Zybook Glossary C++
math library
Thus, the language comes with a standard math library that has about 20 math operations available for floating-point values, listed later in this section.
processors
To support different calculations, circuits called processors were created to process (aka execute) a list of desired calculations.
integrated circuit
Transistors that are put onto one chip
underscore
"_" is considered to be a letter
braces
"{" and "}" are called braces, denoting a list of statements. { } are braces.
RAM
(random-access memory) temporarily holds data read from storage, and is designed such that any address can be accessed much faster than disk, in just a few clock ticks (see below) rather than hundreds of ticks.
Arithmetic operators
+,-,*,/,%
unary minus
- used as negative is known as unary minus.
bits
0s and 1s are known as bits (binary digits).
operating system
The operating system allows a user to run other programs and which interfaces with the many other peripherals.
processor
The processor runs the computer's programs, reading and executing instructions from memory, performing operations, and reading/writing data from/to memory.
main
The program starts by executing a function called main.
app
The programmer-created sequence of instructions
application
The programmer-created sequence of instructions
program
The programmer-created sequence of instructions
memory
A memory is composed of numerous individual locations, each able to store a value.
block comment
A multi-line comment is also known as a block comment.
multi-line comment
A multi-line comment uses the /* and */ symbols.
identifier
A name created by a programmer for an item like a variable or function is called an identifier.
newline character
A new line can also be output by inserting \n, known as a newline character, within a string literal.
cache
A processor may contain a small amount of RAM on its own chip, called cache memory, accessible in one clock tick rather than several, for maintaining a copy of the most-used instructions or data.
Clock
A processor's instructions execute at a rate governed by the processor's clock, which ticks at a specific frequency.
reserved word
A reserved word is a word that is part of the language, like int, short, or double.
screen
A screen (or monitor) displays items to a user.
string
A sequence of characters is called a string. programmer can use an array to store a sequence of characters, known as a string.
executable program
A sequence of machine instructions together form an executable program.
single-line comment
A single-line comment uses the // symbols.
statement
A statement is a program instruction.
naming conventions
A type of identifier
double
A variable declared as type double stores a floating-point number.
char
A variable of char type can store a single character, like the letter m or the symbol %.
variable
A variable represents a memory location used to store data.
whitespace character
A whitespace character is a character used to print spaces in text, and includes spaces, tabs, and newline characters.
ASCII
ASCII is an early standard for encoding characters as numbers.
assignment statement
An assignment statement like numApples = 8; stores (i.e. assigns) the right-side item's current value (in this case, 8) into the variable on left side (numApples).
escape sequence
An escape sequence is a two-character sequence starting with \ that represents a special character.
expression
An expression may be a number like 80, a variable name like numApples, or a simple calculation like numApples + 1. An expression is a combination of items, like variables, literals, and operators, that evaluates to a value.
const or constant variable
An initialized variable whose value cannot change is called a constant variable.
argument
An input value to a function appears between parentheses and is known as an argument.The value passed to a parameter is known as an argument.
operator
An operator is a symbol for a built-in language calculation like + for addition.
compile-time error
Because a syntax error is detected by the compiler, a syntax error is known as a type of compile-time error.
abs()
Compute absolute value
endl
Cout << endl starts a new output line.
style guide
Each programming team, whether a company or a classroom, may have its own style for writing code, sometimes called a style guide.
semicolon
Ends a line of code.
transistors
Engineers created smaller switches called transistors, which in 1958 were integrated onto a single chip.
machine instructions
Instructions represented as 0s and 1s are known as machine instructions.
function call
Invoking a function is a function call. Invoking a function's name, known as a function call, causes the function's statements to execute.
K&R style
K&R style for braces and indents is named after C language creators Kernighan and Ritchie.
Lower camel case
Lower camel case abuts multiple words, capitalizing each word except the first, as in numApples or peopleOnBus.
problem solving
Much of programming is about problem solving: Creating a methodical solution to a given task.
syntax error
One kind of mistake, known as a syntax error, is to violate a programming language's rules on how symbols can be combined to create a program.
pow
Raise to power
cin
Reading input is achieved using the statement: cin >> variableName. Cin is a predefined istream pre-associated with a system's standard input, usually a computer keyboard.
compound operators
Special operators called compound operators provide a shorthand way to update a variable, such as userAge += 1 being shorthand for userAge = userAge + 1.
Stroustrup style
Stroustrup style for braces and indents is named after C++ language creator Bjarne Stroustrup.
string literal
Text in double quotes " " is known as a string literal.
precedence rules
The compiler evaluates an expression's arithmetic operators using the order of standard mathematics, such order known in programming as precedence rules.
cout
The cout construct supports printing. predefined ostream object (e.g., you can think of it as declared as ostream cout; in the iostream library) that is pre-associated with a system's standard output, usually a computer screen.
Moore's Law
The doubling of IC capacity roughly every 18 months, which continues today.
getline
The function getline(cin, stringVar) reads all user text on the input line, up to the newline character resulting from the user pressing ENTER, into stringVar.
assembly
high-level languages; compilers; To support high-level languages, programmers created compilers, which are programs that automatically translate high-level language programs into executable programs.
keyword
is a word that is part of the language, like int, short, or double
Code
is the textual representation of a program. The region where the program instructions are stored
instruction
memory; A memory is a circuit that can store 0s and 1s in each of a series of thousands of addressed locations.
%
modulo (remainder)
sqrt
square root
-
subtraction
tan
tangent
byte
A byte is 8 bits.
character literal
A character literal is surrounded with single quotes, as in 'm' or '%'.
comment
A comment is text added to code by a programmer, intended to be read by humans to better understand the code, but ignored by the compiler.
compiler
A compiler is a tool that converts a program into low-level machine instructions (0s and 1s) understood by a particular computer.
warning
A compiler will sometimes report a warning, which doesn't stop the compiler from creating an executable program, but indicates a possible logic error.
computer program
A computer program consists of instructions that a computer executes (or runs), like multiplying numbers or printing a number to a screen.
disk
A disk (aka hard drive) stores files and other data, such as program files, song/movie files, or office documents.
divide-by-zero error
A divide-by-zero error occurs at runtime if a divisor is 0, causing a program to terminate.
floating-point divide-by-zero
A floating-point divide-by-zero occurs at runtime if a divisor is 0.0. Dividing by zero results in infinity or -infinity depending on the signs of the operands.
floating-point literal
A floating-point literal is a number with a fractional part, even if that fraction is 0, as in 1.0, 0.0, or 99.573.
scientific notation
A floating-point literal using scientific notation is written using an e preceding the power-of-10 exponent, as in 6.02e23 to represent 6.02x1023.
function
A function is a list of statements that can be executed by referring to the function's name. A function is a named list of statements.
keyboard
A keyboard allows a user to provide input to the computer.
line
A line is a row of text.
literal
A literal is a specific value in code like 2.
bug
A logic error is an error that occurs while a program runs, also called a runtime error or bug.
logic error
A logic error is an error that occurs while a program runs, also called a runtime error or bug.
runtime error
A logic error is an error that occurs while a program runs, also called a runtime error or bug.
Memory
A memory is a circuit that can store 0s and 1s in each of a series of thousands of addressed locations.
case sensitive
Identifiers are case sensitive, meaning upper and lower case letters differ.
C
In 1978, Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie at AT&T Bell Labs (which used computers extensively for automatic phone call routing) published a book describing a new high-level language with the simple name C.
C++
In 1985, Bjarne Stroustrup published a book describing a C-based language called C++, adding constructs to support a style of programming known as object-oriented programming, along with other improvements.
address
Where the variable address is located
Whitespace
Whitespace refers to blank spaces between items within a statement, and to blank lines between statements.
+
addition
cos
cosine
declares
declaration of a new variable
/
division
exp
exponent
*
multiplication
sin
sine
