Glossary

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May 22, 2024 (01:30:36 PM)

Keywords/Reserved Words:
words defined by the C# language and used for one thing
Datatypes:
categories in C# used to define types of values, such as strings
Variable:
values that be changed
Constant:
values that can not be changed
Identifier:
words defined by the programmer to refer to an object or variable.
Operations:
Operators:
symbols used to perform operations
Modulo:
the % used to divide two numbers and return the remainder
Escape Sequence:
used to represent a non-printable character
Reference Types (Objects and Strings):
a variable of a class object holds a reference to the address of the object on the managed heap.
Value Types (all other reserved words):
a variable of a class object stores the exact data value held by the variable
Numeric Types:
Booleans:
a binary datatype that can only be true or false

Decision Structures (if/else/switch):

Control Structures (loops):

Instantiation (instance of a class):
the act of creating a object, an instance of a C# class
Initialization:
the act of both declaring a variable’s datatype and identifier and assigning it value
Declaration:
the act of creating a variable’s datatype and identifier
Assignment:
the act of giving a value to an identifier
Implicit Conversion:
the act of automatically storing the value of one identifier into another identifier that differs from its own
Explicit Conversion (casting):
the act of storing the value of one identifier into another identifier that differs from its own using additional syntax
Rules:
are required syntactical ways to write a program for it to function Conventions:
are not required for the program to function, but are heavily encouraged for the readability and comprehension of other programmers
Format Specifiers (C, N, P, E):
added to variable calls in strings to format the numeric variable in various ways (see link for specifics)
Constructor:
a method used to instantiate an object and assign it’s attributes
Parameter:
any variable declared within a method
Argument:
any value that must passed to a method in order for it to be called
Attribute:
the variables declared within a class to act as the characteristics of any of its instantiated object
Method:
a code block that contains a series of statements
Class Member (attributes and methods):
anything defined within a class that can be access within and outside of the class
Scope:
Time and place in program where the variable exists
Iterator:
an object that traverses an array or list
Sentinel Value:
a special value in the context of an algorithm which uses its presence as a condition of termination, typically in a loop or recursive algorithm.
Guard Condition:
boolean expressions (predicates) found at the top of a method or function that determine whether the function should continue to execute.
Accumulator:
Counter:
a variable used to count the number of times a certain condition is met
Complex Condition:
a condition consisting of multiple conditions
Method Signature:
the way a computer reads a method by its name and the datatype of its parameters
Method Overloading:
the act of creating multiple methods with the same signature
Return Type:
the datatype of any value returned from a called method
UML Diagram:
a written diagram used to display a class and all of its members
Input Validation:
whenever a program checks if the user gave a usable input and responds accordingly to avoid errors implementation