AP CSA Vocab

for Unit 1 test

Class

A blueprint for creating objects

Object

An individual instance of a class

Attribute/Field

Data that describes an object

Method

An action an object can perform

Constructor

Special code used to create/initialize an object

Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

a specialized software designed to assist programmers in creating, editing, and
managing code efficiently

class header

consists of the class keyword and the name of the class

comment

a text note to explain or annotate the code and is ignored when the program is run

compiler

a special program that translates code written in one programming language (like Java) into
another language (like machine code that your computer understands)

source code

a collection of programming commands

syntax

the rules for how a programmer must write code for a computer to understand

syntax error

a mistake in the code that does not follow a programming language's syntax

attribute

a characteristic of an object

behavior

an action that an object can perform

class

a programmer-defined blueprint from which objects are created

object

an instance of a class

object-oriented programming

an approach to creating and using models of physical or imagined objects

constructor

a block of code that has the same name as the class and tells the computer how to create a new object

exception

a type of run-time error that interrupts the normal flow of the program's execution

instantiate

to call the constructor to create an object

run-time error

a mistake in the program that occurs during the execution of a program

dot operator

used to call a method in a class

method

a named set of instructions to perform a task

procedural abstraction

provides a name for a process and allows a method to be used only knowing what it does, not how it does it

argument

the specific value provided when a method or constructor is called

logic error

occurs when a program behaves in an incorrect or unexpected way

parameter

defines the type of value to receive when a method or constructor is called

string literal

a sequence of characters enclosed in quotation marks ( " " )

algorithm

a finite set of instructions that accomplish a task

condition

determines whether or not to execute a block of code

iteration statement

a control structure that repeatedly executes a block of code

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

a technology that mimics human intelligence, performing tasks such as understanding language, recognizing patterns, and making decisions.

Large Language Model (LLM)

a general purpose form of AI that is trained on a very, very large body of knowledge.

inheritance

an object-oriented programming principle where a subclass inherits the attributes and behaviors of a superclass

subclass

a class that extends a superclass and inherits its attributes and behaviors

superclass

a class that can be extended to create subclasses

tester class

the class that contains the main method and from where the program starts running