problem solving: The process of formulating a problem, finding a solution, and express ing the solution.
high-level language: A programming language like Python that is designed to be easy for humans to read and write.
low-level language: A programming language that is designed to be easy for a computer to execute; also called “machine language” or “assembly language.”
portability: A property of a program that can run on more than one kind of computer.
interpret: To execute a program in a high-level language by translating it one line at a time.
compile: To translate a program written in a high-level language into a low-level language all at once, in preparation for later execution.
source code: A program in a high-level language before being compiled.
object code: The output of the compiler after it translates the program.
executable: Another name for object code that is ready to be executed.
prompt: Characters displayed by the interpreter to indicate that it is ready to take input from the user.
script: A program stored in a file (usually one that will be interpreted).
interactive mode: A way of using the Python interpreter by typing commands and expressions at the prompt.
script mode: A way of using the Python interpreter to read and execute statements in a script.
program: A set of instructions that specifies a computation.
algorithm: A general process for solving a category of problems.
bug: An error in a program.
debugging: The process of finding and removing any of the three kinds of programming errors.
syntax: The structure of a program.
syntax error: An error in a program that makes it impossible to parse (and therefore impossible to interpret).
exception: An error that is detected while the program is running.
semantics: The meaning of a program.
semantic error: An error in a program that makes it do something other than what the programmer intended.
natural language: Any one of the languages that people speak that evolved naturally.
formal language: Any one of the languages that people have designed for specific purposes, such as representing mathematical ideas or computer programs; all program ming languages are formal languages.
token: One of the basic elements of the syntactic structure of a program, analogous to a word in a natural language.
parse: To examine a program and analyze the syntactic structure.
print statement: An instruction that causes the Python interpreter to display a value on the screen.
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