Python

Question 1

Computational Thinking

Answer 1

A method of thinking that analyse problems, break it down into smaller parts, recognise patterns within the problem and find a strategy to solve it.

Question 2

Translation/Porting

Answer 2

The act of converting a codedprogram into a different programming language.

Question 3

Why would a code be translated/ported?

Answer 3

The programming language is no longer supported/no longer supports the needs of the code
security flaws
newer programming languages
changing policies within the business/organisation
availability of programmers fluent in that programming language

Question 4

What are the benefits of code translation?

Answer 4

More modern programming language, it may be easier to update or change, reduced costs and development time, and the new language can assist with functionality of the program.

Question 5

What are the drawbacks of code translation?

Answer 5

Possibility of an inferior language, the translation may not be exact, it may not be as efficient, it can be time-consuming to port, a lack of developers fluent in the new language, and the chance of less community knowledge to remove bugs.

Question 6

What are the impacts and implications of code translation on users?

Answer 6

The program may function differently, there may be a lack of bug fixes, they may prefer the old version

Question 7

What are the impacts and implications of code translation on developers?

Answer 7

Learning new skills, challenges with debugging, dealing with expectations of users/organisations, finding new solutions in the new programming language

Question 8

What alternatives are there to translating code?

Answer 8

New versions of the current language, identifying performance delays to create improved algorithms, ask other developers to review the code

Question 9

Insertion Slot

Answer 9

Compares values in turn, starting with the second value in the list. If this value is greater than the value to the left of it, no changes are made. Otherwise, this value is repeatedly moved left until it meets a value that is less than it.

Question 10

Tuple

Answer 10

Tuples are used to store multiple items in a single list that is ordered and unchangeable (immutable). After the tuple is created, it can’t be edited.

Question 11

How is a tuple different to a list?

Answer 11

After the tuple is created, it can’t be edited, unlike a list, and uses round brackets rather than square.

Question 12

Set

Answer 12

Data that can be compared and displayed within curly brackets using unions (all data within multiple sets), intersections (only data that’s in multiple sets) and symmetric difference (data in only one set)

Question 13

2D Array

Answer 13

Displays data in rows and columns so that the data can be sorted and searched for using row major order or column major order

Question 14

Binary Search

Answer 14

Picks the middle value in a sorted list of data; if the searched value is lower than the middle, it removes the values above the middle; if it’s higher, it discards the values below the middle. It repeats until the searched value is found

Question 15

Linear Search

Answer 15

Goes through each value in a list of data until the searched value is found or unfound

Question 16

API

Answer 16

APIs are mechanisms that enable two software components to communicate with each other using a set of definitions and protocols. The application that sends the request is called the client, and the application that sends the response is called the server

Question 17

Constant

Answer 17

Something that doesn’t change within the code

Question 18

Pseudocode

Answer 18

A step-by-step description of the code written in English rather than any specific coding language

Question 19

Boolean Operators

Answer 19

Commands that are either true or false

Question 20

Logical Operators

Answer 20

Used to combine boolean statements, including and, or, and not

Question 21

ELIF

Answer 21

Short for else if, used when you have multiple if statements so that each statement is ran after each other rather than at the same time

Question 22

Validation

Answer 22

A method of forcing the user to complete a required action accurately

Question 23

While Loop

Answer 23

Something that is looped throughout a code while a specified action is being carried out

Question 24

Function

Answer 24

Something defined earlier in the code that you can call on to be executed

Question 25

Function Parameter

Answer 25

The variables that will be called upon later in the code, named within brackets in a function definition

Question 26

Argument

Answer 26

Information sent to a function from a function call

Question 27

Call

Answer 27

Calling on the function to happen in the code

Question 28

Programming Paradigms

Answer 28

Different models of coding including Object-Orientated, Procedural and Event-Driven

Question 29

OR Boolean Operators

Answer 29

Allows you to set multiple conditions that must all be true

Question 30

For Loops

Answer 30

Runs a section of code repeatedly until a condition is met

Question 31

Data Types

Answer 31

Categories of data items that tells what operations can be performed on a particular data e.g. Numeric, Sequence Type, Boolean, Set, Dictionary, Binary Types

Question 32

Data Structure

Answer 32

A collection of data types

Question 33

Identifier

Answer 33

A name for programmers to represent a value stored in the computer's RAM, instead of the memory address, can be a constant or a variable

Question 34

Local Variables

Answer 34

Limited to being used in the block of code in which they are declared, for example within a particular function

Question 35

Global Variables

Answer 35

Can be used anywhere in the code, not just the block where they are declared

Question 36

Snake Case

Answer 36

Variables named with an underline to separate words e.g. user_name

Question 37

Camel Case

Answer 37

Variables named with the first letter of each word capitalised and no spaces e.g. userName

Question 38

Why is BIDMAS important?

Answer 38

Sequences don’t always appear left to right, and calculations may need to made outside of the typical left-to-right order.

Question 39

How do you convert integers to strings?

Answer 39

Put a number inside str()

Question 40

GIGO

Answer 40

“Garbage In, Garbage Out” means that a bad or poor-quality input will result in a bad output.

Question 41

Range Validation

Answer 41

Checking that a number that’s been input is within a certain range of numbers

Question 42

Length Validation

Answer 42

How many characters have been input

Question 43

Presence Validation

Answer 43

Ensuring fields aren’t left empty

Question 44

Type Validation

Answer 44

Ensuring the data type is correct (e.g., integer, float, string)

Question 45

Format Validation

Answer 45

Ensuring the data is in the correct format (e.g., date format, email address)

Question 46

Error Handling

Answer 46

Syntax features designed to handle run-time errors as they occur to avoid programs crashing or locking unresponsively