APCSP Unit 4

Accumulator

Accumulator

A special register in the CPU where data is put in order to perform arithmetic and logic operations

Ad hoc

[x] For programming, writing code in an unplanned way and for a particular purpose only

ALU

Arithmetic Logic Unit; The part of the CPU that performs all logic and arithmetic operations

Assembly language

A low-level language that uses symbolic names, rather than binary sequences of 0s and 1s, to represent the machine language instructions.

Cloud computing

[x] The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer

Control structures

[x] Constitute the basic blocks for decision-making processes in computing

Cookie

Small files or bits of data that are stored on your computer.

CPU

Central Processing Unit; interprets and runs the computer program

Database

[x] A structured set of data held in a computer, especially one that is accessible in various ways

Data aggregation

[x] Compiling information from a range of databases and organizing it into a simpler, easy-to-use medium, usually utilizing sum, average, mean, or median references. The pool of data is used for high-level analysis

Data mining

[x] The practice of analyzing large databases in order to generate new information

Data repository

[x] A storage space for researchers to deposit data sets associated with their research

Data sources

[x] The location where data that is being used originates from

Deterministic

A process is deterministic if it is completely predictable. A PRNG is deterministic. An example would be a PRNG.

Digital detritus

[x] Unsightly debris that accrues as a result of the experience of digital living

Dossier

[x] A file containing detailed records on a particular person or subject

EDR

[x] Endpoint Detection and Response; a system to gather and analyze security threat-related information from computer workstations and other endpoints with the goal of finding security breaches as they happen and facilitating a quick response to discovered or potential threats

Encode

[x] The process of putting a sequence of characters into a specialized format for efficient transmission or storage

Encryption

[x] The conversion of data from a readable format into an encoded format

Fair coin

A fair coin is one that when flipped would come up heads 50% of the time over a large number of coin flips.

FERPA

[x] The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children's education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records

Fetch/execute cycle

The fetch-execute cycle is the basic process performed by the CPU. On each cycle the CPU fetches the next instruction from RAM, interprets it and executes it.

For-each

[x] A control flow statement for traversing items in a collection

Geotagging

[x] Where a photograph’s metadata is attached to a physical location

HIPAA

[x] Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; requires the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services to develop regulations protecting the privacy and security of certain health information

Hypothesis

A hypothesis is an explanation that can be tested by experimentation.

If-else

[x] A conditional statement that runs a different set of statements depending on whether an expression is true or false

Infinite loop

[x] A piece of code that lacks a functional exit so that it repeats indefinitely

Instruction counter

The instruction counter is a special register in the CPU that keeps track of the next instruction to be fetched.

Instruction register

The instruction register is a special memory location in the CPU that stores the current instruction that is being executed.

IP address

[x] Internet Protocol address; a series of number that identifies any device on a network

ISP

[x] Internet Service Provider; a company that provides access to the internet

Iteration

[x] A function that repeats a block of code in a specified order, often until a specific result occurs

Libraries

[x] A collection of precompiled, reusable files, functions, scripts, routines, and other resources that can be referenced by computer programmers, often for software development

Machine language

A machine language is a programming language that is directly readable by the computer’s CPU. It consists entirely of 0s and 1s.

Metadata

[x] Data about a file

Model

A model is an abstraction that provides a simplified representation of some complex object or phenomenon.

Model of randomness

[x] Any collection of data or information with no determined order, or is chosen in a way that is unknown beforehand

Mod operator

Gives the remainder when one number is divided by another.

Modular arithmetic

Modular arithmetic is a system of arithmetic for whole numbers where the numbers 'wrap around' upon reaching a certain value known as the modulus. An example would be clock arithmetic. On a 12-hour clock, the time wraps around to 1 after 12 o'clock.

Modulo

[x] The remainder when dividing (eg. 5 mod 3 or 5%3 is 2)

Overflow error

An overflow error is an error that occurs when the computer attempts to handle a number that is outside of the defined range of values can be represented

PII

Personally Identifiable Information; Information about an individual that identifies, links, relates, is unique to, or describes them. Examples of PII include your social security number, age, race, phone number(s), and biometric data.

PRISM

[x] Planning Tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization, and Management; an National Security Agency tool to monitor and collect data from suspected terrorists and foreign Internet traffic

PRNG

Pseudo Random Number Generator; an algorithm that generates a sequence of numbers that appears to be random but is completely determined by the algorithm. As such, a PRNG is a model or representation of randomness.

Pseudo random numbers

[x] A set of values or elements that is statistically random, but it is derived from a known starting point and is typically repeated over and over

Query

[x] A request for information

RAM

[x] Random Access Memory

Random

Randomness is the lack of pattern or regularity. A random sequence of events has no order or pattern.

Random event

A random event is an event that cannot be predicted with certainty. Examples would include flipping a fair coin, rolling a die, picking a card from a well shuffled deck.

Random number generator

A random number generator (PRNG) is an algorithm that generates a sequence of numbers that seem to occur in random order.

RFID

[x] Radio Frequency Identification; a technology that uses radio waves to passively identify a tagged object

Selection

[x] Used for decisions, branching; choosing between 2 or more alternative paths for a given condition

Server

[x] A computer or system that provides resources, data, services, or programs to other computers, known as clients, over a network

Sequence

[x] A basic algorithm; a set of logical steps carried out in order

Simulation

[x] The use of a computer to represent the dynamic responses of one system by the behavior of another system modeled after it