AP Computer Science A
If you expand the AP Computer Science A Calendar tab below, you will find links to web-pages I will create for lessons 1-5 of unit 1, our first weeks' lessons. I only have created a summary for lesson 1, which turns out to be a waste of your time. The fun begins with lesson 2. While I have not yet created summaries of lessons 2-5, those pages do already contain links to the actual lessons on code.org. You are encouraged to play around with those lessons on code.org to familiarize yourself with the platform. I will be doing the same.
For the computer science course, you will need access to two web sites:
- code.org
- myapp.collegeboard.org
You already have your account at code.org. You still need an account with the college board, both for this course AND to be able to take the AP exam with the college board at the end of the year.
You will need to go to here and enroll in my class using the code I sent you in a separate e-mail. While code.org will provide instruction and give you practice with computer science concepts, the college board site has a large question bank of AP exam style questions with which I will be able to create quizzes. It additionally contains instructional videos which hopefully will be more useful than what I have seen so far on code.org.
Anyway, there is nothing you need to do on myap.collegeboard.org at this time except for enroll in my class. As for code.org, all I would like for you to do at this time is go to Java Lab #1 | Object-Oriented Programming - Code.org and play around on the page becoming familiar with the code.org platform.
Our first class will be Aug 6 at 8am. We can meet at my house or we can meet over zoom:
See you all on Aug 6th.The zoom link for the class is in an e-mail I sent to you. As this web-site is public, I will not place the zoom link here.
- access modifier
- a keyword used to set the visibility of classes, variables, constructors, and methods
- actual parameter
- the value to assign to the formal parameter
- algorithm
- a finite set of instructions that accomplish a task
- argument
- the specific value provided when a method or constructor is called
- assignment
- using the assignment operator ( = ) to initialize or change the value stored in a variable
- attribute
- a characteristic of an object
- behavior
- an action that an object can perform
- call by value
- copying the value of the actual parameter to the constructor's formal parameter
- camel case
- a naming convention where the first letter of the first word is upper or lowercase, and the first letter of each additional word is uppercase.
- class
- a programmer-defined blueprint from which objects are created
- class header
- consists of the class keyword and the name of the class
- code review
- the process of examining code and providing feedback to improve the quality and functionality of the program
- comment
- a text note to explain or annotate the code and is ignored when the program is run
- commit
- an operation which saves the latest changes of the code and represents a snapshot of a project
- constructor signature
- the first line of the constructor which includes the public keyword, the constructor name, and any parameters
- condition
- determines whether or not to execute a block of code
- constructor
- a block of code that has the same name as the class and tells the computer how to create a new object
- data type
- the format of the data that can be stored in a variable
- declaration
- giving a name and data type to a variable
- default value
- a predefined value that is used by a program when the user does not provide a value
- decomposition
- the process of breaking a problem down into smaller parts to write methods for each part
- documentation
- written descriptions of the purpose and functionality of code
- dot operator
- used to call a method in a class
- DRY principle
- a software development principle that stands for "Don't Repeat Yourself" which aims to reduce repetition in code
- efficient
- getting the best outcome with the least amount of waste
- encapsulation
- an object-oriented programming concept where the instance variables of a class are hidden from other classes and can be accessed only through the methods of the class
- formal parameter
- the value to be passed to a constructor or method
- inheritance
- an object-oriented programming principle where a subclass inherits the attributes and behaviors of a superclass
- initialization
- giving a starting value to a variable using the assignment operator ( = )
- instance variable
- a variable defined in a class that represents an attribute of an object
- instantiate
- to call the constructor to create an object
- iteration statement
- a control structure that repeatedly executes a block of code
- literal
- a source code representation of a value, such as a number or text
- local variable
- a variable declared and accessible within a specific block of code
- logical operator
- an operator that returns a Boolean value
- method
- a named set of instructions to perform a task
- method signature
- consists of a name and parameter list
- no-argument constructor
- a constructor with no parameters
- object
- an instance of a class
- object-oriented programming
- an approach to creating and using models of physical or imagined objects
- overloading
- defining two or more constructors or methods with the same name but different signatures
- parameter
- defines the type of value to receive when a method or constructor is called
- parameterized constructor
- a constructor that has a specific number of arguments to be passed to assign values to an object's instance variables
- primitive type
- a basic data type that Java predefines
- programming style
- a set of guidelines and best practices for formatting program code
- pseudocode
- a plain language description of the steps in an algorithm
- refactor
- to improve the readability, reusability, or structure of program code without altering its functionality
- return
- to exit a method and go back to the point in the program that called it with the requested value or information
- redundant
- code that is unnecessary
- reference type
- a data type that contains a pointer to the memory location of an object
- return type
- the value returned before a method completes its execution and exits
- scope
- where a variable can be used
- selection statement
- a statement that only executes when a condition is true
- Software Engineer
- A software engineer designs, develops, and tests software for home, school, and business use.
- source code
- a collection of programming commands
- state
- the attributes of an object that are represented by its instance variables
- string literal
- a sequence of characters enclosed in quotation marks ( " " )
- subclass
- a class that extends a superclass and inherits its attributes and behaviors
- superclass
- a class that can be extended to create subclasses
- syntax
- the rules for how a programmer must write code for a computer to understand
- syntax error
- a mistake in the code that does not follow a programming language's syntax
- tester class
- the class that contains the main method and from where the program starts running
- two-way selection statement
- specifies a block of code to execute when the condition is true and a block of code to execute when the condition is false
- variable
- a container that stores a value in memory
- void
- specifies that a method should not have a return value