apcsp

Bit

short for binary digit; the smallest unit of data in a computer, having a single binary value, either 0 or 1.

Byte

a unit of data that is eight binary digits long, often used to represent a character such as a letter, number, or space.

Binary

a numbering scheme in which there are only two possible values for each digit: 0 and 1.

Algorithm

a complete, well-defined sequence of steps for completing a task or solving a problem.

Program

a sequence of instructions or steps, written in a language that can be understood by a computer, used to complete a task or solve a problem.

Blocks

puzzle-piece shapes that are used to create code in Snap!.

Scripts

different types of blocks linked together.

Sprites

an object in Snap! which performs functions controlled by scripts.

Stage

the background of a project, performing functions through scripting.

Logic error

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

Tracing

hand simulating the execution of program code in order to manually verify that it works correctly.

Debugging

the process of identifying and removing errors from computer hardware or software.

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange, a character encoding standard for electronic communication.

Overflow Error

an error that occurs when calculated data cannot fit within the designated field.

Roundoff Error

error produced when a computer performs real number calculations because many real numbers cannot be represented exactly.

Underflow Error

occurs when a mathematical operation results in a number smaller than what the device is capable of storing.

Pixel

a minute area of illumination on a display screen, one of many from which an image is composed.

RGB

(red, green, and blue) refers to a system for representing colors on a computer display, which can be combined in various proportions.

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.

Lossy Compression

a data encoding and compression technique that deliberately discards some data in the compression process.

Creative Commons

a public copyright license that enables the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work.

Open Source

programs that are made freely available and may be redistributed and modified.

Open Access

online research output free of any and all restrictions on access and use, such as copyright or license restrictions.

Abstraction

a programmer hides all but the relevant data about an object to reduce complexity and increase efficiency.

Iteration

a process wherein a set of instructions or structures are repeated in a sequence a specified number of times or until a condition is met.

Parameters

a formal argument, a special kind of variable, used in a subroutine to refer to one of the pieces of data provided as input.

TCP/IP

Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, a suite of communication protocols used to interconnect network devices on the internet.

Protocol

a set of rules.

IP Address

Internet Protocol Address, a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.

Internet Protocol

example www.google.com

HTTP

hypertext transfer protocol, the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web and this protocol defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands

Computing Device

a machine that can run a program, including computers, tablets, servers, routers, and smart sensors

Computing System

a group of computing devices and programs working together for a common purpose

Computing Network

a group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or receiving data.

Path

the series of connections between computing devices on a network starting with a sender and ending with a receiver.

Bandwidth

the maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time, usually measured in bits per second.

URL

uniform resource locator

Packet

a small chunk of any kind of data: text, numbers, lists, etc

Redundant

There are multiple pathways among the physical connections of the Internet to create redundancy. Even if one pathway is unavailable, there is still another way to transmit a message from sender to receiver.

Hierarchical

There are two hierarchical Internet addressing systems, domain names and IP addresses. These address hierarchies work much like the postal system, which locates people first by state, then city, then street, then house number, then apartment, and then finally person.

Protocol

An agreed-upon set of rules that specify the behavior of some system

IP Address

The unique number assigned to each device on the Internet.

Internet Protocol (IP)

a protocol for sending data across the Internet that assigns unique numbers (IP addresses) to each connected device

Fault-tolerance

the property that enables a system to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of (or one or more faults within) some of its components

Router

a device that forwards data packets along networks. It is connected to at least two networks, commonly two LANs or WANs or a LAN and its ISP's network.

Data stream

a sequence of digitally encoded coherent signals used in a transmission

Packet Metadata

the information about the packet is stored in the header

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

a standard that defines how to establish and maintain a network conversation through which application programs can exchange data

User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

is used to send short messages called datagrams but overall, it is an unreliable, connectionless protocol

Scalability

the capacity for the system to change in size and scale to meet new demands

The Domain Name System (DNS)

the system responsible for translating domain names like example.com into IP addresses

World Wide Web

a system of linked pages, programs, and files

Digital Divide

differing access to computing devices and the Internet, based on socioeconomic, geographic, or demographic characteristics.

Expression

a combination of operators and values that evaluates to a single value.

Variable

an abstraction inside the program that can hold a value. Each variable has associated data storage that represents one value at a time.

Assignment operator

allows a program to change the value represented by a variable.

Increment

add one to a number

Assignment

storing or updating a value in a named variable

Polygon

a geometric shape where all sides are of an equal length and all angles have equivalent values

Statement

a line of executable code

Sequential

execution of an algorithm or program, step by step, from top to bottom, where one line of code finishes before the one below it begins.

Operators

are used to script math equations and string handling

Iteration

the fundamental program structure that repeats an algorithm for a purpose - either a set number of times or until a condition is met. One of the 3 fundamental algorithm or programming structures.

Pseudocode

a high level textual algorithm written in informative text that mimics a programming language but cannot be executed by a computer.

Debug

to identify and remove errors from a computer program or code

High-Level Programming Language

a programming language that is easier to use, may incorporate natural language and hide or automate some processes. High-level of abstraction.

Natural Language

language that is spoken and understood by humans but cannot be processed by the computer. (i.e. English)

Machine Language

is a collection of binary digits or bits that the computer reads and interprets. Machine language is the only language a computer is capable of understanding, directly.

Compiler

a software program that translates a programming language to machine language so a computer can understand

Procedure

reusable collection of statements, also referred to as methods, functions, or methods. They can be created by the programmer or defined within a library.

Parameters

or formal arguments, are values that are passed into a procedure as input. They allow for the same procedure to be called but to produce different outcomes for different inputs.

Nested Iteration

a loop inside of another loop

Logic Error

a mistake in the algorithm, not the language syntax, that causes it to behave incorrectly

Modular Math

The operation of integer division produces two results. The quotient and the remainder. For these cases there is an operator called the modulo operator (abbreviated as mod). Students will be most familiar with this as 'clock arithmetic' where in military time of 14:00 evaluates to 2:00 PM on the clock.

Random Numbers

Programming languages and libraries provide procedures to generate pseudo-random numbers. RANDOM (1,10) will produce any integer between 1 and 10 (inclusive)..which means that 1 and 10 are possible answers.

Order of Operations

operator precedence in an expression. For mathematical operators the precedence is the same as mathematics Parentheses, exponents, and roots. Multiplication and Division. Addition and subtraction. - from left to right Note: as we learn about relational and logical operators they will have a corresponding precedence.

Unicode

an international encoding standard for use with different languages and scripts, by which each letter, digit, or symbol is assigned a unique numeric value that applies across different platforms and programs.

Boolean Operators

AND, OR: operators that can be used to combine logical expressions; NOT: operator used to indicate the opposite of a logical expression

Predicate function

a function that returns True or False

Relational Operator

(>,

Conditional Statement or Expression

a statement or expression that is evaluated to determine an outcome repeat until, if, while, forever if

Selection

An algorithm can select between two alternative paths based on some condition.

Procedural Abstraction

a reusable collection of statements that decrease the lines of code in a program, increase the readability of the program and decrease the chance of errors or bugs inside a program. Procedures don't make it easier for computers to run a program, but they do make it much easier for humans to make complicated programs.

Flowchart

A simple diagram with symbols showing the 'flow' of a process. Used as a design tool.

Clone

a programming concept that is designated as 'clone by SNAP: a feature that allows a sprite to create a copy of itself while the project is running.

clone

Each clone has the same costumes, sounds, and scripts as the original but is otherwise independent.

Simulations & Models

Simplified representations of more complex objects of phenomena that are developed to explain the subject, allow further study of the subject, allow for the testing of different conditions on the subject, or to formulate and research hypotheses about the subject.

Code Segment

A collection of program statements that are part of a program.

index

Identifies a value's unique position on a list. In SNAP and on the AP CSP exam the first item on the list is stored at index 1.

element

One data point that is stored in a list. It is a single part of a larger group.

list

Data structure that stores one or more similar types of values in a single value. A collection of individual values that are related.

Traversing (a list)

Performing the same operation on each item of the list, sequentially.

append

Add an element to the end of a list.

remove/delete

Remove an element from a list.

insert

Add an element to a list at a certain index.

replace

Update the contents of an element.

iteration

Repetition of a process.

for each loop

Control structure designed to iterate over each element of a list and repeat the same operation on each element.

Loop

The action of doing something over and over again.