AP Computer Science Principles Unit 1

Abstraction

Breaking down a large problem into smaller problems to be solved

Algorithm

Generalized, conceptual solution to a problem

Ambiguity

A statement's meaning is open to interpretation

Artificial Language

Language that contains a more simplified and tighter structure than natural language; can be complex; characterized by their textual nature

Asymmetric (public key) encryption

Use of pairs of keys, public to many users and private to the owner, for encryption and decryption

Availability

Reliability of access to information

Caesar cipher

Offsetting the alphabet by a certain number to scramble the letters of a communication

Confidentiality

Ability to limit access to information to a certain set of users

Cybersecurity

Measures taken to protect a computer or computer system against unauthorized access or attack

Decidability

Computer problem that cannot be solved by a computer program

Distributed Denial of Service Attack (DDoS)

Multiple computers infected with malware coordinated to send requests to a web server at the same time

Efficiency

Level of performance of an algorithm to solve a problem successfully in the least amount of time and effort

Encode/Decode

The act of encrypting and decrypting

Encryption/Decryption

Protect and secure information by rendering the information unreadable and then readable again using a strategy

Flowchart

Visual representation of the structure and organization of an algorithm

High Level Language:

Well suited for human communication; complex and contain a high degree of abstraction

Integrity

Certainty that information is correct

Iteration:

Completion and repetition of a sequence

Low level Language

Optimized for machines; characterized by their discrete logic and highly structured circuitry

Malware

Malicious software

Moore's Law

The number of transistors that can fit on a chip roughly doubles every 1-2 years

Phishing

Masquerade as an official representative of an organization to ask or demand for confidential information

Pseudocode

Use natural language to communicate a set of instructions

Scalability

How well an algorithm performs as the algorithm is performed a greater number of times

Secure Sockets Layer(SSL)

Process where secure information is sent with a lock; the lock is then used by the receiver of the information and sent back to the sender; the lock is then opened by the original sender

Selection

Conditional situation where an algorithm decides which sequence of instructions to execute

Sequence

Each step of an algorithm follows the previous step

Social Engineering

Psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information

Symmetric (single key) encryption

Use of the same key for encryption and decryption

Unreasonable

So complex that no computational solution to feasibly solve the problem exists; a heuristic may be used to approximate a solution

Vigenere cipher

Rotates the Caesar cipher offset used to encrypt each new letter in a text

Heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms