Unit 1: Creative Development and Unit 2: Binary

Vocabulary

string

a linear sequence of characters, words, or other data

dichotomous

in which something can only be one thing or another (yes or no)

binary code

code represented with the two symbols of 1 and 0

bits

the foundation for digital computing (1s and 0s) - short for **bi**nary digi**ts**

digital

how information is stored, accessed, transformed and used by computers

state space

the space of potential possibilities

exponential growth

the rate of growth that rapidly increases in proportion to the growing total number or size. 

fixed-point numbers

numbers where the decimal point is always in the same place.

floating-point numbers

numbers where the decimal point can float because there is no fixed number of digits before and after the decimal point. AKA: real numbers

real numbers

numbers approximated by floating-point representations that do not necessarily have infinite precision.

scientific notation

the mathematical representation of a decimal number in floating-point form. Examples: 4 x 10³  for 4,000, 4.002 x 10³x 10 for 4,002 or 2.345E6 for 2,345,000.

decimal

describes the base-10 number system. The most commonly used number system. 

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)

a table that outlines a common set of conventions established for converting between binary values and alphanumeric (represents 128 different characters)

alphanumeric

the characters that consists of uppercase and lowercase letters in addition to numerals 0-9.

digital noise

irrelevant or meaningless data that has found its way into otherwise meaningful code.

abstraction

the process of removing or suppressing details to create a manageable level of complexity.

bit string

a sequence of bits that can be used to represent sets or to manipulate binary data.

mapping

associating each element of a given set with one or more elements of a second set.

data

characters, symbols or quantities on which operations are performed, stored and/or transmitted by a computer.

Unicode

a binary encoding system that can represent much more of the world's text than ASCII can (represents 65,536 different characters)

discrete

separate or divided (digital)

continuous

unbroken, without interruption (analog)

approximation

digital copies are only approximations of the natural object. 

analog

non-digital signals or information represented by a continuously variable physical quantity such as spatial position or voltage. 

innovating

the process of imagining something that does not yet exist, but that has potential value, and making it real through the application of design, implementation, and production

iteration

repeatedly applying a process with the goal of coming closer and closer to a solution

iterative development process

the process by which computer programs are designed, developed and tested in repeated cycles

debug

to identify and remove errors from a computer program

algorithm

a finite set of instructions that accomplish a specific task.

sequencing

executes statements one at a time - in order, one after another.

selection

 uses "if...then" to tell a computer how to select a step or to tell the sequence that it should be executed.

imperative statement

a command statement with a verb phrase that indicates an operation to perform (example: move forward)

descriptive qualifier

a specific adverb or adjective that further qualifies or limits the meaning of a word (example: left shoe)

natural language

a complex, but structured language, both written and spoken, that has evolved naturally in humans through use, repetition, and adaptation.

artificial language

a limited size language, usually developed by a small group for specific purposes. Usually much simpler and structured.

ambiguity

uncertainty or being open to more than one interpretation.

visual programming language

a programming language that lets users drag and drop icons into organized blocks of code to create programs rather than typing text.

high-level language

a programming language that is easier for humans to read, write, and parse. Guaranteed to be unambiguous.

low-level language

a programming language that has little or no abstraction and communicates closely to the hardware using machine language. Less natural for humans.

compilation

the process of source code being translated into machine code.

source code

programs written in high-level languages. 

machine code

machine-level instructions that are uniquely read by computer processors using patterns of 1s and 0s. 

byte

a group of 8 bits

nibble

a group of 4 bits

logic error

a mistake in the algorithm or program that causes it to behave incorrectly or unexpectedly

syntax error

a mistake in the program where the rules of the programming language are not followed.

run-time error

a mistake in the program that occurs during the execution of a program.

overflow error

the data type used to store data was not large enough to hold the data.

roundoff error

the difference between an approximation of a number used in computation and its exact (correct) value.

hard disk drive

is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using __magnetic storage__

solid state drive

device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of computer storage.

optical disk drive

uses laser light or electromagnetic waves within or near the visible light spectrum as part of the process of reading or writing data to or from optical discs.

database

information that is set up for easy access, management and updating.

sampling

a method of converting an analogue audio signal into a digital signal or takes a segment of sound and plays it at a high rate of speed, resulting in continuous sound.

sampling rate

measures how many times per second we sample the amplitude of the sound wave.

screen resolution

is the number of pixels on a device found in each dimension (width × height) that can be displayed on the screen.

pixel density

is usually measured in PPI (Pixels Per Inch), which refers to the number of pixels present per inch on the display.

metadate

data that describes other data. For example, a digital image may include data that describe the size of the image, number of colors, or resolution.

RGB

encoding scheme describes a specific color by capturing the individual contribution to a pixel's color of each of the three light colors: red, green, and blue

data compression

the process of encoding, restructuring or otherwise modifying data in order to reduce its size.

data compression algorithms

reduce the number of bytes required to represent data and the amount of memory required to store images

lossy compression

the data in a file is removed and not restored to its original form after decompression.

lossless compression

a compression technique that does not lose any data in the compression process