Ch 1 Introduction Flashcards
Algorithm
A general store by step process for solving a problem
Bug
An error in a program
Byte code
An intermediate language between source code and object code. Many modern languages first compile am source code into byte code and then interpret the byte code with a program called a virtual machine
Comment
Information in a program that is meant for other programmers and has no effect on the execution of the program
Compile
To translate a program written in a high level language into a low level language all at once, in preparation for later execution
Debugging
The process of finding and removing any of the three kinds of programming errors
Exception
Another name for a runtime error
Executable
Another name for an object that is ready to be executed
Formal language
Any one of the languages that prior have designed for specific purposes such as representing mathematical ideas or computer programs. All programming languages are formal languages
High level language
A programming language like Python that is designed to be easy for humans to write and read
Interpret
To execute a program in a high level language by translating it line by line
Low level language
A programming language that is designed to be easy for a computer to execute also called machine language or assembly language
Natural language
Any one of the languages that people speak that evolved naturally
Object code
The output of the compiler after it translates the program
Parse
To examine a program and analyze the syntactic structure
Portability
A property of a program that can run on more than one kind of computer
Problem solving
The process of formulating a problem, finding a solution, and expressing the solution
Program
A sequence of instructions that specifies to a computer actions as computations to be performed
Programing language
a formal notation for representing solutions
Python shell
an interactive user interface to the Python language
runtime error
an error that does not occur until the program has started to execute but that prevents the program from continuing
semantic error
an error in a program that makes it do something other than what the programmer had intended
semantics
the meaning of a program
shell mode
a style of using Python where we type expressions at the command prompt, and the results are shown immediately. Contrast with source code
source code
a program, stored in a file, in a high-level language before being compiled or interpreted
syntax
the structure of a program
syntax error
an error in a program that makes it impossible to parse, and therefore impossible to interpret
token
one of the basic elements of the syntactic structure of a program, analogous to a word in a natural language
