Computer Science Principals Definitions

Computing Innovation - includes a program as an integral part of its function. Can be physical (e.g. self-driving car), non-physical computing software (e.g. picture editing software), or non-physical computing concepts (e.g., e-commerce).

Personally Identifiable Information (PPI) - information about an individual that identifies, links, relates, or describes them

decryption - a process that reverses encryption, taking a secret message and reproducing the original plain text

encryption - a process of encoding messages to keep them secret, so only "authorized" parties can read it

 public key encryption- pairs a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption. The sender does not need the receiver’s private key to encrypt a message, but the receiver’s private key is required to decrypt the message

symmetric key encryption - involves one key for both encryption and decryption

Computer Virus Scanning Software - protects a computing system against infection

Multi-factor authentication - a system that requires at least two steps to unlock protected information; each step adds a new layer of security that must be broken to gain unauthorized access

keylogging - the use of a program to record every keystroke made by a computer user in order to gain fraudulent access to passwords and other confidential information

 malware- software intended to damage a computing system or to take partial control over its operation

 phishing- a technique that attempts to trick a user into providing personal information. That personal information can then be used to access sensitive online resources, such as bank accounts and emails

 rogue access point- a wireless access point that gives unauthorized access to secure networks

Parameter: a variable in a function definition. Used as a placeholder for values that will be passed through the function. 

Argument: the value passed to the parameter

Return: used to return the flow of control to the point where the procedure (also known as a function) was called and to return the value of expression.

Procedural abstraction: a process and allows a procedure to be used only knowing what it does, not how it does it. Procedural abstraction allows a solution to a large problem to be based on the solution of smaller subproblems. This is accomplished by creating procedures to solve each of the subproblems. 

Library: a group of functions (procedures) that may be used in creating new programs

API: Application Program Interface - specifications for how functions in a library behave and can be used

Modularity: the subdivision of a computer program into separate subprograms

List: an ordered collection of elements 

Element: an individual value in a list that is assigned a unique index

Index: a common method for referencing the elements in a list or string using numbers

Iteration: a repetitive portion of an algorithm which repeats a specified number of times or until a given condition is met.

Infinite loop: occurs when the ending condition will never evaluate to true. 

Traversal: the process of accessing each item in a list one at a time.

Data abstraction: manage complexity in programs by giving a collection of data a name without referencing the specific details of the representation.

information - the collection of facts and patterns extracted from data 

metadata- data about data

Cleaning data - a process that makes the data uniform without changing its meaning (e.g., replacing all equivalent abbreviations, spellings, and capitalizations with the same word). 

Data filtering- choosing a smaller subset of a data set to use for analysis, for example by eliminating / keeping only certain rows in a table 

correlation- a relationship between two pieces of data, typically referring to the amount that one varies in relation to the other. 

Citizen science- scientific research conducted in whole or part by distributed individuals, many of whom may not be scientists, who contribute relevant data to research using their own computing devices. 

crowdsourcing- the practice of obtaining input or information from a large number of people via the Internet 

Data bias- data that does not accurately reflect the full population or phenomenon being studied

Expression:  a combination of operators and values that evaluates to a single value

Assignment Operator: allows a program to change the value represented by a variable

Variable: a named reference to a value that can be used repeatedly throughout a program.

String: an ordered sequence of characters.

Boolean Value: a data type that is either true or false.

Comparison Operators: <, >, <=, >=, ==, != indicate a Boolean expression

Logical operator: NOT, AND, and OR, which evaluate to a Boolean value.

Conditional Statement: affects the sequential flow of control by executing different statements based on the value of a Boolean expression.

Function: a named group of programming instructions. Also referred to as a “procedure”.

Function Call: a command that executes the code within a function

User Interface: the inputs and outputs that allow a user to interact with a piece of software. User interfaces can include a variety of forms such as buttons, menus, images, text, and graphics.

Input: data that are sent to a computer for processing by a program. Can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile interaction, audio, visuals, or text.

Output: any data that are sent from a program to a device. Can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile interaction, audio, visuals, or text.

Program Statement: a command or instruction. Sometimes also referred to as a code statement. 

Program: a collection of program statements. Programs run (or “execute”) one command at a time.

Sequential Programming: program statements run in order, from top to bottom.

Event Driven Programming: some program statements run when triggered by an event, like a mouse click or a key press

Documentation: a written description of how a command or piece of code works or was developed.

Comment: form of program documentation written into the program to be read by people and which do not affect how a program runs. 

Pair Programming: a collaborative programming style in which two programmers switch between the roles of writing code and tracking or planning high level progress

Debugging: Finding and fixing problems in an algorithm or program.

Development process: the steps or phases used to create a piece of software. Typical phases include investigating, designing, prototyping, and testing 

Event: associated with an action and supplies input data to a program. Can be generated when a key is pressed, a mouse is clicked, a program is started, or by any other defined action that affects the flow of execution.

Computing Device: a machine that can run a program, including computers, tablets, servers, routers, and smart sensors

Computing System: a group of computing devices and programs working together for a common purpose

Computing Network: a group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or receiving data. 

Path: the series of connections between computing devices on a network starting with a sender and ending with a receiver.

Bandwidth: the maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time, usually measured in bits per second. 

Protocol: An agreed-upon set of rules that specify the behavior of some system

IP Address: The unique number assigned to each device on the Internet.

Internet Protocol (IP): a protocol for sending data across the Internet that assigns unique numbers (IP addresses) to each connected device

Router: A type of computer that forwards data across a network

Packet: A chunk of data sent over a network. Larger messages are divided into packets that may arrive at the destination in order, out-of-order, or not at all. 

Redundancy: the inclusion of extra components so that a system can continue to work even if individual components fail, for example by  having more than one path between any two connected devices in a network.

Fault Tolerant: Can continue to function even in the event of individual component failures. This is important because elements of complex systems like a computer network fail at unexpected times, often in groups.

HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol - the protocol used for transmitting web pages over the Internet

Domain Name System (DNS): the system responsible for translating domain names like example.com into IP addresses

Internet: a computer network consisting of interconnected networks that use standardized, open (nonproprietary) communication protocols. 

World Wide Web: a system of linked pages, programs, and files.

Digital Divide: differing access to computing devices and the Internet, based on socioeconomic, geographic, or demographic characteristics

Bandwidth - the maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time, usually measured in bits per second

Computing Device- a machine that can run a program, including computers, tablets, servers, routers, and smart sensors

 Computing Network- a group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or receiving data.

Computing System - a group of computing devices and programs working together for a common purpose

Path - the series of connections between computing devices on a network starting with a sender and ending with a receiver