1.0 Terms and definitions from Course 7, Module 1

Argument

Information given to a function in its parentheses

Assignment

The process of storing a value in a variable

Attribute

A value associated with an object or class which is referenced by name using dot notation

Cells

The modular code input and output fields into which Jupyter Notebooks are partitioned

Class

An object's data type that bundles data and functionality together

Computer programming

The process of giving instructions to a computer to perform an action or set of actions

Data type

An attribute that describes a piece of data based on its values, its programming language, or the operations it can perform

Dot notation

How to access the methods and attributes that belong to an instance of a class

Dynamic typing

Variables that can point to objects of any data type

Explicit conversion

The process of converting a data type of an object to a required data type

Expression

A combination of numbers, symbols, or other variables that produce a result when evaluated

Float

A data type that represents numbers that contain decimals

Immutable data type

A data type in which the values can never be altered or updated

Implicit conversion

The process Python uses to automatically convert one data type to another without user involvement

Integer

A data type used to represent whole numbers without fractions

Jupyter Notebook

An open-source web application for creating and sharing documents containing live code, mathematical formulas, visualizations, and text

Keyword

A special word in a programming language that is reserved for a specific purpose and that can only be used for that purpose

Markdown

A markup language that lets the user write formatted text in a coding environment or plain-text editor

Method

A function that belongs to a class and typically performs an action or operation

Naming conventions

Consistent guidelines that describe the content, creation date, and version of a file in its name

Naming restrictions

Rules built into the syntax of a programming language

Object

An instance of a class; a fundamental building block of Python

Object-oriented programming

A programming system that is based around objects which can contain both data and code that manipulates that data

Programming languages

The words and symbols used to write instructions for computers to follow

String

A sequence of characters and punctuation that contains textual information

Syntax

The structure of code words, symbols, placement, and punctuation

Typecasting

Converting data from one type to another (see explicit conversion)

Variable

A named container which stores values in a reserved location in the computer's memory