C++ Looping and File Operations Review

These flashcards cover vocabulary related to increment and decrement operators, loops, and file input/output in C++, aiding in reinforcing key concepts for the exam.

Increment Operator

An operator (++) that adds 1 to its operand.

Decrement Operator

An operator (--) that subtracts 1 from its operand.

Postfix Mode

When the increment/decrement operator is placed after the variable (e.g., num++).

Prefix Mode

When the increment/decrement operator is placed before the variable (e.g., ++num).

While Loop

A loop that iterates as long as a specified condition is true.

Do-While Loop

A posttest loop that executes at least once before checking its condition.

For Loop

A loop designed for count-controlled iterations with initialization, test, and update expressions.

Loop Control Variable

A variable that determines how many times a loop iterates.

Accumulator

A variable used to maintain a running total.

Sentinel Value

A special value used to mark the end of a list of values.

Input Validation

The process of ensuring that user input is valid before processing.

Semi-colon in Loop

Should not be placed after the loop header, as it can terminate the loop prematurely.

Infinite Loop

A loop that never terminates due to a failure to meet a stopping condition.

Nested Loop

A loop that exists within another loop.

File Stream

An object that handles reading from and writing to files.

ofstream

Output file stream used for writing data to files.

ifstream

Input file stream used for reading data from files.

fstream

File stream that can be used for both input and output operations.

Open a File

To create a link between a file and a file stream object.

Close a File

To end the connection between a file stream object and a file.

Text File

A file that contains data encoded as text.

Binary File

A file that contains data in binary format that is not readable as text.

Sequential Access

Accessing data in a file in the order it is stored, from beginning to end.

Random Access

Accessing data in a file directly without reading through it sequentially.

Read Position

The internal marker indicating where the next data read operation will occur in a file.

Break Statement

Causes an immediate exit from a loop.

Continue Statement

Skips the current iteration of a loop and continues with the next iteration.

Variable Declaration

Defining a variable in a program before it is used.

Test Expression

A condition that determines if a loop continues to execute.

Initialization Expression

The expression that initializes the loop counter variable.

Update Expression

The expression that updates the counter variable at the end of each iteration.

Count-Controlled Loop

A loop where the number of iterations is known beforehand.

Conditional Loop

A loop that continues to execute as long as a condition remains true.

Priming Read

Initial read operation that provides the first value for a loop condition.

Loop Header

The first line of a loop definition containing loop control expressions.

Echoing Data

Displaying data that has been read from a file.

File Operations

The actions of opening, processing, and closing files in programming.

User-Controlled Loop

A loop where the user dictates how many times the loop will run.

C++ Standard Library

A collection of classes and functions provided with the C++ language for standard tasks.

Flow Control

The order in which individual statements, instructions, or function calls are executed in a program.

Stream Manipulators

Functions that modify how data is formatted in input/output operations.

Whitespace Characters

Characters such as spaces, tabs, and newlines that are used in formatting.

Escape Sequence

A sequence of characters that signifies a special character in a string.

Function Prototype

Declaration of a function that specifies its name, parameters, and return type.

Logic Error

An error in a program that produces incorrect results but does not cause the program to crash.

Control Structure

A block of code that determines the flow of execution of a program.

Compiler

A program that translates code written in a programming language into machine code.

Code Readability

How easily a human reader can understand the written code.

Variable Scope

The area of the program in which a variable is defined and can be accessed.

Debugging

The process of finding and fixing errors in code.

Symbolic Constants

Named constants used in programming to improve code readability.