AP CSP CRAM FLASHCARDS

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Iterate

To repeat in order to achieve, or get closer to, a desired goal.

while loop

a programming construct used to repeat a set of commands (loop) as long as (while) a boolean condition is true.

Models and Simulations

a program which replicates or mimics key features of a real world event in order to investigate its behavior without the cost, time, or danger of running an experiment in real life.

Array

A data structure in JavaScript used to represent a list.

List

A generic term for a programming data structure that holds multiple items.

Key Event

in JavaScript an event triggered by pressing or releasing a key on the keyboard. For example: "keyup" and "keydown" are event types you can specify. Use event.key - from the "event" parameter of the onEvent callback function - to figure out which key was pressed.

for loop

A typical looping construct designed to make it easy to repeat a section of code using a counter variable. The for loop combines the creation of a variable, a boolean looping condition, and an update to the variable in one statement.

Return Value

A value sent back by a function to the place in the code where the function was called form - typically asking for value (e.g. getText(id)) or the result of a calculation or computation of some kind. Most programming languages have many built-in functions that return values, but you can also write your own.

Canvas

a user interface element to use in HTML/JavaScript which acts as a digital canvas, allowing the programmatic drawing and manipulation of pixels, basic shapes, figures and images.

Callback function

a function specified as part of an event listener; it is written by the programmer but called by the system as the result of an event trigger

Event

An action that causes something to happen

Event-driven program

a program designed to run blocks of code or functions in response to specified events (e.g. a mouse click)

Event handling

an overarching term for the coding tasks involved in making a program respond to events by triggering functions

Event listener

a command that can be set up to trigger a function when a particular type of event occurs on a particular UI element

UI Elements

on-screen objects, like buttons, images, text boxes, pull down menus, screens and so on

User Interface

The visual elements of an program through which a user controls or communications the application. Often abbreviated UI

Debugging

Finding and fixing problems in your algorithm or program.

Data Type

All values in a programming language have a "type" - such as a Number, Boolean, or String - that dictates how the computer will interpret it. For example 7+5 is interpreted differently from "7"+"5"

Expression

Any valid unit of code that resolves to a value

Variable

A placeholder for a piece of information that can change

==

The equality operator (sometimes read: "equal equal") is used to compare two values, and returns a Boolean (true/false). Avoid confusion with the assignment operator "=",

Global Variable

A variable whose scope is "global" to the program, it can be used and updated by any part of the code. Its global scope is typically derived from the variable being declared (created) outside of any function, object, or method

If-Statement

The common programming structure that implements "conditional statements"

Local Variable

A variable with local scope is one that can only be seen, used and updated by code within the same scope. Typically this means the variable was declared (created) inside a function -- includes function parameter variables

Variable Scope

dictates what portions of the code can "see" or use a variable, typically derived from where the variable was first created. (See Global v. Local)

Concatentate

to link together or join. Typically used when joining together text Strings in programming (e.g. "Hello, "+name)

String

Any sequence of characters between quotation marks (ex: "hello", "42", "this is a string!")

Conditionals

Statements that only run under certain conditions

Selection

A generic term for a type of programming statement (usually an if-statement) that uses a Boolean condition to determine, or select, whether or not to run a certain block of statements

Boolean

A single value of either TRUE or FALSE

Boolean Expression

in programming, an expression that evaluates to True or False.

Syntax errors

Things you misspelled or wrote in such a way the computer doesn't understand what you're trying to say. The computer will usually give an error message as a clue to what it can't understand.

Logic errors

The program runs but doesn't do what you think it should. These can be tricky to fix because there might not be an error message. You can fix these errors by retracing your steps and trying to understand why the computer is interpreting what you wrote the way it is.

Moore's Law

a predication made by Gordon Moore in 1965 that computing power will double every 1.5-2 years, it has remained more or less true ever since.

One-pager

A business/corporate term for a one-page document that summarizes a large issue, topic or plan.

Caesar Cipher

a technique for encryption that shifts the alphabet by some number of characters

Cipher

the generic term for a technique (or algorithm) that performs encryption

Cracking encryption

When you attempt to decode a secret message without knowing all the specifics of the cipher, you are trying to "crack" the encryption.

Decryption

a process that reverses encryption, taking a secret message and reproducing the original plain text

Encryption

a process of encoding messages to keep them secret, so only "authorized" parties can read it.

Random Substitution Cipher

an encryption technique that maps each letter of the alphabet to a randomly chosen other letters of the alphabet.

Computationally Hard

a "hard' problem for a computer is one in which it cannot arrive at a solution in a reasonable amount of time.

asymmetric encryption

used in public key encryption, it is scheme in which the key to encrypt data is different from the key to decrypt.

MOD

a mathematical operation that returns the remainder after integer division. Example: 7 MOD 4 = 3

Private Key

In an asymmetric encryption scheme the decryption key is kept private and never shared, so only the intended recipient has the ability to decrypt a message that has been encrypted with a public key.

Public Key Encryption

Used prevalently on the web, it allows for secure messages to be sent between parties without having to agree on, or share, a secret key. It uses an asymmetric encryption scheme in which the encryption key is made public, but the decryption key is kept private.

Algorithm

A precise sequence of instructions for processes that can be executed by a computer

Abstraction

Pulling out specific differences to make one solution work for multiple problems.

Function

A piece of code that you can easily call over and over again.

API

a collection of commands made available to a programmer

Documentation

a description of the behavior of a command, function, library, API, etc.

Library

a collection of commands / functions, typically with a shared purpose

Parameter

An extra piece of information that you pass to the function to customize it for a specific need.

For Loop

A particular kind of looping construct provided in many languages. Typically, a for loop defines a counting variable that is checked and incremented on each iteration in order to loop a specific number of times.

Loop

The action of doing something over and over again.

Aggregation

a computation in which rows from a data set are grouped together and used to compute a single value of more significant meaning or measurement. Common aggregations include: Average, Count, Sum, Max, Median, etc.

Pivot Table

in most spreadsheet software it is the name of the tool used to create summary tables.

Summary Table

a table that shows the results of aggregations performed on data from a larger data set, hence a "summary" of larger data. Spreadsheet software typically calls them "pivot tables"

Pie Chart

Best used for making part-to-whole comparisons with discrete or continuous data. They are most impactful with a small data set.

Line Chart

Used to show time-series relationships with continuous data. They help show trend, acceleration, deceleration, and volatility.

Area Chart

Depicts a time-series relationship, but is different than line charts in that they can represent volume.

Scatter Plot

Shows relationships between items based on two sets of variables. They are best used to show correlation in a large amount of data.

README

A document providing background information about a dataset

CSV

Abbreviation of "comma-separated values," this is a widely-used format for storing data

Raw data

The original data as it was collected

Data

The raw, unorganized facts that need to be processed

Information

Data that is processed, organized, structured, or presented in a given context to make it useful.

Hypothesis

A proposed explanation for some phenomenon used as the basis for further investigation

Trending

An online topic that is quickly growing in popularity

Digital Divide

The variation in access or use of technology by various demographic characteristics (e.g., race, income, education, age, disability, and/or geography)

Visualization

Data provided in a graphical format to facilitate understanding or to communicate a message (i.e., translate data into useful information)

Computational tool

A computer-based tool or program used to create a computational artifact (e.g., a visualization, a graphic, a video, a program, or an audio recording)

Cleaning data

Making data ready for computational analysis which can include correcting or deleting invalid values and categorizing free-text data

Metadata

Data that describes other data

Scalability

The capability of a system to expand to handle a growing amount of work.

Heuristic

a problem solving approach (algorithm) to find a satisfactory solution where finding an optimal or exact solution is impractical or impossible

Lossless Compression

a data compression algorithm that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data

Image

A type of data used for graphics or pictures

metadata

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

pixel

short for "picture element" it is the fundamental unit of a digital image, typically a tiny square or dot which contains a single point of color of a larger image

RGB

the RGB color model uses varying intensities of (R)ed, (G)reen, and (B)lue light are added together in to reproduce a broad array of colors

Lossy Compression

(or irreversible compression) a data compression method that uses inexact approximations, discarding some data to represent the content. Most commonly seen in image formats like .jpg

Abstraction

Pulling out specific differences to make one solution work for multiple problems.

kilobyte (KB)

1,000 (one thousand) or 10^3 bytes

Megabyte (MB)

1,000,000 (one million) or 10^6 bytes

gigabyte (BG)

1,000,000,000 (one billion) or 10^9 bytes

terabyte (TB)

1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) or 10^12 bytes

petabyte (PB)

1,000,000,000,000,000 (one quadrillion) or 10^15 bytes

BMP file

Uncompressed Image

WAV file

Uncompressed Sound

JPEG file

Compressed Image - Lossy

GIF file

Compressed Image - Lossless (256 color limit)

MP3 file

Compressed Sound - Lossy

ZIP file

Compressed Files - Lossless

PNG file

Compressed Image - Lossless

IETF

Internet Engineering Task Force - develops and promotes voluntary Internet standards and protocols, in particular the standards that comprise the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP).

Internet

A group of computers and servers that are connected to each other.

Net Neutrality

The principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally by Internet Service Providers.

IP Address

A number assigned to any item that is connected to the Internet.

Packets

Small chunks of information that have been carefully formed from larger chunks of information.