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hardware - Consists of the tangible components of a computer. This includes anything that plugs into the computer or connects as part of the computer system (not just the monitor and keyboard.) program - A sequential series of instructions that tells the hardware of a computer what to do in an orderly manner. software* - Programs and the information, or data, contained in these programs make up software on a computer. CPU - CPU = Central Processing Unit. The CPU processes software by converting input commands to executed commands in a program. I/O Device - I/O device = Input/Output Device. This includes a microphone, keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor, etc. In short, anything that allows the user to interact with a computer and vice versa. main memory - Temporary memory that only holds software when the programs are being processed by the CPU. Main memory does not usually entail long-term storage of software.
second memory - Stores software for the computer's lifespan or forever unless erased by the user by hand. Secondary memory devices can include removable hardware such as floppy disks and CDs which are portable. operating system* - Most central software of any computer. The OS is where the user interface is located, which allows communication between the computer and the user. Secondly, the CPU and main memory are managed by operating system in order to help the OS decide when programs can run or share information into the main memory. A comprehensible operating system is crucial in any product that must be marketed and user-friendly. user interface - The user interface allows communication between the user and the computer. The simpler the user interface (not necessarily basic) and easier to understand, the more people will be able to use the computer and operating system. application* - Excluding the operating system, practically every other software run on a computer can be classified as an application. Applications include anything from games to 3-D modelling, and include individual user interfaces.
peripheral* - Most of the devices in a computer system are peripheral, which means that they operate in the outskirts of the computer system and don't allow the user to directly interact with the CPU/main memory. Examples include the keyboard, monitor, disk drives, etc. controller - Act as the middlemen between peripheral devices and the CPU or main memory. The controller must manage the individual aspects of each device's process of sending data. data transfer device* - Allow the sending of information between computers; almost the exact opposite of physically walking information over to a different computer and then copying it. bit - A bit is a single numerical value "1" or "0" that denotes a single unit of digital information. byte - 1 byte = 8 bits. Often used when one must express large numbers to store data. volatility - If information is volatile, this means that the data stored will be lost if electric power supply to the computer is cut off. This is the reason that it's extremely important to save work before the battery dies.
RAM - RAM = Random Access Memory, from which data can be read and to which data can be written. RAM is a type of memory device. ROM - ROM = Read-Only Memory, which is another type of memory device. Whenever information is stored on ROM, that information can't be changed, hence the user can "read-only" what is before them. control unit - Handles processing steps of the Central Processing Unit. (CPU) registers - Another part of the CPU, registers are small storage spaces in the CPU. arithmetic logic unit - Final part of the CPU, the arithmetic/logic unit is the decision-making center of the CPU, where all the calculations are completed. instruction register - The instruction register of the CPU holds the current instruction in its state of execution while it's being executed. program counter - To help organize pending instructions, the program counter holds the specific address of the next instruction sent to the CPU to be executed.
close ranges. Because the information and computers in a small setting are easy to track, LAN is usually reliable. WAN - A WAN, or wide-area network connects at least two pre-formed LANs and are generally used across long range distances. Internet - Internet, or "internetworking" is, at its base, a WAN. More specifically, the Internet is a vast network of LAN and WAN networks. The Internet connects smaller networks together all as part of a huge WAN network. ARPANET - The Advanced Research Projects Agency developed a WAN called Arpanet that became what we know as the Internet. protocol - A protocol is a set of standard rules and procedures about communication between networks. IP - IP = Internet Protocol, which lays out the process for formatting and transferring information across networks such as the Internet.
Internet address* - A distinct feature in every computer made, the Internet address is the equivalent of the computer's name. The name is unique to each computer. domain name* - The domain name of an Internet address tells the user about the organization that owns the computer. Domain names are also unique, which prevents confusion. subdomain* - Subdomains are often assigned to individual schools (rather than on a large-scale level) that are further additions to the basic domain name. top-level domain* - A top-level domain, or TLD, is the last part of a domain name. This indicates the type of organization that owns the computer, such as "edu" or "org," describing a school and an organization, respectively. World Wide Web - How we access the Internet. Uses hypertext to access various forms of information on networks of the Internet, and makes sharing of information around the world much more efficient. browser* - A software tool that formats web pages and documents that are optimal for viewing. A browser adjusts to the screen size of the computer the user is on.
documentation - Documentation consists of any comments in a program as well as documents such as instructions for the user, references to other sections of code or programs, or any other notes the programmer needs in the program even if they won't actually run in the program. inline documentation - Any of the examples listed above are part of inline documentation if they are actually in the program. class definition - Class definitions are used to define any Java program. Though they can be called anything, all class definitions run as the code included in the braces following the naming of a class. program termination - The termination of a program is when every line of code or every programming statement in the main method is completed line by line and has finally reached the end of the method. At this point, the computer stops running the program, or terminates. method invocation - Calling, or invoking, a method during a program's execution puts the method into action.
character string - A string is a sequence of characters, denoted by quotes in Java coding. In a println method, the code being "printed" is the string between the double quotes following the main method. identifiers - Identifiers are, quite simply, words not surrounded by quotes in programming. These identifiers can either (a) be made up by the programmer based off of the program's topic, (b) be commonly used words made by another programmer that denote a certain action within a program or (c) words that only work in specific situations in the Java language. reserved words - Reserved words are a class of identifiers that can only be used in specific ways in a program because of their special function. case sensitivity - Because Java is case-sensitive, it's important to pay special attention when coding in order to not confuse identifiers that should be constant throughout the code but are muddled due to one accidentally capitalized letter. title case - Used in Java (also called Camel case) for class names. The constant format used lessens mistakes when retyping identifiers. When using title case, the first letter of each word of the identifier is capitalized.
found in low-level language into a single statement. Java and C++ are examples of high-level languages. fourth-generation language* - Operating at higher levels even than the high-level languages, fourth-generation language ignores the details of machine language and instead is used for interactions with a database or longer computer- automated tasks. editor* - One type of software tool, an editor allows the programmer to easily and efficiently make changes to a program. When translating code into different language that can be executed, errors may occur that must then be fixed in an editor in order for the program to run. compiler - A compiler is simply a program used in translating code to different languages of code. It is often used by the CPU to translate source code. source code - Source code is the original code in terms of translation. Before the translation, the source code remains, and after the code is now in the target language. interpreter - An interpreter does a similar job as a compiler except for the fact that an interpreter breaks translation/execution into blocks. Rather than translate the
entire source code, then execute, the interpreter translates and executes small sections at a time. This eliminates the need for two phases: translation and compilation. bytecode - Similar to machine language code, Java bytecode is translated by the Java compiler to easily work on various machines. architecture neutrality - Java is architecture neutral, which means that its bytecode doesn't have to work with a specific type of processor. Java can work on many different types of machines, although the machines must have a bytecode compiler or translator. SDK - SDK = Software Development Kit = JDK contains tools that can aid the programmer. This kit consists of commands that the programmer can use in the command window. IDE* - IDE = Integrated Development Environments are user-friendly packages of an editor, compiler, and other Java tools. open source - Open source projects and code are released by companies in order to let other programmers work on the code for free in the hopes of improving
This could potentially cause the program to crash or terminate long before the end. logical error* - A logical error involves no syntax errors, but an element of the code that the programmer meant to be something else. For example, printing rather than prompting results in a valid response, but not the intended one. debugging - The process of debugging includes correcting any of the previous errors found by the programmer or the compiler in the program. Once debugging is complete, the program can run the way the programmer intended! (coined by Grace Hopper) pixel - The smallest element of a picture, a pixel is simply a small piece of a much larger picture. By storing the color of each pixel individually, the computer can effectively reconstruct the picture simply by ordering the square pixels. coordinate system - Representing each point in Java, the coordinate system is simply a pair of (x,y) values. primary colors - Consist of red, green, and blue. These colors are "primary" meaning that no other two colors mix to from them, and all other colors are made by mixing them together.
RGB value - RGB = Red Gleen Blue Value, or number that represent colors in Java.
