AP CSA - Object-Oriented Programming

For Mrs. Wright's Block 5 AP CSA Class :)

object-oriented programming

an approach to creating and using models of physical or imagined objects

class

a programmer-defined list of attributes and instructions (“blueprint”) from which objects are used

object

an instance of a class

attribute

a characteristic of an object; also known as a field or property

behavior

an action that an object can perform; also known as a method

instantiate

to call the constructor to create an object

constructor

a block of code that has the same name as the class and tells the computer how to create a new object

reference variable

a variable that points to an object

state

the attributes represented by the object’s instance variables

uml diagram

a standard way to visualize the design of a system or software

parameter

a variable in the method that defines the type of value to receive when the method is called

dot operator

a dot that is used to call a method in a class

argument

a value passed to a method when the method is called

string literal

a sequence of characters enclosed in quotation marks (“ ")

superclass

a class that can be extended to create subclasses

subclass

a class that extends a superclass and inherits its attributes and behaviors

inheritance

a programming principle where a subclass inherits the attributes and behaviors of a superclass

tester class

the class that contains the main method and from where the program starts running

return type

specifies the value returned before a method completes its execution and exits

method signature

consists of a name and parameter list

return

to exit a method and going back to the point in the program that called it with the requested value or information

void

specifies that a method should not have a return value

programming style

a set of guidelines and best practices for formatting program code

documentation

written descriptions of the purpose and functionality of code

commit

an operation which saves the latest changes of the code and represents a snapshot of a project

code review

the process of examining code and providing feedback to improve the quality and functionality of the program

sequencing

putting steps in order

selection

deciding which steps to do next

iteration statement

a control structure that repeatedly executes a block of code

selection statement

a statement that only executes when a condition is true

variable

a container that stores a value in memory; can hold only one value at a time

data type

the format of the data that can be assigned to a variable

declaration

giving a name and a data type to a variable

concatenation

joining two strings together (Hint: it’s also Mrs. Guy’s favorite coding-related word!)

decomposition

breaking a problem down into smaller parts

redundant code

code that is unnecessary

efficient

getting the best outcome with the least amount of waste

pseudocode

a plain language description of the steps in an algorithm

two-way selection statement

specifies a block of code to execute when the condition is true and a block of code to execute when the condition is false

logical operator

an operator that returns a Boolean value