UTA INSY 2303 Exam 3 Review (Unit 11)

High-level language

A language that uses command words and grammar based on human languages to provide a level of abstraction that hides the underlying low-level language.

_______ are considered "high-level" languages, and more closely resemble human languages.

Fourth-generation languages

Low-level language

A language that has a low level of abstraction because it includes commands specific to a particular CPU or microprocessor family.

First-generation languages

The fist machine languages programmers used.

Second-generation languages

Languages that added a level of abstraction to machine languages by substituting abbreviated command words for binary numbers.

Third-generation languages

Languages that were conceived in the 1950s and used easy-to-remember command words, such as PRINT and INPUT.

An assembly language is classified as a low-level language because it is machine specific.

True

The computer language Prolog, based on a declarative programming paradigm, is identified as a _______ , though some experts disagree with this classification.

Fifth-generation language

An assembler typically reads a program written in an assembly language, which has two parts:

The op code and the operand.

An _______ , which is short for operation code, is a command word for an operation such as add, compare, or jump.

Op code

The _______ for an instruction specifies the data for the operation.

Operand

Programming paradigms

A way of conceptualizing and structuring the tasks a computer performs.

Variable

A value that can change.

Constant

A factor that remains the same throughout a program.

Runtime error

An error that occurs when a program runs instructions that the computer can't execute.

Logic error

A type of runtime error in the logic or design of the program.

Syntax error

An error that occurs when an instruction does not follow the syntax rules of the programming language.

Source code

The human-readable version of a program created in a high-level language by a programmer.

Source code must first be translated into machine language using a compiler or interpreter.

True

A _______ converts all the statements in a program in a single batch, and the resulting collection of instructions, called object code, is placed in a new file.

Compiler

An ______ converts and executes one statement at a time while the program is running; once executed, the interpreter converts and executes the next statement.

Interpreter

Object code

The resulting collection of instructions when a complier converts all the statements in a program in a single batch.

API (Application programming interface)

A language and message format used by an application program to communicate with the operating system or some other control program such as a database management system (DBMS) or communications protocol.

Algorithm

A set of steps for carrying out a task that can be written down and implemented.

Algorithms are usually written in a format that is not specific to a particular programming language.

True

Steps for designing an algorithm:

1. Record the steps required to solve the problem manually.

2. Specify how to manipulate the information needed to calculate and solve the problem.

3. Specify how the computer decides what to display as the solution.

Pseudocode

A notational system for algorithms that is less formal than a programming language.

Flowchart

A graphical representation of the way a computer should progress from one instruction to the next as it performs a task.

Structured English

A subset of the English language with a limited selection of sentence structures that reflect processing activities.

Syntax

The set of rules that specify the sequence of keywords, parameters, and punctuation in a program instruction.

Flow control

The sequence in which a computer executes program instructions.

The key to a computer's ability to adjust to so many situations is the programmer's ability to control the _______ of a program.

Flow

Function

A section of code that is part of a program but is not included in the main sequential execution path; a sequence control structure directs the computer to the statements contained in a function, when the statements have been executed, the computer returns to the main program

A _______ tells a computer what to do based on whether a condition is true or false; a simple example of a selection control structure is the if...else command.

Selection control structure

A _______ changes the order in which instructions are carried out by directing the computer to execute an instruction elsewhere in the program.

Sequence control structure

A _______ directs the computer to repeat one or more instructions until a certain condition is met.

Repetition control structure

The selection of code that repeats is usually referred to as a _______ or an _______.

Loop; iteration

The _______ is based on objects and classes that can be defined and manipulated by program code.

Object-oriented (OO) paradigm.

In the context of the OO paradigm, an _______ is a unit of data that represents an abstract or real-world entity, such as a person, place, or thing.

Object

A _______ defines the characteristics of a set of objects.

Class attribute

Public attribute

An attribute that is available for use by any routine in the program.

Private attribute

An attribute that can be accessed only from the routine in which it is defined.

Attribute

A specification that defines a property of an object, element, or file.

Class

A template for a group of objects with similar characteristics.

The process of producing new classes with inherited attributes creates a _______ that includes superclass and subclasses.

Class hierarchy

Superclass

Any class from which attributes can be inherited.

Subclass

Any class that inherits attributes from a superclass.

Inheritance

A concept that when a class of objects is defined, any subclass that is defined can inherit the definitions of one or more general classes.

Method

A segment of code that defines an action; the names of methods end in a set of parenthesis, such as compare() or getArea().

A method is activated by a message, which is included as a line of program code that is sometimes referred to as a call.

True

Polymorphism

Sometimes called overloading, is the ability to redefine a method in a subclass; it provides OO programmers with easy extensibility and can help simplify program control structures.

Encapsulation

The process of taking data from one protocol and translating it into another protocol, so the data can continue across a network.