Chapter 11 Flashcards
if a=[1, 2, 3] and b=[1,2,3] do and b point to the same object?
no
if a=[1,2,3] and b=a, do b and a point to the same object?
yes
aliases
Multiple variables that contain references to the same object.
clone
To create a new object that has the same value as an existing object. Copying a reference to an object creates an alias but doesn’t clone the object.
delimeter
A character or string used to indicate where a string should be split.
element
One of the values in a list (or other sequence). The bracket operator selects elements of a list. Also called item.
immutable data value
A data value which cannot be modified. Assignments to elements or slices (sub-parts) of immutable values cause a runtime error.
index
An integer value that indicates the position of an item in a list. Indexes start from 0.
item
See element.
list
A collection of values, each in a fixed position within the list. Like other types str, int, float, etc. there is also a list type-converter function that tries to turn whatever argument you give it into a list.
list traversal
The sequential accessing of each element in a list.
modifier
A function which changes its arguments inside the function body. Only mutable types can be changed by modifiers.
mutable data value
A data value which can be modified. The types of all mutable values are compound types. Lists and dictionaries are mutable; strings and tuples are not.
nested list
A list that is an element of another list.
object
A thing to which a variable can refer.
pattern
A sequence of statements, or a style of coding something that has general applicability in a number of different situations. Part of becoming a mature Computer Scientist is to learn and establish the patterns and algorithms that form your toolkit. Patterns often correspond to your “mental chunking”.
promise
An object that promises to do some work or deliver some values if they’re eventually needed, but it lazily puts off doing the work immediately. Calling range produces a promise.
pure function
A function which has no side effects. Pure functions only make changes to the calling program through their return values.
sequence
Any of the data types that consist of an ordered collection of elements, with each element identified by an index.
side effect
A change in the state of a program made by calling a function. Side effects can only be produced by modifiers.
step size
The interval between successive elements of a linear sequence. The third (and optional argument) to the range function is called the step size. If not specified, it defaults to 1.
