AP Computer Science A

Lessons with summary notes are highlighted thus:

accessor method

gives the value that is currently assigned to an instance variable

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

alias

a reference variable that points to the same object as another reference variable

application program interface (API)

a library of prewritten classes

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

autoboxing

the process of automatically converting a primitive type value into an object of the corresponding wrapper class

base case

the instance where a recursive method will return a value rather than calling itself

behavior

an action that an object can perform

benchmark

a standard or point of reference to assess progress

Boolean expression

a logical statement that gives either a true or false value

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.

cast

to assign a value of one type to another

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

column

a vertical (up and down) series of data in a two-dimensional (2D) array

column-major order

traversing a 2D array by accessing each column from left to right

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

compound Boolean expression

an expression using logical operators that evaluates to a Boolean value

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

constant

a variable whose value cannot be changed once it has been assigned

constructor

a block of code that has the same name as the class and tells the computer how to create a new object

data structure

a structure for organizing, processing, retrieving, and storing data

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

decrement

to decrease a value by one

De Morgan's Laws

a set of rules that describe how to simplify complex Boolean expressions

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

dynamic data structure

a data structure that grows and shrinks as needed

efficient

getting the best outcome with the least amount of waste

element

a single value or object in a data structure

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

end user

the person who will use the program

escape sequence

starts with a \ to indicate how to display a String

formal parameter

the value to be passed to a constructor or method

HTML

stands for Hypertext Markup Language; the standard system for tagging text files to be displayed on the World Wide Web

increment

to increase a value by one

index

an integer value that indicates the position of a value in a data structure

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 ( = )

initializer list

a comma-separated list of values or objects given inside curly braces ( { } )

inner array

an array that is nested inside another array

instance method

a method that requires an object of the class to be created before it can be called

instance variable

a variable defined in a class that represents an attribute of an object

instantiate

to call the constructor to create an object

intellectual property

the legal ownership of an individual or company's creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images

iteration statement

a control structure that repeatedly executes a block of code

Javadocs

the documentation tool for Java that generates an HTML document from comments written inside /** */ and formatted using @ tags

library

a collection of methods or reusable components 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

loop control variable

a variable that is changed by a constant value and determines the end of a loop

method

a named set of instructions to perform a task

method signature

consists of a name and parameter list

multi-selection statement

a statement that selects a single action from three or more conditional statements based on which Boolean expression is true

mutable

the ability to change after initialization

mutator method

changes the value assigned to an instance variable

natural language processing (NLP)

the ability of a computer program to understand human language

nested conditional statement

a conditional statement nested inside of another conditional statement

nested loop

a loop inside of another loop

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

off-by-one error

an error that occurs when a loop repeats one time too many or one time too few

one-dimensional (1D) array

a data structure that holds multiple values of the same data type

outer array

the outermost array of a two-dimensional array

overflow error

an error that occurs when an operation makes an integer value greater than its maximum

Overloading

defining two or more constructors or methods with the same name but different signatures

override

to define a method in a subclass with the same method signature as a method inherited from a superclass

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

parsing

the process of dividing text into parts for analysis or conversion

pass by value

the process of making a copy of the actual value of a variable to pass to a constructor or method

pixel

the smallest unit of information in an image

polymorphism

where the same object or method has more than one form

postcondition

a condition that must always be true just after the execution of a code segment

precondition

a condition that must always be true just before the execution of a code segment

primitive type

a basic data type that Java predefines

programming style

a set of guidelines and best practices for formatting program code

project backlog

a prioritized list of tasks to complete for a project

pseudocode

a plain language description of the steps in an algorithm

recursion

when a method calls itself/dd>

recursive case

the instance where a recursive method calls itself

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

return by value

a copy of the value is given to where the method is called

redundant

code that is unnecessary

reference type

a data type that contains a pointer to the memory location of an object

relational operator

an operator used to compare values or expressions

return type

the value returned before a method completes its execution and exits

RGB

a color model consisting of red, green, and blue lights to display images

row

a horizontal (left to right) series of data in a two-dimensional (2D) array

row-major order

traversing a 2D array by accessing each row from top to bottom

scope

where a variable can be used

selection statement

a statement that only executes when a condition is true

short-circuited evaluation

a process in which the evaluation of a logical expression exits when the result is clear, even before the complete evaluation of the expression

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

static data structure

a data structure that is fixed in size

static method

a method that can be called without creating an object of the class

static variable

a variable that is shared by all instances of a class

stop word

a word that is filtered out of a list before or after processing text

stop word removal

the process of removing commonly used words from a list before or after processing text

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

text file

a file that contains letters, numbers, and/or symbols but has no special formatting

text segmentation

the process of dividing text into words, sentences, or topics

traverse

to access elements in a data structure one by one

truth table

a table used to determine the truth values of a Boolean expression

two-dimensional (2D) array

an array of arrays often represented as a table with rows and columns

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

unboxing

automatically converting an object of a wrapper class to its corresponding primitive type

underflow error

an error that occurs when an operation makes an integer value less than its minimum

user story

an informal explanation of a program feature written from the perspective of the user

variable

a container that stores a value in memory

void

specifies that a method should not have a return value

widen

automatically cast from a smaller type to a larger type

wrapper class

a class used to convert primitive data types into objects