AP CSP Unit 4 Flash Cards

The Internet and Procedural Abstractions

Packet

A formatted unit of data carried by a network, containing both meta data and data.

Packet Switching

A method of transmitting data in which packets are routed over a network independently, allowing efficient use of bandwidth and reduced latency.

Domain Name System (DNS)

A system that translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses, allowing browsers to load internet resources.

Fault Tolerance

The ability of a system to continue functioning even in the event of a failure or error, ensuring reliability and uninterrupted service.

World Wide Web

A system of interlinked hypertext documents and multimedia content accessed via the internet using web browsers.

Scalability

The capability of a system to handle a growing amount of work or its potential to be enlarged to accommodate that growth.

Protocol

A set of rules or conventions for communication between network devices, ensuring that data is transmitted accurately and efficiently.

Routing

A method used to determine the best path for data to travel from one network device to another.

Routing Redundancy

The characteristic of networks where multiple communication pathways exist between any two devices.

Procedural Abstraction

The practice of simplifying complex processes by hiding the details of how tasks are performed and allowing programmers to use a code block without knowing its internal workings—just what it does and how to use it.

Parameter

A variable used in a procedure or function to pass information into it, allowing the procedure to be more flexible and reusable by accepting different inputs each time it is called.

Bandwidth

The maximum amount of data that can be transmitted over a network or internet connection in a given amount of time. It’s usually measured in bits per second (bps), such as Mbps or Gbps, and affects how fast data can move.

Internet Protocol (IP)

A set of rules that govern how data is sent and received over the internet. It assigns unique addresses to devices so they can communicate with each other across networks.

IP Address

A unique string of numbers that identifies each device connected to a network, like a mailing address for computers, allowing data to be sent to the correct destination.

Data Stream

A continuous flow of packets used for transmitting information on a network.

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)

A protocol used for transferring data over the web, defining how messages are formatted and transmitted, and how web servers and browsers should respond to commands.

TCP and UDP

Transmission protocols for sending data on a network.

Sequential Computing

A computing model where tasks are completed one after another in a specific order.

Parallel Computing

A computing model where multiple tasks are executed simultaneously across multiple processors or cores.

Distributed Computing

A computing model where tasks are divided across multiple computers that work together to solve a problem.