AP Computer Science Principles Exam Prep

Innovation

a novel or improved idea, device, product, etc. or the development thereof

Prototype

A preliminary sketch of an idea or model for something new. It's the original drawing from which something real might be built or created.

Bit

A contraction of "Binary Digits". A bit is the single unit of information in a computer, typically represented as 0 or 1.

Binary

A way of representing information using only two options.

Bandwidth

maximum transmission capacity of the device expressed typically in metric multiples of bits per second

Bit Rate

The numbers of Bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time. EX: 8bits/per second.

Latency

the amount of time it takes for a bit to travel from sender to receiver

Protocol

A set of rules governing the exchange or transmission of data between devices.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)

The universally recognized raw text format that any computer can understand.

Code

To write instructions for a computer.

Requests for Comments (RFC)

Documents are how standards and protocols are defined and published for all to see on the IETF website.

Internet

a tangible physical system that is made to move information

IP Address

A number assigned to any item that is connected to the internet.

Packets

small chunks of information that have been carefully formed from larger chunks of information for the purpose of transmitting through a network

Router

A computer which receives messages travelling across a network and redirects them towards their intended destinations based on the addressing information included with the messages.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

Provides reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of a stream of packets on the internet. TCP is tightly linked with IP and is usually seen as TCP/IP in writing.

Domain named system (DNS)

The internet's system for converting alphabetic names into numeric IP addresses.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

Is the protocol used by the world wide web. It describes how messages are formatted and interchanged, and how web servers respond to commands.

Abstractions

Reducing information and detail to focus on essential characteristics.

Server

A computer that awaits and responds to requests for data.

Client

A computer that requests data stored on a computer.

HTTPS

a protocol for secure communication over a computer network which is widely used on the Internet.

Digital Certificate

an electronic document used to prove ownership of a public key.

DDoS

pertaining to or being an incident in which a network of computers floods an online resource with high levels of unwanted traffic so that it is inaccessible to legitimate service requests

HTTP Request

When you type a URL in your browser, your computer (the client) needs to "ask" the server that is storing the data and images for the web page to return its contents so your browser can display it.

HTTP Response

When a server receives an HTTP request it will respond with a message of its own. Once again, the response will be sent entirely in ASCII-text and must be correctly formatted.

Electricity, light and radio waves

3 ways we send information

Fiber optic cable

a thread of glass engineered to reflect light

URL

an easy-to-remember address for calling a web page (like www.code.org)

Net Neutrality

the principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally by Internet Service Providers

Byte

8 bits

Nibble

4 bits

Heuristic

a problem solving approach (algorithm) to find a satisfactory solution where finding an optimal or exact solution is impractical or impossible

Lossless

a data compression algorithm that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data

Image

A type of data used for graphics or pictures

Metadata

data that describes other data. For example, a digital image my include metadata that describe the size of the image, number of colors, or resolution

Pixel

short for "picture element" it is the fundamental unit of a digital image, typically a tiny square or dot which contains a single point of color of a larger image

RGB

color model using varying intensities of red, green, and blue to produce colors

Lossy

data compression method that uses inexact approximations, discarding some data to represent the content

Abstraction

pulling out specific differences to make one solution work for multiple problems

Aggregation

a computation in which rows from a data set are grouped together and used to compute a single value of more significant meaning or measurement. i.e. Average, Count, Sum

Pivot Table

in most spreadsheet software it is the name of the tool used to create summary tables

Adware

A form of spyware. Collects information about the user or user activities in order to display advertisements in a web browser.

Algorithm

A set of instructions for solving a problem.

Application

Refers to a complete and self-contained program that helps the user accomplish a specific task.

Artificial Intelligence

A branch of computer science with the focus on how to endow computers with capabilities of human intelligence. Can be seen as an attempt to model aspects of human thought on computers

Autoresponder

A program that automatically delivers information

Backup and Recovery

The combination of procedures that can restore lost data in the event of hardware or software failure

Backward Compatible

Refers to the new versions of software or hardware that is compatible with earlier models or versions of the same product.

Bandwidth

Measures how much data you can send in a given amount of time.

Bit

Also called binary digit, it refers to a digit number, either a 0 or a 1.

Bookmark

A facility for marking a specific place in electronic documentation to enable easy return to it. It is used in several types of software, including PDF files, electronic help files and tutorials within a program or online.

Bug

An error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working as intended, or produces an incorrect result.

Byte

Is equal to eight bits.

C Programming Language

A general-purpose, procedural, imperative computer programming language developed in the early 1970s by Dennis Ritchie for use on the Unix operating system.

Client

A piece of computer hardware or software that accesses a service made available by a server.

Cloud Computing

Shared computing services provided on demand by computers accessed over the Internet.

Code

Programming Instructions.

Compatible

Refers to the ability of one device or program to work with another device or program.

Computational Science

The field of study concerned with constructing mathematical models and numerical solution techniques and using computers to analyze and solve scientific and engineering problems.

Computer Animation

Also known as Computer generated imagery (CGI), it is the art of creating moving images via the use of computers.

Computer Science

An academic field that studies the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems.

Configuration

The way a system is set up, or the assortment of components that make up the system. Can refer to either hardware or software, or the combination of both.

Copyright

A set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information, including but not limited to art designs, computer software, books, documents etc.

Cyber Security

Measures taken to protect a computer or computer system against unauthorized access or attack.

Daemon

A computer program that runs in the background, rather than under the direct control of a user; they are usually instantiated as processes.

Data

Information stored on a computer.

Data Cleansing

The process of detecting and removing and/or correcting a database to increase data accuracy, reduce redundancy and enhance consistency of different sets of data that have been merged from separate databases.

Dehardwarization

Refers to the trend in design of new computer hardware which tends to eliminate as many hardware components as possible and supplanting their functionality with software.

Domain Name Service

A directory service that maps names to IP addresses.

Domain Name

The part of the URL that identifies a particular web page.

Grayware

Refers to a malicious software or code that is considered to fall in the "grey area" between normal software and a virus. A term for which all other malicious or annoying software such as adware, spyware, trackware, and other malicious code and malicious shareware fall under.

Hacker

A person who uses technology to gain unauthorized access to data.

Hardware

A set of physical computer objects. Like a mouse.

Host Computer

A centralized server that delivers specific services to other networked computers.

HTTP

The protocol by a browser program to communicate with a server program over the Internet.

Icon

A visual display of a program.

Information Technology (IT TECH)

A broad subject concerned with technology and other aspects of managing and processing information, especially in large organizations. In particular, it deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and retrieve information.

Interface

A defined means for a system to communicate with other systems. It is a boundary between a system and its environment providing ways of providing the system inputs and receiving outputs.

Internet

A network that accommodates several computers to facilitate exchange and transfer of data.

IP

Packet delivery through an IP address to identify packets that include both a header and the message data itself.

IP Address

A unique string of numbers separated by periods.

Java

An object-oriented programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. It resembles C++, but was designed to avoid some of C++'s most notorious flaws.

Kernel

The central part in most computer operating systems for the management of the system's resources and the communication between hardware and software components

Knowbot

A program that will search a system or a network, such as the Internet, seeking and retrieving information on behalf of a user and reporting back when it has found it

LAN

A network spanning a local area.

Latency

Measures the amount of time that it takes a message to go from its source to its destination.

Legacy System

An "antiquated" existing computer system or application program which continues to be used because the user does not want to replace or redesign it. Integration with newer systems may also be difficult because new software may use completely different technologies.

Linux

A free and open source Unix-like computer operating system. Unlike proprietary operating systems such as Windows or Mac OS, all underlying source code is available to the general public for anyone to use, modify, and redistribute freely.

Loop Optimization

Refers to the process in computer compiling to optimize loops in the programs. Most execution time of a scientific program is spent on loops. Thus a lot of compiler analysis and optimization techniques have been developed to make the execution of loops faster.

Macintosh Operating System (Mac)

A series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Computer for their Macintosh line of computer systems. It was first introduced in 1984 with the original Macintosh 128K.

Memory

The internal storage location where data and information is stored on a computer.

Metadata

Refers to information about data itself; perhaps the origin, size, formatting or other characteristics of a data item.

Network

A group of computers connected to each other in order to send and receive data.

NSA

A United States government institution that collects data for security purposes.

Numerical Anaylsis

The study of algorithms for the problems of continuous mathematics (as distinguished from discrete mathematics).

Operating System

Provides the software platform required for various applications to run on.

Packet

The unit of data that is routed on a packet-switched network.

Packet Switched Network

The type of network in which relatively small units of data are routed through a network based on the destination address contained within each datagram.

PDF

The native file format for Adobe Systems' Acrobat. Can describe documents containing any combination of text, graphics, and images in a device-independent and resolution independent format.