Programming Logic and Design: Chapter 2 Key Terms

operand

a value that is manipulated by an operator

data type

an items" ____ describes what values can be held by the item, how the item is stored in computer memory, and what operations can be performed on the data item

magic number

an unnamed constant whose purpose is not immediately apparent

assignment statement

assigns a value from the right of an assignment operator to the variable or constant on the left of the assignment operator

structure

basic unit of programming logic

Alphanumeric Values

can contain alphabetic characters, numbers, and punctuation

string variable

can hoold text that includes letters, digits, and special characters such as punctuation marks.

key words

comprise the limited word set that is reserved in a language

selection structure

contains a decision in which the logic can break in one of two paths

sequence structure

contains steps that execute in order with no option of branching to skip or repeat any of the tasks

right- associativity and right-to-left associativity

describe operators that evaluate the expression form the right forst

white space

describes any character that appears to be empty such as a space or tab

left-to-right associativity

describes operators that evaluate the expression to the left first

overhead

describes the extra resources a task requires

order of operations

describes the rules of precedence

garbage

describes the unknown values that reside in variables that have not been initialized

rules or precedence

dictate the order n which operations in the same statement are carried out

internal documentation

documentation within a coded program that helps explain the meaning and purpose of program elements

batch programs

execute on large quantities of data without human intervention for each record, they accept data from a storage device, such as a disk.

Interactive programs

execute with frequent intervention from a user with and input device such as a keyboard or a mouse

real numbers

floating-point numbers

unnamed constant

is a literal numeric or sting value

method

is a named set of statements that performs some taks or group of tasks within an application.

application

is a program that you execute to accomplish some task

string constant( literal string constant)

is a specific group of characters enclosed within quotation marks

numberic constant(literal numeric constant)

is a specific numeric style

variable declaration

is a statement that provides a data type and identifier for a variable

main method

is an application's primary methhod

rvalue

is an operand to the right of an assignment operator

binary operator

is an operarot that requires two operands- one on each side

external documentation

is documentation that is outside a coded program in seperate documents

type casting

is the act of converting data from one type to another

assignment operator

is the equal sign; it is used to assign a value to the varialbe or constant on its left

camel casing

is the format for naming variable in which the initial letter is lowercase, multiple-word variable names are run together, and each new word withing the variable mane begins with an uppercase letter.

pascal casing

is the format for naming variables in which the initial letter is uppercase, multiple-word variable names are run together, and each new word within the variable name begins with and uppercase letter

lvalue

is the memory address identifier to the left of an assignment operator

identifier

is the name of a programming object such as a class, method or variable

initialize a variable

is to provide a first value for it

data dictionary

list of every variable name used in a program, along with its type, size, and description

prompt

message that is displayed on a monitor to ask the user for a response and perhaps explain how that response should be formatted

floating point

nuber with decimal places

self-documenting

programs that contain meaningful data, method and class names that describe their purpose

loop structure

repeats instructions based on a decision

named constant

similar to a variable, except that its value cannot change after the first assignment

class header

starts a class; it contains the word CLASS and an identifier

method header

starts a method. it contains an identifier followed by parentheses

echoing input

the act of repeating input back to a user either in a subsequent prompt or in output

integer

whole number

temporary variable (work variable)

working variable that you use to hold intermediate results during a program's exectution