AP CSP Big Idea 1 (Creative Development): Working Together to Build Correct, Purposeful Programs

Collaboration

The process of two or more people working together to create a computing artifact through coordinated problem-solving (sharing ideas, making decisions, reviewing work, and integrating contributions).

Computing Artifact

A created product of computing, such as a program, app, simulation, or website.

Pair Programming

A collaboration method where two people work at one computer: one writes code and the other reviews and thinks ahead.

Driver

In pair programming, the person who actively writes the code.

Navigator

In pair programming, the person who reviews the driver’s work, asks questions, looks for issues, and thinks ahead (e.g., edge cases).

Team Development

Collaboration with multiple contributors who may split responsibilities like design, coding, testing, documentation, user feedback, or media assets.

Peer Review

Having others test or examine your program to find confusing parts, bugs, or improvements.

Version Management

Practices for preventing teammates from overwriting each other’s work and for integrating changes reliably.

Modular Design

Dividing a program into components (modules) with clear responsibilities and interfaces so people can work in parallel more safely.

Frequent Integration

Combining and testing changes often rather than waiting until the end, reducing difficult merge/conflict problems.

Communication Artifacts

Evidence that helps others understand and extend a program, such as comments, documentation, design notes, and change notes.

Hidden Knowledge

A collaboration risk where only one teammate understands an important part of the program, making debugging and future changes harder.

Citing Sources

Crediting code ideas, media, or algorithms taken from elsewhere in comments or documentation to maintain academic honesty.

Program Function

What a program does—its behavior and features, including its inputs, processing, and outputs.

Program Purpose

Why a program exists—the goal it aims to accomplish for a user or real-world context.

Inputs

Information a program takes in (e.g., user typing/clicks, sensor data, files, or online data).

Processing

What the program does with inputs (e.g., calculations, filtering, searching, sorting, applying rules).

Outputs

What the program produces (e.g., text, images, sound, decisions, saved data, notifications).

Iterative Development

A development approach where you build a version, test, get feedback, and refine through repeated cycles rather than doing everything once.

Decomposition

Breaking a complex problem into smaller, manageable parts (often into procedures/modules or separating input, processing, and output).

Algorithm

A step-by-step process to accomplish a task; often designed before coding to communicate and catch missing steps.

Wireframe

A simple sketch of a user interface screen used to plan how users interact with the program.

Syntax Error

A violation of a programming language’s rules (e.g., missing punctuation/incorrect keyword use) that usually prevents a program from running.

Runtime Error

An error that occurs while the program is running (e.g., dividing by zero or accessing a missing item), possibly causing a crash or unexpected behavior.

Logic Error

An error where the program runs but produces incorrect output because the algorithm or conditions are wrong.