Unit 3 Vocab

Algorithm - a finite set of instructions that accomplish a specific task

Code statement - a part of program code that expresses an action to be carried out

Expression - can consist of a value, a variable, an operator, or a procedure call that returns a value; expressions are evaluated to produce a single value

Execute - the process of running a computer software program, script, or command

Behavior - how a program functions during execution; often described by how a user interacts with it

Program inputs - data sent to a computer for processing by a program; it can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile, audio, visual, or text

Program outputs - any data sent from a program to a device; can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile, audio, visual, or text

Event - an occurrence; things that happen; usually associated with an action (i.e. mouse click, button pressed)

Event handler - a part of code that 'handles' or listens for a specific type of event; when that event occurs, the code inside the event handler is run

Program documentation - a written description of the function of a code segment, event, procedure, or program and how it was developed

Comments - a form of program documentation written into the program that helps explain what the code is doing. Comments in a program do not affect how a program runs

Logic error - a mistake in the algorithm or program that causes it to behave incorrectly or unexpectedly

Syntax error - a mistake in the program where the rules of the programming language are not followed

Run-time error - a mistake in the program that occurs during the execution of a program; programming languages define their own run-time errors

Overflow error - an error that occurs when a computer attempts to handle a number that is outside of the defined range of values

Testing - using defined inputs to ensure that an algorithm or program is producing the expected outcomes, in the development process

Sequencing - the application of each step of an algorithm in the order in which the code statements are given

Selection - determines which part of an algorithm are executed based on a condition being true or false

Nested conditional statements - consist of conditional statements within conditional statements

Iteration - a repeating portion of an algorithm; iteration repeats a specified number of times or until a given condition is met

Variable - an abstraction inside a program that can hold a value. Each variable has associated data storage that represents one value at a time, but that value can be an array/list or other collection that in turn contains multiple values

Variable types - some programming languages provide types to represent data. These types include numbers, Booleans, arrays/lists, and strings

Element - an individual value in an array/list that is assigned a unique index

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

String - an ordered sequence of characters

String concatenation - joins together two or more strings end-to-end to make a new string

Substring - part of an existing string

Boolean value - a variable that is either true or false

Data abstraction - provides a separation between the abstract properties of a data type and the concrete details of its representation; manages complexity in programs by giving a collection of data a name without referencing the specific details of the representation