AP CSP Abstraction - Big Idea 2

Abstraction

to reduce detail or information for a purpose in a program; to generalize concepts so that they can be used in a variety of instances

Digital data

letters, numbers, characters, or other information that has been transmitted or stored electronically

Bit

a single binary digit which can contain either a 1 or a 0

Byte

a group of 8 bits; can express the same amount of information as two hexadecimal digits

Nibble

a group of 4 bits; can express the same amount of information as one hexadecimal digit

Binary number system (base-2)

a number system in which each number represents a power of 2; each digit is a 1 or a 0

Hexadecimal number system (base-16)

a number system in which each number represents a power of 16; each digit can be 0-9 or A-F

Decimal number system (base-10)

a number system in which each number represents a power of 10; each digit can be 0-9

Binary sequence

a series of 1's and 0's

Programming language

a vocabulary and set of grammatical rules for instructing a computer or computing device to perform specific tasks; usually refers to high-level languages, such as BASIC, C, COBOL, Java, FORTRAN, Pascal, Python, etc.

Low-level language

A programming language such as machine language or assembly language that relies on zero or very few abstractions; machine language can communicate directly with the CPU

High-level language

A programming language which is similar to human languages and which relies heavily on abstractions; the language must be compiled (or translated) into machine code in order to be executable on a computer

Floating point numbers

Non-integers; real numbers; can cause calculation problems when converting fractions to base-2, base-10, or base-16 numbers

Software

the instructions and programs that tell computer hardware how to function

Levels of abstraction

The amount of complexity by which a system is viewed or programmed. The higher the level, the less detail. The lower the level, the more detail.

Binary data

Information stored as 0's and 1's

Boolean function

a function that combines conditions with AND, OR, NOT, and/or XOR and returns either "true" or "false"

Logic gate

one of the building blocks of a computer chip, logic gates typically take two inputs and return either true or false

Chip (as an abstraction)

Low-level hardware components that perform specific functions; usually grouped onto a motherboard; types include processor, BIOS, memory, graphics, audio, networking, power, fan controllers, etc.

Hardware

the physical components of a computer

Lower-level abstractions

abstractions with lots of detail; very specific

Higher-level abstractions

abstractions with few details; broad

Model

a virtual representation of real object(s) or environment(s) in a more abstract way (with less detail)

Simulation

a virtual representation of how an object or environment will behave or react given a set of conditions or inputs; more abstract (with less detail) than reality; used to understand or solve a problem

Hypothesis

an educated theory or guess that is subject to testing and experimentation with the goal to prove or disprove it