Unit 24: Vocabulary

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argument
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a value passed to a function when it is called
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"Value1 and value2 are both arguments in the expression sum(value1, value2)."
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array
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a data structure such as a variable that holds other variables in a particular order; for example: $a = ($b, $c, $d)
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"The programmer decided to store all her variables in an array, so she could loop through them and perform a callback function."
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callback
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code that is passed as an argument to other code
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"Programmers use callbacks in tedious situations such as asynchronous programming or running an array of values through a function designed to take a string."
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constant
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a symbol used to represent data that cannot be changed once the program is running
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"The value of pi does not change, therefore it should be represented by a constant."
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for loop
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a sequence of instructions set to be repeated a specified amount of times until a condition is met
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"The student programmed the for loop to run until the value of "x" was greater or equal to 100."
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function
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a named sequence of procedural code statements that perform a certain task
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"The CS student spent all night working on a function to compute the average rainfall in Alaska."
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global scope
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usable anywhere in a program
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"The veteran programmer said using global scope variables is easier but sometimes less secure."
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goto statement
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an instruction in older procedural programming languages that specifies that the instruction execution is to jump to a specified location, normally a line number
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"The professor said that using goto statements is considered bad practice with the possible exception of breaking out of nested loops."
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if else statement
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a decision making process wherein a block of code may or may not be executed based on pre-existing condition
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"The professor told us the heart of the program logic was simply a long line of if/else statements."
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local scope
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usable only in a limited section of program text such as a function
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"For security reasons the bank password variable had a local scope and was confined to a single function."
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operand
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a value from which an operator derives another value
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""2" and "1" are examples of an operand in the equation "2 + 1 = 3"."
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operator
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a symbol that represents an arithmetical calculation
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"The plus sign (+) is the operator in the mathematical expression "1 + 3 = 4"."
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parameter
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a variable specified inside a function or subroutine definition which may be set by the code which calls it
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"The program returned a fatal error because a required parameter was missing."
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procedure
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a series of programming steps beginning in a specific place and ending in a specific place that brings about a certain desired outcome
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"It took the programmer a week to code the required procedure but it fulfilled its purpose well for many years."
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regex (regular expression)
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a string that describes or matches a set of strings, according to certain syntax rules
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"Search engines use regular expressions to match many kinds of similar words, even misspelled ones."
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statement
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a sentence of code in a programming language, usually ending with a semi-colon
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"A computer program is simply a collection of valid statements which provide a result."
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string
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a series of letters and/or numbers
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"The teacher asked us to type a search string into the Google text box and press "enter"."
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subroutine
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an independent block of code separate from the main program, which performs a specific task necessary to the program
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"The Pascal software program was buggy due to an incorrectly performing subroutine."
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switch
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a block of code or function causing a program to change its default behavior
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"The programmer preferred using a switch statement to many if/else statements."
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variable
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a symbol used to represent data which can be changed while the program is running
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"Without variables, programs would not be able to accept user input."
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while loop
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a sequence of instructions set to continue until a certain expression is false
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"The while loop continued until the value of "x" was greater than "y"."
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