AP CSP Master Vocab List

A contraction of "Binary Digit"; the single unit of information in a computer, typically represented as a 0 or 1

8 bits

Error from attempting to represent a number that is too large.

Error from attempting to represent a number that is too precise. The value is rounded.

Data with values that change continuously, or smoothly, over time. Some examples of analog data include music, colors of a painting, or position of a sprinter during a race.

Data that changes discretely through a finite set of possible values

A process for creating a digital representation of analog data by measuring the analog data at regular intervals called samples.

A process for reducing the number of bits needed to represent something without losing any information. This process is reversible.

A process for reducing the number of bits needed to represent something in which some information is lost or thrown away. This process is not reversible.

A way of representing information using only two options.

A collection of public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work, used when an author wants to give people the right to share, use, and build upon a work that they have created

A process for reducing the number of bits needed to represent a piece of information

a system for representing numbers using combinations of the digits 0 - 9

A work or invention that is the result of creativity, such as a piece of writing or a design, to which one has rights and for which one may apply for a patent, copyright, trademark, etc.

online research output free of any and all restrictions on access and free of many restrictions on use, such as copyright or license restrictions

programs that are made freely available and may be redistributed and modified

a machine that can run a program, including computers, tablets, servers, routers, and smart sensors

a group of computing devices and programs working together for a common purpose

a group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or receiving data.

the series of connections between computing devices on a network starting with a sender and ending with a receiver.

the maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time, usually measured in bits per second.

An agreed-upon set of rules that specify the behavior of some system

The unique number assigned to each device on the Internet.

a protocol for sending data across the Internet that assigns unique numbers (IP addresses) to each connected device

A type of computer that forwards data across a network

the inclusion of extra components so that a system can continue to work even if individual components fail, for example by having more than one path between any two connected devices in a network.

Can continue to function even in the event of individual component failures. This is important because elements of complex systems like a computer network fail at unexpected times, often in groups.

HyperText Transfer Protocol - the protocol used for transmitting web pages over the Internet

a computer network consisting of interconnected networks that use standardized, open (nonproprietary) communication protocols.

A chunk of data sent over a network. Larger messages are divided into packets that may arrive at the destination in order, out-of-order, or not at all.

Data added to packets to help route them through the network and reassemble the original message.

the process of finding a path from sender to receiver.

A protocol used on the internet for fast transmission of information but with minimal error checking

a system of linked pages, programs, and files.

A type of computer that forwards data across a network

issue digital certificates that validate the ownership of encryption keys used in secure communications and are based on a trust model .

differing access to computing devices and the Internet, based on socioeconomic, geographic, or demographic characteristics

the inputs and outputs that allow a user to interact with a piece of software. User interfaces can include a variety of forms such as buttons, menus, images, text, and graphics.

data that are sent to a computer for processing by a program. Can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile interaction, audio, visuals, or text.

any data that are sent from a program to a device. Can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile interaction, audio, visuals, or text.

a command or instruction. Sometimes also referred to as a code statement.

a collection of program statements. Programs run (or “execute”) one command at a time.

program statements run in order, from top to bottom.

some program statements run when triggered by an event, like a mouse click or a key press

a written description of how a command or piece of code works or was developed.

form of program documentation written into the program to be read by people and which do not affect how a program runs.

a collaborative programming style in which two programmers switch between the roles of writing code and tracking or planning high level progress

Finding and fixing problems in an algorithm or program.

the steps or phases used to create a piece of software. Typical phases include investigating, designing, prototyping, and testing

associated with an action and supplies input data to a program. Can be generated when a key is pressed, a mouse is clicked, a program is started, or by any other defined action that affects the flow of execution.

a design approach that breaks the problem into smaller pieces and makes sure each piece works before adding it to the whole.

a design approach requires refinement and revision based on feedback, testing, or reflection throughout the process. This may require revisiting earlier phases of the process.

The use of material created by someone else without permission and presented as one’s own

descriptions how a program functions and may include a description of user interactions that a program must provide.

a description of all the requirements for the program.

a mistake in the program where the rules of the programming language are not followed.

A program or a collection of programs

a combination of operators and values that evaluates to a single value

allows a program to change the value represented by a variable

a named reference to a value that can be used repeatedly throughout a program.

a data type that is either true or false.

a named group of programming instructions. Also referred to as a “procedure”.

a command that executes the code within a function

part of most programming languages and include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and modulus operators.

evaluates to either true or false

joins together two or more strings end-to-end to make a new string.

affect the sequential flow of control by executing different statements based on the value of a Boolean expression.

Expressions are evaluated to produce a single value.

a programming statement that can consist of a value, a variable, an operator, or a procedure call that returns a value.

NOT, AND, and OR, which evaluate to a Boolean value.

a named group of programming instructions that may have parameters and return values.

used to test the relationship between two variables, expressions, or values. A comparison using a relational operator evaluates to a Boolean value. For example

determines which parts of an algorithm are executed based on a condition being true or false

an ordered sequence of characters.

an ordered collection of elements

an individual value in a list that is assigned a unique index

a common method for referencing the elements in a list or string using numbers

a repetitive portion of an algorithm which repeats a specified number of times or until a given condition is met.

occurs when the ending condition will never evaluate to true.

the process of accessing each item in a list one at a time

add elements to the end of a list

manage complexity in programs by giving a collection of data a name without referencing the specific details of the representation.

change the sequential flow of control by repeating a set of statements zero or more times, until a stopping condition is met

a mistake in the algorithm or program that causes it to behave incorrectly or unexpectedly.

abstractions of more complex objects or phenomena for a specific purpose.

part of an existing string

a general description of a task that can (or cannot) be solved with an algorithm

a finite set of instructions that accomplish a task.

a measure of how many steps are needed to complete an algorithm

a search algorithm which checks each element of a list, in order, until the desired value is found or all elements in the list have been checked.

a search algorithm that starts at the middle of a sorted set of numbers and removes half of the data; this process repeats until the desired value is found or all elements have been eliminated.

Algorithms with a polynomial efficiency or lower (constant, linear, square, cube, etc.) are said to run in a reasonable amount of time.

Algorithms with exponential or factorial efficiencies are examples of algorithms that run in an unreasonable amount of time.

provides a "good enough" solution to a problem when an actual solution is impractical or impossible

a problem for which no algorithm can be constructed that is always capable of providing a correct yes-or-no answer

a model in which programs run in order, one command at a time.

a model in which programs are broken into small pieces, some of which are run simultaneously

a model in which programs are run by multiple devices

the time used to complete a task sequentially divided by the time to complete a task in parallel