Python- Chapter 1

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 Python interpreters by typing commands and expressions at the prompt

semantic error

an error in a program that makes it do something other than what the programmer intended

print statement

an instruction that causes the Python interpreter to display a value on the screen

compile

to translate a program written in a high-level language into a low-level language all at once, in preparation for later execution

prompt

when a program displays a message and pauses for the user to type some input to the program

secondary memory

stores programs and data and retains its information even when the power is turned off. Generally slower than main memory. EX: USB

Central Processing Unit

the heart of any computer. Runs the software that we write; also called "CPU" or "the processor"

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