1.14. Glossary¶
- activecode¶
A unique interpreter environment that allows Python to be executed from within a web browser.
- algorithm¶
A general step by step process for solving a problem.
- bug¶
An error in a program.
- byte code¶
An intermediate language between source code and object code. Many modern languages first compile source code into byte code and then interpret the byte code with a program called a virtual machine.
- codelens¶
An interactive environment that allows the user to control the step by step execution of a Python program
- comment¶
Information in a program that is meant for other programmers (or anyone reading the source code) and has no effect on the execution of the program.
- compile¶
To translate a program written in a high-level language into a low-level language all at once, in preparation for later execution.
- debugging¶
The process of finding and removing any of the three kinds of programming errors.
- exception¶
Another name for a runtime error.
- executable¶
Another name for object code that is ready to be executed.
- formal language¶
Any one of the languages that people have designed for specific purposes, such as representing mathematical ideas or computer programs; all programming languages are formal languages.
- high-level language¶
A programming language like Python that is designed to be easy for humans to read and write.
- interpret¶
To execute a program in a high-level language by translating it one line at a time.
- low-level language¶
A programming language that is designed to be easy for a computer to execute; also called machine language or assembly language.
- natural language¶
Any one of the languages that people speak that evolved naturally.
- object code¶
The output of the compiler after it translates the program.
- parse¶
To examine a program and analyze the syntactic structure.
- portability¶
A property of a program that can run on more than one kind of computer.
- print function¶
A function used in a program or script that causes the Python interpreter to display a value on its output device.
- problem solving¶
The process of formulating a problem, finding a solution, and expressing the solution.
- program¶
A sequence of instructions that specifies to a computer actions and computations to be performed.
- programming language¶
A formal notation for representing solutions.
- Python shell¶
An interactive user interface to the Python interpreter. The user of a Python shell types commands at the prompt (>>>), and presses the return key to send these commands immediately to the interpreter for processing.
- runtime error¶
An error that does not occur until the program has started to execute but that prevents the program from continuing.
- semantic error¶
An error in a program that makes it do something other than what the programmer intended.
- semantics¶
The meaning of a program.
- shell mode¶
A style of using Python where we type expressions at the command prompt, and the results are shown immediately. Contrast with source code, and see the entry under Python shell.
- source code¶
A program, stored in a file, in a high-level language before being compiled or interpreted.
- syntax¶
The structure of a program.
- syntax error¶
An error in a program that makes it impossible to parse — and therefore impossible to interpret.
- token¶
One of the basic elements of the syntactic structure of a program, analogous to a word in a natural language.