COMS1004 Midterm Terms

8/10/2019 COMS1004 Midterm Terms

1/4

1)accessor method-a method that access the instance data of an object but does not change it.

2)actual parameter-the actual value that is passed into the method by a caller

3)address- A name or number used in information storage or retrieval that is assigned to a specific

memory location often called a memory cell.

4)algorithm-

a)Dictionary definition- a procedure for solving a mathematical problems in a finite

number of steps that frequently involves repitition of an operation; broadly; a step by step methodfor accomplishing some task.

b)Textbook definition-A well-ordered collection of unambiguous and effectively

computable operations that when executed produces a result and halts in a finite amount of time.

5)argument-.An argument is an explicit actual parameter, is the value supplied to a method when it is

called.

6)arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU)- is the subsystem that performs such mathematical and

logical operations as addition subtraction and comparison for equality. In most modern

machines the ALUand the control unit are fully integrated into a single component called

the cpu or the processor.

7)ASCII-American Standard Code for Information Interchange, most widely used code for

representing characters internally.

8)binary-a number system which represents numbers using two different symbols.

9)bit-a bit is a binary digit, the smallest unit of information having two possible values; adata element consisting of n bits has 2

npossibilities.

10)Boolean-a primitive data type that can return true or false.

11)boolean expression- an expression with possible values of true or false.

12)boolean operator-an operator that can be applied to Boolean values;ex. &&(and), ||(or),

!(not).

13)byte-A number made of 8 bits; most contemporary computers use this as the smallestunit of storage in memory.

14)cache memory-a more expensive, very high-speed memory unit that can fetch data much

faster than RAM.

15)cast-explicitly converting a value of one data type to another.


2/4

16)class-a programmer defined data type.

17)computer science- the study of algorithms including

1.their formal and mathematical properties

2. their hardware realizations3. their linguistic realizations

4. their applications

18)constructor-a method that initializes a newly instantiated object.

19)control unit-computer's subsystem whose role is to fetch, decode, and executeinstructions from memory

20)encapsulation-The process of providing a public interface, while hiding implementation

details

21)explicit parameter-are the parameters listed in the method header

22)flops-also known as floating point operations per second flops measure computer speed.

23)formal parameter-the identifier used in a method to stand for the value that is passed

into the method by a caller.

24)gigabyte-2^30 bytes

25)I/0 buffer - The small amount of memory contained by the I/O controller

26)I/O controller - a device that handles the details of input/output and compensates for any

speed differences between I/O devices

27)IDE - a programming environment that includes an editor, compiler, and debugger

28)implicit parameter-the object the method is invoked on

29)initialize- means to set a variable to a well-defined value when it is created

30)instance - an object of a type of class, There is a "class" that defines structure, and instances ofthat class . For example there is the class Car, and there are instance with different properties like

mileage, max speed, horse-power, brand, etc.

31)instance variable - a variable defined in a class for which every object of the class has its own

value.

32)instantiation - construction of an object


3/4

33)instruction set - set of all operations that can be executed by a processor

34)kilobyte 2^10 bytes

35)local variable - a variable whose scope is a block.

36)logic gate - an operator that takes certain T/F inputs and creates a T/F output depending on the

values of the inputs

37)loop - a sequence of instructions that is executed repeatedly

38)machine languageis the language directly understood and obeyed by the machine, it isexpressed in binary

39)mass storage -permanent storage systems that holds the memory when the power is turned off

(making RAM useless)

40)megabyte2^20 bytes

41)memory - the functional unit of a computer that stores and retrieves instructions and the data

being executed

42)Memory Address Register (MAR)a register that holds the address of the cell to be

accessed.

43)Memory Data Register (MDR)a register that contains the data value being fetched or stored

44)methodsequence of statements that has a name, possibly formal parameters, and possiblyreturn a value

45)mutator methodmethod that changes the state of an object

46)objectIt is a particular instance of a class type

47)object referencea value that denotes the location of an object in memory

48)object-oriented programming

A programming style in which tasks are solved by

collaborating objects.

49)parameter - Parameters are variables used in a Method declaration or Method call. They can be

described as either "actual" or "formal" and "explicit" or "implicit."

50)parameter passing - specifying expressions to be actual parameter values for a method when


4/4

it is called

51)primitive data type - In computer science, primitive data type is a basic type is a data type

provided by a programming language as a basic building block. In java it is a number data

type or a Boolean type.

52)pseudocode - high level description of the actions of a program or algorithm using a mixture ofEnglish and informal programming language syntax

53)Random Access Memory - the memory subsystem used by computers consisting of memorycells where each cell has an address and each cell takes the same amount of time to access

54)register - storage cell that holds the operands of an arithmetic operation and then holds the

operation's results

55)scope - the part of a program in which a variable is defined

56)software - collection of computer programs that manages the resources of a computer

57)stored program conceptThe storage of instructions in memory written in binary to be

executed by the computer

58)syntax - rules that define how to form instructions in a particular programming language

59)terabyte 2^40 bytes

60)transistor - the basic unit of all logic operators

61)truth table - a table of input and output for a Boolean expression which has as input allpossible truth values that some Boolean variables can take on and as output all of the results of the

different combinations of truth values for the Boolean expression.

62)Von Neumann architecture - modern computer structure consisting of four subsystems:

memory, I/O, ALU, and control unit, as well as the stored program concept and sequential

execution of instructions concept.

63)white space - any sequence of spaces, tabs, and newlines in code

Documents

COMS1004 Midterm Terms