definitions Flashcards
aggregation
Where the destruction of a parents class does not affect the child class (opposite of composition)
polymorphism
inherited objects can retain parents named methods but with the option to adjust behaviour (overriding)
composition
an association of objects where the destruction of the parents object results in related objects also being destroyed
imperative
SIS
sequence (general)
iteration (while/for)
selection (if/case)
the sequence of instructions to follow in order to solve a problem
protected method
can only be accessed by itself and its subclasses
encapsulation
collecting data within an object
overriding
a subclass giving a new implementation of a parent class
abstraction
hiding the details of a problem that are not immediately important
reducing processing
algorithm
a sequence of steps that can be followed to complete a task
truncate
rear substring being removed
universal Turing machine
can simulate any other Turing machine
tree
A connected undirected graph with no cycles.
thin client network
A network where all processing takes place in a central server; the clients are dumb terminals with little or no processing power or local hard disk storage.
system software
a program that manages the operation of a computer
space complexity
how much memory an algorithm needs
relative error
the absolute error (range) divided by the actual numbers
normalised entity
a set of entities that contain no redundant data
priority queue
each element in a queue has a priority
internet
A global wide area network that is formed from the interconnection of many other networks and that uses the TCP/IP protocol.
protocol
a set of rules or procedures for transmitting data between electronic devices
heuristic
An approach that uses experience to make informed guesses that assist in finding a polynomial time solution to an intractable algorithmic problem. The ‘solution’ may be non-optimal.
(thinking outside the box)
handshake protocol
The sending and receiving devices exchange signals to establish that they are each ready to initiate data transfer.
decryption
Using an algorithm and a key to convert encrypted message data into its plain text equivalent.
baud rate
the rate at which signals can change across a wire
bandwidth
the range of frequencies it may transmit
asynchronous serial data transmission
sender and receiver have separate clocks which are not kept synchronised. Instead, the clocks are synchronised temporarily at the start of a transmission.
