unit 1: creative development

13% of ap exam

programming

a collaborative and creative process that brings ideas to life through the development of software

computing innovation

uses a computer program to take in, transform, and output data

benefits of collaboration

exchange ideas and brainstorm solutions to problems

multiple perspectives eliminates bias

can address misunderstanding

increased student responsibility

pair programming

when two programmers develop software on the same algorithm on the same computer

user interface

the inputs and outputs that allow a user to interact with a piece of software

input

data sent to a computer for processing

output

data sent from a program to a device

program

a collection of instructions that a computing device executes

event driven program

a type of program that responds to events triggered by user actions, system events, or other sources

iterative development process

programmers develop working prototypes of their programs before going back through the stages of their development

incremental development process

programmers break their program into smaller pieces and make sure each piece works before adding it to the whole

program documentation

a description of how something in your program works (ex. comments)

benefits of program documentation

crucial for understanding how every part of a program works

fosters collaboration

library

a collection of functions that can be used in different programs

includes:

• how each function works

• a complete list of parameters

• what (if anything) is returned

aka application program interface

syntax error

occurs when the spelling/punctuation rules of the programming language aren’t followed

logic errors

a mistake in the program’s base logic that causes unexpected behavior

run-time errors

an error that occurs when the program is running

the program will be able to start, but something will go wrong in the expression of the code

overflow errors

an error that occurs when a computer tries to handle a number that’s outside of its defined range of values

debugging

the process of finding and fixing errors