AP Computer Science Principles terms

Binary Number

A base-two number system which features only ones and zeroes.

Decimal Number

A base-ten number system with a series of ten possible digits

Overflow Error

An Error made by trying to make a number that is too large for a sample

Sampling

A way to turn analog into digital data by breaking it up at regular intervals.

Digital Data

Data that moves and/or changes discreetly, in a broken-up manner

Analog Data

Data that will change and/or move continuously (smoothly), with time.

Lossy Compression

The process by which digital data is reduced by losing or throwing away certain information

Lossless compression

The process by which digital data is compressed, though no information is lost

Intellectual property

 creative work which one creates and can gain the rights to legally own.

Creative Commons

A type of copyright which allows for certain uses of one’s own intellectual property.

Computing System

Multiple computers or devices working together for a common goal

Computer Network

Multiple interconnected computers or devices that have the capacity to send or receive data

Computing Device

A machine with the ability to run programs

Bandwith

The absolute max amount of data that a device can send in a fixed amount of time, bits per second

Path

The trail between the network of devices that a piece of data goes through to get from sender to receiver

Router

A computer that tells information in the where the data will travel

Fault Tolerant

A system can work past the failure of one individual component to still perform its intended function

Redundancy

Part of a fault tolerant system, includes extra information so that, if a message were to fail to send, it can still be received even if the send fails. There is always extra data so that what is being sent is never lost, in the case of a failure.

Protocol

The method by which packets of data are sent and interpreted

Internet protocol

The rules that mandate how packets of data are moved across the datastream

IP Adress

A device’s unique number that tells other devices where to send information

Packet

A large chunk of information/data sent along the datastream. (Larger things are broken up and sent individually)

Packet Metadata

Additional data added to packets to help reassemble the original message

Datastream

The flow of information passing through the internet in the form of packets

User Data Protocol

Prioritizing sending packets quickly without checking for sending errors

Transmission Control Protocol

Prioritizing error checking to ensure the message arrived in its intended manner, takes longer