 a collection of program statements. Programs run (or “execute”) one command at a time.

Sequential Programming

program statements run in order, from top to bottom.

Event Driven Programming

some program statements run when triggered by an event, like a mouse click or a key press

Documentation

a written description of how a command or piece of code works or was developed.

Comment

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

Debugging

Finding and fixing problems in an algorithm or program.

Development Process

the steps or phases used to create a piece of software. Typical phases include investigating, designing, prototyping, and testing

Event

associated with an action and supplies input data to a program. Can be generated when a key is pressed, a mouse is clicked, a program is started, or by any other defined action that affects the flow of execution.

Expression

a combination of operators and values that evaluates to a single value

Assignment Operator

allows a program to change the value represented by a variable

Variable

a named reference to a value that can be used repeatedly throughout a program.

String

an ordered sequence of characters.

Boolean Value

a data type that is either true or false.

Comparison Operators

<, >, <=, >=, ==, != indicate a Boolean expression

Logical Operator

NOT, AND, and OR, which evaluate to a Boolean value.

Conditional Statement

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

Function

a named group of programming instructions. Also referred to as a “procedure”.

Function Call

a command that executes the code within a function

Data Abstraction

manage complexity in programs by giving a collection of data a name without referencing the specific details of the representation.

List

an ordered collection of elements

Element

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

Index

a common method for referencing the elements in a list or string using numbers

Iteration

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

Infinite Loop

occurs when the ending condition will never evaluate to true.

Traversal

the process of accessing each item in a list one at a time.

Logic Error

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

Simulation

abstractions of more complex objects or phenomena for a specific purpose.

Substring

part of an existing string

Protocol

An agreed upon set of rules that specify the behavior

Fault Tolerant

Can continue to function even in the event of individual component failures. This is important because elements of complex systems like a computer network fail at unexpected times, often in groups.

Internet Scalable

it can grow and handle an increasing number of connected devices and users without significant degradation in performance.

UDP

is a connectionless transport layer protocol. It provides a simple, unreliable, and best service for sending data packets between applications on networked devices.

TCP

connection-oriented transport layer protocol that ensures reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of data packets between applications. It establishes a connection, segments data into packets, reassembles them, retransmits lost packets, and manages flow control, making it suitable for applications requiring high reliability

Certificate Authority

validates the digital identity of websites, email addresses, companies, or individual persons

Cookie

a packet of data sent by a web server/browser, which is returned by the browser each time it accesses the same server.

SSL

A security protocol that encrypts data sent between a user’s browser and a website so information like passwords and credit card numbers cannot be read by others.

TLS

The newer, more secure version of SSL. It also encrypts data sent over the Internet and is the standard security protocol used today.

Metadata

Data that describes other data. It provides information such as when a file was created, the file type, size, author, or location.