Week 1 - Ch 1 & 2 Flashcards
A program (aka a(n) __) is like a __ that tells the computer ‘what’s next’.
algorithm
recipe
Fundamentally, computers are
__/__ machines.
encoding/decoding
Everything that a computer represents (text, images, sounds, etc.) is an encoding of what?
Ones and zeros
Encoding schemes can be layered atop what?
encoding schemes
Who is Guido van Rossum?
Python inventor
Which is not a major implementation of Python?
A. CPython
B. Javathon
C. IronPython
D. Jython
B. Javathon
Which implementation of Python is the “classic” Python?
CPython
Which implementation of Python is best for utilization in the Microsoft .NET Framework (Common Language Runtime, CLR, virtual machines)?
IronPython
Which implementation of Python is best for Java Virtual Machines (JVM)?
Jython
T or F: Python includes its own IDE whereas R does not making Python a better choice.
Explain why or why not.
False. R includes IDE, not Python. But Python is still better because R can’t utilize other languages (like Python).
Why is Python better than SAS in informatics (2 reasons)?
SAS is excellent for business but not very good for science. SAS is also very expensive.
Why is Python better than SQL in informatics (3 reasons)?
- SQL is not a ‘full’ language
- SQL doesn’t handle non-structured data well
- R and Python can use SQL well, but SQL can’t use R or Python.
Which of the following is NOT a strength of Python?
1.Flexible
2. Dynamic
3. Utilizes other languages (although modules must be developed in-house).
4. Wide availability of software modules (prewritten, extensively tested, and free software)
5. New modules addressing new domains are continually being developed.
6. Works with a variety of third-party software libraries.
- Utilizes other languages (although modules must be developed in-house).
Python easily uses other languages.
Python supports multiple programing paradigms, meaning it is:
1. __: Data-centric approach using step-wise sequential processing promotes centralized architectures.
2. __: scope of data is elegantly managed (Based on Alonzo Church’s Lambda Calculus).
3. __: Focuses on the direct transformation of program state.
4. __: Uses encapsulation of data and methods to support extensible and reusable code.
Procedural
Functional
Imperative
Object-oriented
Guido van Rossum created Python in 1989 as an improvement upon this language.
ABC
What is the one bad thing about Python?
Version 3.x and above are not backward compatible with 2.x and below.
What’s the simplest way of working with Python?
command line.
A popular IDE is IDLE; what does IDLE stand for?
Eric Idle (of Monty Python).
An IDE is a step up from command line. What’s a step up from IDE (such as IDLE)?
IPython
Which Python development environment makes programming in Python much easier?
IPython (which we are supposedly using).
__ and __ are the two major IPython IDEs.
Canopy
Anaconda
__ boasts having a community that provides a variety of strong, academic resources (which is why we are using it).
Canopy (?????)
__ is a IPython-like facility that supports multiple languages.
Jupyter
One of the coolest and most powerful features of IPython is the IPython __.
It can be used as a way of capturing IPython programming sessions in a special format that can be saved and exchanged with colleagues.
Notebook
IPython Notebooks are __-based (displayed and executed within a standard browser).
Python Notebooks are also __ meaning colleagues can see and edit your IPython session with their own code, and can be executed in their browser.
HTML
dynamic
The spirit of what is alive with IPython Notebooks?
The Internet!
There are 2 major Canopy panes in a notebook: an upper and lower. What do each show?
The upper is the view pane used to create the notebook, built cell-by-cell.
The lower is an interactive command line pane that enables interaction with Python outside of the notebook.
Each IPython code cell consists of what 2 things?
Input and output element pairs.
What 2 entry modes exist in IPython cells?
Code or Markdown
Expressions are created by specifying one or more operations to be __ or __.
When an expression is evaluated, we say that it resolves to a __.
performed;
evaluated
value
Variables are named __ that hold values that may vary
receptacles
The analogy of a __ is an excellent visualization of a program variable.
box
What are 2 important aspects to any given data type?
Its size and its encoding scheme.
An __ __ describes how the bits in memory will be interpreted based on that data type.
Encoding Scheme
Whereas size deals with the implementation details of how much space is need to manage the data, the __ __ deals with the semantics (meaning) of the data residing in that space
encoding scheme
A __ is a sequence of characters.
string
A line with threaded beads is analogous to?
a string data type
What is meant by a mixed expression?
An expression of two data types, such as division by an integer of a float.
A data type that supports a larger range of values and/or more precise values is said to be __.
wider
What really happens when you concatenate two strings?
A new string is created (rather than two strings added or glued together.
In Python, __ are used with String literals to denote what is called an __ sequence.
List what the following do:
1) \t
2) \r
3) \n
backslashes;
escape
- tab
- carriage return
- new line
Backslashes can be used to delimit a file path, but forward slashes are preferred. Explain 2 reasons.
Backslashes must be duplicated to indicate the file path and not be mistaken for an escape sequence.
Forward slashes are platform independent.
We can name variables, methods, classes, modules, packages, and programs—each one of these serves as an __. __ help us manage complexity.
“Naming is __.”
abstraction
Abstractions
abstraction
__-__ language: A programming language like Python that is designed to be easy for humans to read and write.
high-level
__ mode: A way of using the Python interpreter by typing commands and expressions at the prompt.
interactive
__: To execute a program in a high-level language by translating it one line at a time.
interpret
__-__ language A programming language that is designed to be easy for a computer to execute; also called “machine code” or “assembly language”.
low-level
__ __: The lowest-level language for software, which is the language that is directly executed by the central processing unit (CPU).
machine code
__ __: Stores programs and data. __ __ loses its information when the power is turned off.
main memory
main memory
__: To examine a program and analyze the syntactic structure.
parse
__: A property of a program that can run on more than one kind of computer.
portability
__ function: An instruction that causes the Python interpreter to display a value on the screen.
__ __: The process of formulating a problem, finding a solution, and expressing the solution.
problem solving
__: A set of instructions that specifies a computation.
program
__: When a program displays a message and pauses for the user to type some input to the program.
prompt
__ __: Stores programs and data and retains its information even when the power is turned off. Generally slower than __ __. Examples include disk drives and flash memory in USB sticks.
secondary memory
main memory
__: The meaning of a program.
semantics
__ error: An error in a program that makes it do something other than what the programmer intended.
semantic
__ __: A program that’s in a high-level language.
source code
__: A statement that assigns a value to a variable.
assignment
__: To join two operands end to end.
concatenate
__: 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.
comment
__: To simplify an expression by performing the operations in order to yield a single value.
evaluate
__: A combination of variables, operators, and values that represents a
single result value.
expression
__ __: A type that represents numbers with fractional parts.
floating point
__: A reserved word that is used by the compiler to parse a program; you
cannot use __ like ‘if’, ‘def’, and ‘while’ as variable names.
keyword
keywords
__: A memory aid. We often give variables __ names to help us remember what is stored in the variable.
mnemonic
mnemonic
__ operator: An operator, denoted with a percent sign (%), that works on integers and yields the remainder when one number is divided by another.
modulus operator
__: One of the values on which an operator operates.
operand
__: A special symbol that represents a simple computation like addition, multiplication, or string concatenation.
operator
__ of __: The set of rules governing the order in which expressions involving multiple operators and operands are evaluated.
rules of precedence
__: A section of code that represents a command or action. So far, the __ we have seen are assignments and print.
statement
statements
__: A type that represents sequences of characters.
string
__: A category of values. The __ we have seen so far are integers (type int), floating-point numbers (type float), and strings (type str).
type
types
__: One of the basic units of data, like a number or string, that a program manipulates.
value
__: A name that refers to a value.
variable
