AP CSP Semester 1 Vocab

input

Data that is sent to a computer for processing by a program. Can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile interaction, audio, visuals, or text

output

Any data that is sent from a program to a device. Can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile interaction, audio, visuals, or text

user interface

The inputs and outputs that allow a user to interact with a piece of software. Can include a variety of forms such as buttons, menus, images, text, and graphics

event driven programming

Some program statements run when triggered by an event, like a mouse click or a key press

program

A collection of statements which run (or “execute”) one command at a time

program statement

A command or instruction, sometimes also referred to as a code statement

sequential programming

Program statements run in order, from top to bottom

comment

Form of program documentation written into the program to be read by people and which do not affect how a program runs

debugging

Finding and fixing problems in an algorithm or program

documentation

A written description of how a command or piece of code works or was developed, NOT the same as a comment!

development process

The steps or phases used to create a piece of software. Typical phases include investigating, designing, prototyping, and testing

pair programming

A collaborative programming style in which two programmers switch between the roles of writing code and tracking or planning high level progress

binary

A way of representing information using only 0s and 1s

bit

A contraction of "Binary Digit," the single unit of information in a computer, typically represented as a 0 or 1

byte

8 bits

decimal

Represents values using place value, with each digit having a specific position

overflow error

Error from attempting to represent a number that is too large

round-off error

Error from attempting to represent a number that is too precise

analog data

Data with values that change continuously, or smoothly, over time. Some examples include music, colors of a painting, or position of a sprinter during a race

digital data

Data that changes discreetly through a finite set of possible values

sampling

A process for creating a digital representation of analog data by measuring the analog data at regular intervals called samples

losless compression

A reversible process for reducing the number of bits needed to represent something without losing any information

lossy compression

An irreversible process for reducing the number of bits needed to represent something in which some information is lost or thrown away

information

The collection of facts and patterns extracted from data

metadata

Data about data

cleaning data

A process that makes the data uniform without changing its meaning (ex: replacing all equivalent abbreviations, spellings, and capitalizations with the same word)

data filtering

Choosing a smaller subset of a data set to use for analysis, for example by eliminating / keeping only certain rows in a table

correlation

A positive, negative, or neutral relationship between two pieces of data, typically referring to the amount that one varies in relation to the other

assignment operator

Assigns a value to a variable, == in javascript and

—> in psuedocode

expression

A combination of operators and values that evaluates to a single value

string

An ordered sequence of characters

variable

A named reference to a value that can be used repeatedly throughout a program

boolean value

A data type that can be evaluated to either true or false

comparison operator

<, >, <=, >=, ==, != indicate a Boolean expression

logical operator

NOT, AND, and OR, which evaluate to a Boolean value

conditional statement

Allows the program to execute different blocks of code depending on whether a condition is true or false. It typically consists of an if statement followed else if or else statements

data abstraction

Manages complexity in programs by giving a collection of data a name without referencing the specific details of the representation

element

An individual value in a list that is assigned a unique index

index

A common method for referencing the elements in a list or string using numbers (starts at 0 in javascript, 1 in psuedocode)

list

An ordered collection of elements

infinite loop

Occurs when the ending condition will never evaluate to true

iteration

A repetitive portion of an algorithm which repeats a specified number of times or until a given condition is met

traversal

The process of accessing each item in a list one at a time

function

A named group of programming instructions, also referred to as a “procedure”

function call

A command that executes the code within a function

argument

The value passed to the parameter

parameter

A variable in a function definition, used as a placeholder for values that will be passed through the function

return

Used to return a result or data from a function to the code that called it

procedural abstraction

Allows a solution to a large problem to be based on the solution of smaller subproblems. This is accomplished by creating procedures to solve each of the subproblems

API (Application Program Interface)

Specifications for how functions in a library behave and can be used

library

A group of functions (aka procedures) that may be used in creating new programs

modularity

The subdivision of a computer program into separate subprograms