Python for Everybody: Chapter 1
media computation
process millions of picture elements or sound fragments or movie frames
ranges
sections of data
ASCII
American Standard Code for Information Interchange; a standard encoding of numbers to letters
semantic error
An error in a program that makes it do something other than what the programmer intended.
bug
An error in a program.central processing unit The heart of any computer. It is what runs the software that we write; also called "CPU" or "the processor".
print function
An instruction that causes the Python interpreter to display a value on the screen.
JES
Jython environment for students, a programming environment
secondary memory
Stores programs and data and retains its information even when the power is turned off. Generally slower than main memory. Examples of secondary memory include disk drives and flash memory in USB sticks.
main memory
Stores programs and data. Main memory loses its information when the power is turned off.
machine code
The lowest-level language for software, which is the language that is directly executed by the central processing unit (CPU).
semantics
The meaning of a program.
problem solving
The process of formulating a problem, finding a solution, and expressing the solution.
parse
To examine a program and analyze the syntactic structure.
interpret
To execute a program in a high-level language by translating it one line at a time.
compile
To translate a program written in a high-level language into a low-level language all at once, in preparation for later execution.
compiler: translates all at once; interpreter: translates line-by-line
What is the difference between a compiler and an interpreter?
Store information for the long term, even beyond a power cycle
What is the function of the secondary memory in a computer?
prompt
When a program displays a message and pauses for the user to type some input to the program.
number
a byte is called a ___
software
a collection of computer programs (recipes) that accomplish a task
program
a description in a programming language of a process that achieves some result that is useful to someone
algorithm
a description of a process in a step-by-step manner, not tied to any programming language
Jython
a form of Python that is particularly effective for programming in multimedia that will work across multiple computer platforms
Python
a popular programming language, used very often for web and media programming
byte
a set of 8 bits
analog
a signal - how phonograph recordings capture sound continuously
reserved words
and, as, assert break class, continue def, del elif, else, except finally, for, from global if, import, in, is lambda nonlocal, not or pass raise, return try while, with yield
encodings
computers use ___ of numbers
data representation
creating layers of encoding and interpretation so that the computer is working with the right units for a given problem
computational thinking
critical thinking skills that use a computer to automate processes
database
way to keep track of lots of data and access it quickly
programming language
what computer scientists write their programs in (Python, Java, C++, Scheme)
source code
A program in a high-level language.
high-level language
A programming language like Python that is designed to be easy for humans to read and write.
low-level language
A programming language that is designed to be easy for a computer to execute; also called "machine code" or "assembly language".
portability
A property of a program that can run on more than one kind of computer.
program
A set of instructions that specifies a computation.
interactive mode
A way of using the Python interpreter by typing commands and expressions at the prompt.
bit
each wire; if it has a voltage on it, encode 1; if no voltage, encode 0
networking
emergent properties of programs, millions of programs talking to one another
memory
filled with bytes; everything that a computer is working with at a given instant is stored here (.jpg, .xls, .doc, e-mail, etc.)
human-computer interface
how people understand and make use of programs
process
how we or computers do things, how we specify what we do, and how we specify what the stuff is that we are processing; important to nearly every field
binary
number system of zeros and ones
constants
numbers that appear as plain old numbers not as variables
pixel
picture element
digitization
the process of encoding media into little bits
data structures
the study of computer science units