1.2 Key Terms

Question 1

Abstraction

Answer 1

Making something more general by losing some detail or making unnecessary to worry about the detail. For example, procedures make it unnecessary to worry about the details of how the procedure gets the job done.

Question 2

Backlog

Answer 2

A prioritized list of features or user stories to add to a program.

Question 3

Call

Answer 3

When a procedure or function is called, the program executes the procedure or function next

Question 4

Developer

Answer 4

Person who writes computer code to create technology tools.

Question 5

Function

Answer 5

A sequence of instructions that returns a value and can be called from other parts of a program.

Question 6

Groom for Backlog

Answer 6

Prioritize a list of items that are on a task list so that the items intended to be accomplished next are in the top slots on the list.

Question 7

Internet

Answer 7

The network of computer networks which communicate through common protocols for accessing information contained inside the computers. The Internet contains the World Wide Web.

Question 8

Local Variable

Answer 8

A variable that can only be accessed from a specific portion of a program.

Question 9

Moduler

Answer 9

Pieces that are well defined with no dependencies on other pieces.

Question 10

Parameter

Answer 10

The local variables created when a function or procedure is called. Parameters are initialized to the values of the arguments provided when the procedure or function was called.

Question 11

Pass

Answer 11

We describe arguments as being “passed” to a procedure; the arguments’ values are assigned to the procedure’s parameters.

Question 12

Problem Decomposition

Answer 12

Breaking a problem apart into smaller pieces.

Question 13

Procedure

Answer 13

A sequence of instructions. The entire sequence is given a name to refer to the procedure from other parts of the program. Similar to a function in programming, but doesn’t have to return a value.

Question 14

Return Value

Answer 14

Any value that a method or function gives back to the statement command from which the function or method is called.

Question 15

Reverse Engineering

Answer 15

Taking a finished product and figuring out how it works.

Question 16

Scope

Answer 16

The portion of a program that knows about a variable. In App Inventor, variables are either global (known by the blocks in a screen) or local (known by the blocks in a procedure or for loop.

Question 17

Sprint Task List

Answer 17

A list of small steps to accomplish, breaking down a user story from the backlog.

Question 18

Subdomain

Answer 18

A domain name under the control of a higher-level domain name. For example, pltw.org is a subdomain of .org.

Question 19

Test User

Answer 19

Person who participates in a usability study.

Question 20

Top-Level Domain

Answer 20

The portion of a domain name that follows the last period. Examples include .com or .org.

Question 21

URL

Answer 21

Abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator. URL is one type of Uniform Resource Identifier (URI); the generic term for all types of names and addresses that refer to objects on the web. A URL that uses the HTTP / HTTPS protocol is usually referred to as a web address.

Question 22

Usability Study

Answer 22

Observation of users interacting with a program to determine the program’s strengths and weaknesses for the purposes of improving the ease of use and usefulness of the program.

Question 23

Value

Answer 23

A value is a particular piece of data such as a number or a string.

Question 24

Web

Answer 24

The World Wide Web, or just “the web,” is a subset of the Internet. The web consists of pages that can be accessed using a web browser.