Chapter 1 Flashcards
algorithm
A set of specific steps for solving a category of problems.
bug
An error in a program.
comment
Information in a program that is meant for other programmers (or anyone reading the source code) and has no effect on the execution of the program.
debugging
The process of finding and removing any of the three kinds of programming errors.
exception
Another name for a runtime error.
formal language
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.
high-level langauge
A programming language like Python that is designed to be easy for humans to read and write.
immediate mode
A style of using Python where we type expressions at the command prompt, and the results are shown immediately. Contrast with script, and see the entry under Python shell.
interpreter
The engine that executes your Python scripts or expressions.
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.
print function
A function used in a program or script that causes the Python interpreter to display a value on its output device.
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 and computations to be performed.
python shell
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. The word shell comes from Unix. In the PyScripter used in this RLE version of the book, the Interpreter Window is where we’d do the immediate mode interaction.
rubntime error
An error that does not occur until the program has started to execute but that prevents the program from continuing.
script
A program stored in a file (usually one that will be interpreted).
semantic error
An error in a program that makes it do something other than what the programmer intended.
semantincs
The meaning of a program.
source code
A program in a high-level language before being compiled.
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.
