Shared Flashcard Set

Details

IT258 Glossary of Terms
Terms for IT258
53
Computer Science
Undergraduate 2
10/13/2010
Click here to study/print these flashcards.

Create your own flash cards! Sign up here.

Additional Computer Science Flashcards

 

 

Cards

Term
Actual parameter
 Definition
The values or variables listed inside the parenthesis of a method call.
Term
Arguments
 Definition
Pieces of information that are sent into, or passed to, a method.
Term
Array
 Definition
A named list of data items that all have the same name.
Term
Boolean
 Definition
A data type that can hold only 2 different values: true or false.
Term
Boolean value
 Definition
One of two values: true or false.
Term
Bytecode
 Definition
A binary program that is created when the Java compiler translates the source code.
Term
Casting
 Definition
The process of explicitly converting a value of one data type to a value of another data type.
Term
Class
 Definition
A programming language construct that is used as a blueprint to create objects with specific attributes and methods.
Term
Concatenation
 Definition
The process of combining, or adding, two String values together.
Term
Constructor
 Definition
A special class method used to set up an object, which typically means initializing the object's instance variables.
Term
Data type
 Definition
This describes the category of data that can be stored in a variable.
Term
Definite loop
 Definition
A loop that executes a specific number of times.
Term
do...while loop
 Definition
A Java post-test looping structure.
Term
Element
 Definition
A value stored in an individual memory location in an array.
Term
Encapsulation
 Definition
The act of hiding data and methods to protect them from being inadvertently changed.
Term
equals( ) method
 Definition
A String method used to evaluate the contents of two String objects to determine if they are equivalent.
Term
Formal parameter
 Definition
The variables declared in the method header which accept values from the actual parameters in the method call.
Term
final
 Definition
The keyword that indicates that a variable's value is fixed.
Term
for loop
 Definition
A pre-test loop that uses shorthand notation to combine multiple statements into one line of code.
Term
Indefinite loop
 Definition
A loop whose final number of loops is unknown at development time.
Term
Inheritance
 Definition
The ability to create classes that share the attributes and method of existing class, but with more specific features.
Term
Initialization
 Definition
The process of giving a variable an initial value.
Term
Instance
 Definition
A specific variable that was created from a class.
Term
Instantiation
 Definition
The process of creating an object from a class.
Term
Integer
 Definition
A whole number.
Term
if...else statement
 Definition
A dual-alternative decision structure which specifies what to do when a certain condition is true and also what to do if that condition is false.
Term
Local variable
 Definition
A variable declared and used inside a particular group of code.
Term
Logic operators
 Definition
The && and || operators used to join two or more Boolean expressions to make a compound condition.
Term
Loop control variable
 Definition
A variable whose value determines whether the loop execution continues.
Term
length( ) method
 Definition
A String method used to determine the number of characters in a String object.
Term
Method
 Definition
A named group of program statements organized as a module.
Term
Method
 Definition
A self-contained block of program code, similar to a procedure.
Term
Method header
 Definition
The first line of a method.
Term
Method overloading
 Definition
The creation of two or more methods in the same class, with the same name, but different signatures.
Term
Nested if statements
 Definition
The act of placing one if statement inside either the true or false path of another if statement.
Term
Nested loops
 Definition
The act of placing one looping structure inside another.
Term
New operator
 Definition
This keyword is used to allocate memory for an object.
Term
Parallel array
 Definition
An array whose elements correspond to the elements of another array.
Term
Pass by reference
 Definition
The process in which variables are passed such that the memory address is copied for use inside the method; thus any changes made to the variable inside the method change the variable outside the method as well.
Term
Pass by value
 Definition
The process in which variables are passed such that a copy of the value is created for use inside the method; thus any changes made to the variable inside the method will not change the variable outside the method.
Term
Postfix operator
 Definition
A unary operator that is placed after a variable that will eval.
Term
Prefix operator
 Definition
A unary operator that is placed before a variable that will add 1 to the variable and then evaluate it.
Term
parseInt( ) method
 Definition
An Integer method that accepts a String value and returns its integer value.
Term
Return statement
 Definition
The line of code in a method body that sends a value from the method back to the line of code that called it.
Term
String variable
 Definition
A variable that can hold zero or more characters.
Term
Subscript
 Definition
An integer that specifies one of an array's elements.
Term
static
 Definition
A member that belongs to the entire class so that it can be accessed without the need for instantiating an object from that class.
Term
switch statement
 Definition
A Java decision structure used to test a single variable against a series of exact integer or character values.
Term
this reference
 Definition
A reference to an object that is passed to any object's nonstatic class method.
Term
toString( ) method
 Definition
A class method used to return a String representing the object.
Term
Two-dimensional array
 Definition
An array whose elements are specified by two indexes, often visualized as a table or a matrix.
Term
Variable
 Definition
A named location in memory where programs can store a value.
Term
Variable scope
 Definition
The portion of a program where you can refer to a variable.
Supporting users have an ad free experience!