python glossary

What is AI?

AI (artificial intelligence) is the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.

What is application development?

Application development, or app development, is the process of planning, designing, creating, testing, and deploying a software application to perform various business operations.

What are arithmetic operations?

Arithmetic operations are the basic calculations we make in everyday life like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. They are also called algebraic or mathematical operations.

What is an array of numbers?

A set of numbers or objects that follow a pattern presented as an arrangement of rows and columns to explain multiplication.

What is the assignment operator in Python?

An operator that modifies the variable to its left using the value on its right; symbol is “=”.

What is an asterisk in Python?

Symbol “*” used to perform various operations in Python.

What is a backslash in Python?

An escape character used in Python strings to indicate that the following character should be treated in a special way.

What is a Boolean?

A system of algebraic notation using binary digits 0 (false) and 1 (true).

What is a colon used for in Python?

To represent an indented block, fetch data, or specify index ranges.

What does concatenate mean?

To link things together in a chain or series.

What is data engineering?

The work of turning raw data into useful information by blending, testing, and optimizing data from multiple sources.

What is data science?

An interdisciplinary field focused on extracting knowledge from large datasets, analyzing them, and presenting findings to inform decisions.

What is a data type?

The type of value a variable has, which determines what operations can be applied without error.

What is a double quote in Python?

Symbol “ ” used to represent strings.

What is an escape sequence?

A sequence of characters (often starting with an escape character) that tells the computer to perform a function or command.

What is an expression in Python?

A combination of operators and operands that produces a value.

What is a float in Python?

A floating-point number created using the float() function from a number or string.

What is a forward slash in Python?

Symbol “/” used to perform division and other operations.

What does foundational mean?

Denoting an underlying basis or principle; fundamental.

What are immutable objects in Python?

Objects like int, float, bool, string, Unicode, and tuple that cannot be changed after creation.

What is an integer?

A whole number (positive, negative, or zero).

What does manipulate mean in Python?

Modifying a string or creating a new string by making changes to an existing one.

What are mathematical conventions?

Agreed-upon facts, names, notations, or usage in mathematics.

What are mathematical expressions?

Statements with at least two terms (numbers or variables) connected by an operator.

What are mathematical operations?

Calculations using operands and math operators.

What is negative indexing in Python?

Accessing elements of a sequence from the end using negative numbers as indexes.

What are operands?

The quantities on which an operation is performed.

What are operators in Python?

Symbols used to perform operations on variables and values.

What are parentheses used for in Python?

To call an object.

What does replicate mean?

To make an exact copy of.

What is a sequence in Python?

A function whose domain is an interval of integers (e.g., lists, tuples, strings).

What is a single quote in Python?

Symbol ‘ ’ used to represent strings.

What is slicing in Python?

Returning a portion of a list, string, or sequence.

What are special characters?

Characters that are not numbers or letters, such as symbols, accent marks, and punctuation.

What is a stride value?

The number of bytes from one row of pixels in memory to the next row of pixels.

What are strings in Python?

Arrays of bytes representing Unicode characters.

What is a substring?

A sequence of characters that are part of a larger string.

What is type casting in Python?

The process of converting one data type to another (type coercion/conversion).

What are types in Python?

Classifications of data items, indicating what operations can be performed on them.

What are variables in Python?

Containers for storing data values.