Computer Science

Problem solving

Coding helps you become better at problem-solving as it teaches you to breakdown problems into a logical structured format

Coding on the job

Coding might be required to perform small tasks that a program can't handle automatically

Understanding of how Software works

Understanding how Software works helps you learn how to apply it better when coding to solve problems

Learning to be persistent

Coding helps you stick to problems when solving them instead of giving up

You can talk about technology effectively

You can communicate about coding and technology terms effectively as you start to understand them

Hardware

Physical components of a computer

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Memory or Random Access Memory (RAM)

Inputs

keyboard, mouse

Output

monitor or printer

Software

The computer programs when creating software, most programs follow the data processing cycle this data processing cycle consists of input, processing, and output

Algorithm

A set of general steps to solve a problem

Inputs

Zero or more well-defined data items that must be provided to the algorithm

Output

One or more well-defined results produced by the algorithm

Definiteness

The algorithm must specify every step and the order the steps must be taken in the process

Effectiveness

Every step must be feasible

Finiteness

The algorithm must eventually stop

Program

A set of instructions that tell the computer what it's supposed to do

Programming

The steps taken to prepare these instructions

High-level programming languages

High level programming languages usually translate into several machine language instructions first, a software called a compiler translates programs fully into machine language An interpreter program reads one instruction at a time, and determines how to carry out the required action

Flowchart

A visual representation of a problem solution

Ellipse

Start/End

Parallelogram

Inputs/Outputs

Rectangle

Formulas/Actions

Diamond

Decisions

Python

An introductory programming language that emphasizes code readability.

Object-Oriented

Python is object-oriented, meaning data is stored as objects with properties and functions.

Interpreter

Python uses an interpreter to translate high-level code into machine-readable form for the CPU to execute.

" >>> "

The screen prompt that indicates the environment is waiting for a Python expression or instruction.

Syntax

Python uses syntax highlighting, which are the rules of the language.

Print

A function used to display output in Python, with content inside parentheses.

Comments

Lines starting with the pound sign (#) are comments, which are used to explain the code.

Input Function

Used to get input from the user via the keyboard.

Prompt

The parameter for the input function that displays a hint for the user about what to enter.

Numeric Data

Represents numbers and fractions; involves numeric operators.

Order of Operations

Math operations in Python follow the standard order of operations (PEMDAS).

Variable

A named memory location used to store data.

Float Value

A data type used for decimal numbers, such as a grade point average or bank account balance.

INT

A data type used for whole numbers, like age or golf score.

Assignment Statement

Used to assign a value to a variable.

1. if Statement

A control flow statement that executes a block of code if a specified condition is True.

2. Condition

An expression that evaluates to either True or False. Conditions determine whether a specific block of code will be executed.

3. Comparison Operators

Operators used to compare two values. The result is a Boolean value (True or False).

==

Equal to

<

Less than

>

Greater than

!=

Not equal to

Less than or equal to

>=

Greater than or equal to

4. Indentation

The use of spaces or tabs to define blocks of code in Python. Indentation groups statements together to form code blocks.

5. bool Data Type

A data type representing Boolean values, which can either be True or False.

6. if-else Statement

A control flow statement that executes one block of code if a condition is True, and another block if the condition is False.

7. Compound Conditions

Conditions that combine two or more individual conditions using logical operators such as and, or, and not.

8. elif Statement

Short for "else if", it allows checking multiple conditions in sequence, running only the first True condition.

9. else Statement

A statement that defines an action to be executed if none of the preceding conditions in an if or elif are True.

10. Nested if Statements

A situation where one if statement is placed inside another, allowing for multiple levels of decision-making.

11. not Operator

A logical operator that negates a condition, reversing its Boolean value (True becomes False, and False becomes True).

12. Flowchart

A diagram that represents the logical flow of a program or algorithm, using symbols to depict decisions, processes, and actions.

13. Sequence

A programming construct where instructions are executed one after the other in a specific order.

14. Repetition (Loops)

A programming construct that repeats a block of code multiple times, usually based on a condition or a range of values.

15. Algorithm

A set of defined steps or instructions used to solve a specific problem or perform a task.

16. Program

A collection of instructions written in a programming language that a computer can execute to perform a specific task.

17. while Loop

A control flow statement in Python that repeatedly executes a block of code as long as a specified condition remains true. It checks the condition before running the block.

18. Infinite Loop

A loop that never ends because the condition never becomes false. This typically occurs when the variable in the condition is not updated correctly.

19. for Loop

A control flow statement in Python used to iterate over a sequence (such as a list, range, or string). It automatically moves to the next element in the sequence with each iteration.

20. range() Function

A built-in Python function that generates a sequence of numbers. It is commonly used with the for loop to specify the range of numbers to iterate over.

21. Condition

A logical test that determines whether a loop should continue running. If the condition is True, the loop will continue; if False, it stops.

22. Action

The block of code that gets executed repeatedly inside a loop, as long as the condition is True.

23. Pre-Test Loop

A type of loop (like the while loop) that tests the condition before executing the loop’s body. If the condition is false at the start, the body may not execute at all.

24. Post-Test Loop

A type of loop where the condition is tested after executing the loop’s body. The loop will always execute at least once before checking if it should continue. (Not directly available in Python, but can be simulated.)

25. Nested Loop

A loop inside another loop. The inner loop completes all its iterations before the outer loop continues to the next iteration.

26. Flowchart

A visual representation of a process or algorithm. In the case of loops, it uses diamonds to represent conditions and arrows to indicate the flow of execution.

27. Debugging

The process of identifying and fixing errors in a program. Common issues in loops include infinite loops or incorrect termination conditions.

28. Loop Boundaries

The values that define the range or limits of a loop. These include the starting point, ending point, and the step size, which affect how many times the loop runs.

29. Finding Maximum (or Minimum) Value

An algorithm used to find the largest (or smallest) value in a set of inputs by iterating through each item and updating the maximum or minimum as needed.

30. Common Loop Errors

Errors such as infinite loops, off-by-one errors, or incorrect conditionals, which can prevent a loop from working as expected.

1. The print() Function

The print() function allows multiple parameters to be printed in a single call. By default, it separates each parameter with a space.

2. Custom Separators

The sep parameter allows you to define a custom separator between items printed by print(). This lets you change the default space between printed items to any string, such as a comma, dash, or nothing at all.

3. Controlling Line Endings

The end parameter in the print() function allows you to define how the line should terminate. Instead of the default newline, you can end the output with spaces, periods, or other characters.

4. Rounding Numbers

Python’s round() function rounds a number to a specific number of decimal places, but it does not alter the value in memory. It can be used within print statements to display rounded values.

5. Formatting Output with Format Specifiers

Format specifiers are used to control the appearance of numerical outputs. You can specify the number of decimal places, alignment, and total field width. This is useful when working with financial or tabular data, as it ensures consistency in the output.

6. Field Width and Alignment

You can control the width of the output field and align the content. By default, numbers are right-aligned, but you can modify the alignment to left or center. Padding (such as with spaces or zeros) can be applied to ensure that the output aligns as desired, especially when dealing with multiple columns of data.

7. Aligning Numbers in Columns

You can combine rounding and field-width specifications to display numbers in neatly aligned columns. This is especially useful when creating tables of numerical data.

8. str.format() Method

The str.format() method provides another way to format strings. It allows you to specify placeholders in the string and later insert values into them, controlling the format of those values.

9. F-Strings (Python 3.6+)

F-strings are a more modern and concise way to format strings. They allow you to embed expressions directly inside string literals, making the formatting process more intuitive and readable.

10. Controlling String Formatting (Padding and Alignment)

Both f-strings and format specifiers allow you to control string padding and alignment. This ensures that string data is formatted consistently, whether left-aligned, right-aligned, or centered within a field.

String

A string is a sequence of characters, which can include letters, digits, spaces, and symbols. A string is enclosed in quotes (single or double).

String Literals

These are specific string values, such as "Hello World!" or "35630-1418".

Empty String

A string with no characters, represented as "".

String Indexes

The characters in a string are assigned positions starting from 0. The first character is at index 0, the second at index 1, and so on.

Accessing Characters

You can access individual characters using the index, like string[0] for the first character.

String Slicing

You can extract substrings from a string using slicing notation. A slice is specified by a start and an end index. The slice will include characters from the start index up to but not including the end index.

Unspecified Indices

If no end index is provided, the slice continues to the end of the string. If no start index is provided, the slice begins from the start of the string.

len() Function

You can use len() to get the number of characters in a string.

.find()

Searches for a substring and returns the index of its first occurrence, or -1 if not found.

String Concatenation

You can combine strings using the + operator, which joins strings together (known as concatenation).

input()

The input() function is used to get input from the user as a string. It can take a prompt as a parameter to inform the user what information is expected.

Converting Data Types

In some cases, you need to convert data from one type to another, especially when performing arithmetic operations. This process is called casting.

int()

Converts a string to an integer.

float()

Converts a string to a float.