Computer Science Programming Concepts and Data Structures

Vocabulary practice flashcards defining core programming concepts, function terminology, variable scopes, containers, and foundational searching and sorting algorithms.

Call

The action of triggering the operation of a designated function or named sequence of instructions during execution.

Void

A return type specifier indicating that a function performs its task without producing or returning a value to the invocation site.

Function

A self-contained, named block of statements designed to perform a specific task plus optionally return a value.

Code Reuse

The practice of leveraging existing software components or functions across multiple parts of a program to reduce duplication.

Stub

A dummy routine with minimal logic acting as a temporary placeholder during software construction so higher-level logic can be tested.

Driver

A testing routine specifically written to invoke plus evaluate a component or module by passing test inputs plus verifying outputs.

Function Header

The opening declaration line of a function specifying its return type, identifier name, plus formal input specifications.

Header

The part of a function containing the return type, name of the function, and any parameters required.

Signature

The unique combination of a function's identifier alongside the ordered sequence plus data types of its input parameters.

Divide and Conquer

An algorithmic paradigm that partitions a complex problem into smaller sub-problems, solves them independently, then combines their results.

Arguments

The actual values or expressions passed into a routine at the moment it is executed.

Parameters

Formal placeholder identifiers defined within a function's declaration that receive incoming values when invoked.

Reference

An alias for an existing entity that grants direct access to modify the original memory slot.

Local Variables

Named memory slots declared inside a specific block or function, accessible only within that enclosed scope.

Static Variables

Named memory slots inside a function whose stored values persist throughout the entire execution lifetime of the program.

Global Variables

Named memory slots declared outside of all functions, accessible plus mutable from any part of the program.

Rows and Columns

The horizontal alignments plus vertical groupings structuring elements within a two-dimensional grid or matrix.

Range-based For-Loop

A repetition structure that automatically traverses every element of a container sequentially without requiring manual index manipulation.

Initialization List

A comma-separated series of values enclosed in braces used to assign starting values to a container or object upon creation.

Off-by-One Error

A logic defect in repetitive code where an operation executes a single iteration too many or too few times, often due to incorrect boundary comparison operators.

Standard Template Library

A built-in C++ collection of generic data structures, algorithms, plus iterators designed to simplify common programming tasks.

Array

A contiguous fixed-size memory sequence storing multiple elements of the same data type accessible by numerical indices.

Vector

A dynamic sequence container capable of automatically adjusting its capacity when elements are added or removed.

Linear Search

A retrieval algorithm that sequentially inspects each element in a collection from beginning to end until a target item is located.

Binary Search

A fast lookup technique for ordered collections that repeatedly bisects the dataset by comparing the target with the middle element.

Bubble Sort

A basic ordering technique that repeatedly steps through a collection, comparing adjacent items plus swapping them if out of sequence.

Selection Sort

A basic ordering technique that repeatedly finds the smallest (or largest) element from an unarranged portion, placing it into its final position.