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APCS Vocab - ...............

AP Computer Science Principles (Flagler Palm Coast High School)

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Unit 1 - Digital Information

● Binary: way of representing information using only two options.
● Decimal: way of representing information using ten options.
● Bit: contraction of "Binary Digit"; the single unit of information in a computer, typically represented as a 0
or 1
● Byte: 8 bits
● Overflow Error: Error from attempting to represent a number that is too large.
● Round-off Error: Error from attempting to represent a number that is too precise. The value is rounded.
● ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange): is a widely used system for character
encoding. It was originally developed in 1963 as a 7-bit system allowing for 128 characters. Symbols 0-31
and 127 were reserved for control characters (e.g. “Backspace” or “Delete”) with the numbers 32-126 being
used for printable characters.
● Analog Data: 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.
● Digital Data: Data that changes discretely through a finite set of possible values
● Sampling: A process for creating a digital representation of analog data by measuring the analog data at
regular intervals called samples.
● Lossless Compression: A process for reducing the number of bits needed to represent something without
losing any information. This process is reversible.
● Lossy Compression: 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.
● Intellectual Property: 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.
● Creative Commons: 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

Unit 2 - The Internet

● Computing Device: a machine that can run a program, including computers, tablets, servers,
routers, and smart sensors
● Computing System: a group of computing devices and programs working together for a
common purpose
● Computing Network: a group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or
receiving data.
● Path: the series of connections between computing devices on a network starting with a sender
and ending with a receiver.
● Bandwidth: the maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time, usually
measured in bits per second.
● Protocol: An agreed-upon set of rules that specify the behavior of some system
● IP Address: The unique number assigned to each device on the Internet.
● Internet Protocol (IP): a protocol for sending data across the Internet that assigns unique
numbers (IP addresses) to each connected device
● Router: A type of computer that forwards data across a network

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● Packet: 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.
● Redundancy: 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.
● Fault Tolerant: 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.
● Datastream: Information passed through the internet in packets.
● Packet Metadata: Data added to packets to help route them through the network and reassemble
the original message.
● Transmission Control Protocol (TCP): A protocol for sending packets that does error-
checking to ensure all packets are received and properly ordered
● User Datagram Protocol (UDP): A protocol for sending packets quickly with minimal error-
checking and no resending of dropped packets
● Scalability: the capacity for the system to change in size and scale to meet new demands
● HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol - the protocol used for transmitting web pages over the
Internet
● Domain Name System (DNS): the system responsible for translating domain names like
example.com into IP addresses
● Internet: a computer network consisting of interconnected networks that use standardized, open
(nonproprietary) communication protocols.
● World Wide Web: a system of linked pages, programs, and files.
● Digital Divide: differing access to computing devices and the Internet, based on socioeconomic,
geographic, or demographic characteristics

Unit 3 - Intro to App Design

● User Interface: 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.
● Input: 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.
● Output: 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.
● Program Statement: a command or instruction. Sometimes also referred to as a code statement.
● Program: a collection of program statements. Programs run (or “execute”) one command at a
time.
● Sequential Programming: program statements run in order, from top to bottom.
● Event Driven Programming: some program statements run when triggered by an event, like a
mouse click or a key press
● Documentation: a written description of how a command or piece of code works or was
developed.
● Comment: form of program documentation written into the program to be read by people and
which do not affect how a program runs.

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● Pair Programming: a collaborative programming style in which two programmers switch

between the roles of writing code and tracking or planning high level progress
● Debugging: Finding and fixing problems in an algorithm or program.
● Development process: the steps or phases used to create a piece of software. Typical phases
include investigating, designing, prototyping, and testing
● Event: 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.

Unit 4 - Variables, Conditionals, and Functions

● Expression: a combination of operators and values that evaluates to a single value
● Assignment Operator: allows a program to change the value represented by a variable
● Variable: a named reference to a value that can be used repeatedly throughout a program.
● String: an ordered sequence of characters.
● Boolean Value: a data type that is either true or false.
● Comparison Operators: <, >, <=, >=, ==, != indicate a Boolean expression
● Logical operator: NOT, AND, and OR, which evaluate to a Boolean value.
● Conditional Statement: affects the sequential flow of control by executing different statements
based on the value of a Boolean expression.
● Function: a named group of programming instructions. Also referred to as a “procedure”.
● Function Call: a command that executes the code within a function

Unit 6 - Lists, Loops, and Traversals

● List: an ordered collection of elements
● Element: an individual value in a list that is assigned a unique index
● Index: a common method for referencing the elements in a list or string using numbers
● Iteration: a repetitive portion of an algorithm which repeats a specified number of times or until
a given condition is met.
● Infinite loop: occurs when the ending condition will never evaluate to true.
● Traversal: the process of accessing each item in a list one at a time.
● Data abstraction: manage complexity in programs by giving a collection of data a name without
referencing the specific details of the representation.
● While loop:
● For loop:

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moveForward( )
moveForward( )
moveForward( )
moveForward( )

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|
V

while(steps < 4){

moveForward( );
steps++;
;
————————————–
| steps++; → steps=steps+1 |
————————————–

turnRight( );

for (var i=0; i<4; i++){

moveForward( );
}

canMove(left);
canMove(right);
canMove(forward);
canMove(backward);

^
|
|

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