Basic Definitions

Question 1

algorithm

Answer 1

A general process for solving a category of problems.

Question 2

bug

Answer 2

An error in a program.

Question 3

byte code

Answer 3

An intermediate language between source code and object code. Many modern languages first compile source code into byte code and then interpret the byte code with a program called a virtual machine.

Question 4

compile

Answer 4

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

Question 5

debugging

Answer 5

The process of finding and removing any of the three kinds of programming errors.

Question 6

exception

Answer 6

Another name for a runtime error.

Question 7

executable

Answer 7

Another name for object code that is ready to be executed.

Question 8

formal language

Answer 8

Any one of the languages that people have designed for specific purposes, such as representing mathematical ideas or computer programs; all programming languages are formal languages.

Question 9

high-level language

Answer 9

A programming language like Python that is designed to be easy for humans to read and write.

Question 10

interpret

Answer 10

To execute a program in a high-level language by translating it one line at a time.

Question 11

low-level language

Answer 11

A programming language that is designed to be easy for a computer to execute; also called machine language or assembly language.

Question 12

natural language

Answer 12

Any one of the languages that people speak that evolved naturally.

Question 13

object code

Answer 13

The output of the compiler after it translates the program.

Question 14

parse

Answer 14

To examine a program and analyze the syntactic structure.

Question 15

portability

Answer 15

A property of a program that can run on more than one kind of computer.

Question 16

print statement

Answer 16

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

Question 17

problem solving

Answer 17

The process of formulating a problem, finding a solution, and expressing the solution.

Question 18

program

Answer 18

a sequence of instructions that specifies to a computer actions and computations to be performed.

Question 19

Python shell

Answer 19

An interactive user interface to the Python interpreter. The user of a Python shell types commands at the prompt (»>), and presses the return key to send these commands immediately to the interpreter for processing.

Question 20

runtime error

Answer 20

An error that does not occur until the program has started to execute but that prevents the program from continuing.

Question 21

script

Answer 21

A program stored in a file (usually one that will be interpreted).

Question 22

semantic error

Answer 22

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

Question 23

semantics

Answer 23

The meaning of a program.

Question 24

source code

Answer 24

A program in a high-level language before being compiled.

Question 25

syntax

Answer 25

The structure of a program.

Question 26

syntax error

Answer 26

An error in a program that makes it impossible to parse — and therefore impossible to interpret.

Question 27

token

Answer 27

One of the basic elements of the syntactic structure of a program, analogous to a word in a natural language.