Fundamentals Flashcards
Expression
A unit of code that can be evaluated into one value
Statement
A unit of code that is used to execute a change
Variable
A name that is a reference to a specific place in memory, and the value stored there. Variables can be assigned and reassigned values.
Literal
A value that is the value itself.
None
Represents the concept of no value, or the absence of a value.
Tuple
An ordered, unchangeable collection of items.
Set, frozenset
An unordered collection. Cannot access values with index or key; must use a loop.
bytes, bytearray
A collection of binary digits (bits).
Conditional Expression
An expression that evaluates to either truthy or falsy, typically used in order to determine if a conditional requirement is met. Usually used with if statements.
Software
Software is a collection of instructions for a computer to execute
Application
Software designed for an end-user
Source Code
Code that builds software and is readable to a human
Open Source (OSS)
Source code that is available to view and use
Local Machine
Your own very computer in front of you
RAM
RAM is considered “random access” because you can access any memory cell directly if you know the row and column that intersect at that cell.
SAM
The opposite of RAM is sequential access memory (SAM). SAM stores data as a series of memory cells that can only be accessed sequentially (like a cassette tape).
interface
A medium that takes information from one source, and passes it to another source.The interface usually makes a meaningful translation between the two sources.
root directory
The nickname of the top-most folder that exists on the machine. This folder can contain folders important to the whole system, including folders and files and programs needed to start, sleep, or run a computer.
shell
A shell is a program that runs commands. It is the program that works between the command line and the computer’s operating system, and runs our programs.
home directory
“Home directory” is the nickname of the user folder on a computer, contains important system-wide configuration files for certain programs, by default in macOS, has folders such as “Documents,” “Pictures,” “Application,” “Desktop”.
CPU
At the heart of a computer is the CPU, or Central Processing Unit.
Storage
Storage where data can be kept for the long-term. A common example of this is a hard disk drive in a computer.
Pseudocode
An informal code style intended to give explanation and meaning.
Syntax Error
An error caused by incorrect syntax that Python cannot interpret
Runtime Error
An error raised during runtime
Logical Error
An error caused by incorrect logic
Stack Trace
A report of the active stack frames at a certain point in time during the execution of a program. Reports error messages and details about that error
Debugging
The process of identifying and removing errors from computer hardware or software
Rubber Ducking
Method of debugging code. It describes the idea that sometimes the best way to debug code is to talk things through out loud, and that sometimes talking out loud to a rubber duck will do.
Function
Lines of code (1 or more) that are related, grouped together, and named. Once defined, these lines of code are reusable and can be called over and over again.
Invoking a function
“Invoking a function”(call a function) means “make the lines of code inside of a function definition happen now.” We can invoke a function any number of times (even infinitely!)
Function definition
How a function gets defined before it gets invoked. Function def, where the function is defined, a function you wrote.
Single Responsibility Principle
The Single Responsibility Principle (SRP) states that a function should have one, and only one primary responsibility. This is to say, when developers describe the purpose of a function, ideally, the function isn’t trying to do more than one thing.
Argument
An argument is a piece of data delivered to a function when it’s being invoked.
Return value
A return value is the piece of data that a function delivers to the code that invoked the function.
Function Signature
A piece of syntax. A part of the function definition that determines function name and the parameter list
Parameter
The name of an expected argument for this function. This parameter name is the name of the local variable that will hold an argument value. Parameters and arguments at the time of function call are mapped positionally.
variable scope
The rules in programming about how we can access those variables in code is called variable scope.
Object Identity
An object’s unique identity that never changes once it’s been created. Usually a number. Similar to an object’s address in memory. Find this with id(obj). In a comparison that uses is, Python compares object IDs.
Mutability
Mutability means an object’s ability to change. An object of an immutable data type cannot be changed. An object of a mutable data type can be changed, modified, altered, in other words “mutated.”
Documentation
Any written text, illustrations or video that describe a software or program to its users
API
A set of rules and tools that allows software to communicate with other software. Specifically designed to allow access to a wide audience.
Package
A package is a collection of Python modules that are related to each other
Relase
A distribution of a new version of a package
Version
A state of software, with its code and dependencies at a specific time. Usually identified with numbers
Automated Test
Scripts that test specific code for correct functionality
Unit Test
Scripts designed to test the performance of a single function
Assertion
A statement that somethng is true
Assert
Stating that something is true
JSON
a lightweight data-interchange format that can hold objects, arrays, strings, numbers, booleans, and other formats. Intentionally language-independent.
for loop
A kind of loop that will loop over every element in something iterable, such as a list.
break
A keyword that will exit an entire loop
continue
A keyword that will immediately advance one interation in a loop
range()
A Python function that creates a sequence
.items()
.items() is a method that dictionaries have. It returns a view of the dictionary, or a version of the dictionary’s key-value pairs that are iterable.
Two-dimensional arrays
A list where each element is a list. This often implies that all inner lists have the same length. When all inner lists have the same length, a two-dimensional array can resemble a grid, as the structure mimics rows and columns.
Nested loop
A loop that runs inside of another loop
Infinite loop
A loop that runs and never terminates or ends. This leads to a program freezing or getting stuck doing the same thing forever.
Counter variable
A variable solely used to represent a number that increments or decrements. Usually, counter variables are used to count loop iterations. It needs to be initialized outside of the loop. This is an informal, casual label!
Exception
An event or error that may cause your program to stop if not properly handled.
catching an exception
Code that recognizes a thrown exception is often called catching an exception.
handling an exception
Catching an exception and then handling the situation, setting things back in order, and making it possible to move on, is also often called handling an exception.
Algorithm
A specific process, set of rules, or solution to be followed when problem-solving
Efficient
A quality of code that means it is fast, and/or it does not take up much memory
Time Complexity
A measurement of how the amount of time an algorithm takes to run as the size of the input changes
Space Complexity
A measurement of how much memory an algorithm uses as the size of the input changes
Big O
A notation to describe how the run time or space requirements grow as the input size grows
Reference
A value which enables a program to directly access a datum (a piece of data).
Contiguous
Things that are directly next to one another. In many languages data in an array is stored in contiguous chunks.
Side Effect
Any lasting effect that occurs in a function, which is not through its return value.
Mutable data type
Any type of variable which can be modified without changing the reference.
Debugger
A program that assists in detection and fixing of errors in code. It is often integrated into an editor
Breakpoint
In programming a breakpoint is an intentional pausing place in a program usually for the purpose of debugging.
Watch
Any item of data or expression a developer wants to observe when debugging.
“I created a watch to see the value of items[i] as the loop executed.”
Stepping Over
Over Executing a function call on the current line and pausing on the line after the function call. Essentially skipping over the called function in the debugger.
“I know the sum function isn’t the problem so I stepped over that function.”
Stepping Into
While running a debugger, entering a function call on the current line of execution and pausing execution on the 1st line of the function.
“I needed to see what that average_rating function did, so I stepped into it.”
Version Control System
A tool that records changes to a file or set of files over time as versions
Repository
A directory that stores project files
Git
Git is the name of the version control system we will use. Git is a tool, and we’ll primarily use this tool in the command line or using an IDE.
GitHub
GitHub is a service that can host our codebases. GitHub’s hosting service is made for programmers who use Git in their projects. The primary way we interact with GitHub is through github.com.
local changes area
The local changes area is for new code changes that only exist on this local machine. It’s the first area that code changes go to.
staging area
The staging area is for code changes that a developer indicates should go into the next commit.
Remote repository
A common repository that all team members use to exchange their changes
