unit 1 principles of comp

• Decomposition

  Process of breaking down a complex problem into manageable subproblems
• Pattern recognition


  Identifying similar/different attributes
• Abstraction

  Removing intricate details from a problem
• Pattern generalisation


  Where the relationship between patterns can be identified and conclusions can be drawn
• Algorithm

  A step by step procedure for solving a problem
• Computational thinking

  Used to analyse a problem, identify patterns and break down complex tasks into more manageable parts
• Variable

  A memory location holder that stores a value that can change during program execution
• Constant

  A memory location holder that stores a value that cannot change during program execution
• Sequence

  The order in which a series of instructions are completed
• Selection

  A point in a program where a decision must be made based on the choices
• Iteration

  Repeating steps or instructions
• Pseudocode operations

  BEGIN, END, INPUT, OUTPUT, PRINT, READ, WRITE
• Pseudocode decisions

  IF, THEN, ELSE, ELIF, WHEN
• Pseudocode repetition

  FOR, REPEAT UNTIL, WHILE, WHILE NOT
• Flowchart symbols

  
• Data types are a means of classifying different types of data
• Data types

  Determine properties like what operations can be performed on the data and how it will be stored
• Basic primitive data types

  • Integer
  • Real/Float
  • Boolean
  • Character
  • String
• Integer

  A whole number
• Real/Float

  A number with a decimal part
• Boolean

  One of two values: true or false, 1 or 0
• Character

  A letter, number or symbol in a given character set
• String

  A set of characters stored as an array
• Type casting

  Changing the type of a variable or literal
• Count control loops/Definite loops

  • You know exactly how many iterations will occur
• Condition control loops/Indefinite loops

  • You don't know how many times it will iterate, it depends on a condition
• Identifier

  The name that refers to a memory location like a variable, constant or subroutine
• Declaration

  Giving a variable a data type
• Assignment

  Storing data in a variable's memory location
• Initialization

  Assigning a value to a variable when it is first declared
• Constants improve code readability and make it easier to update values in multiple places
• What is an array?

  A data structure that stores a fixed-size sequence of elements of the same type.
• [RowIndex, ColumnIndex] - returns the index of the row and column in the data frame
• What is a list?

  A data structure that can hold different data types, can change size (dynamic)
• What structure does a stack follow?

  Last In First Out
• In a stack....

  • Push: data item onto stack
  • Pull: remove last data item off stack
• What structure does a queue follow?

  First In First Out
• In a queue....

  • Enqueue: Add to the tail
  • Dequeue: Remove from the head
• What is a set?

  A collection of records
• What is a record?

  A record is a collection of related data stored in a structured format.