Difference between revisions of "Introduction to Terminology"
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Revision as of 11:54, 24 January 2012
As a beginner, the sight of an already completed computer program seems impossibly complex. It is quite easy to be overwhelmed by the whole program. A program is however, made out of parts. You can learn each part works one at a time and you can learn how the parts work together.
To communicate the ideas involved with programs it helps to have words that clearly express particular meanings. Two programmers having a conversation need to have the words to say what they mean. Those words need to have quite precise meanings. If there was a Tiger behind the door, you should probably say to your friend "There is a Tiger behind the door". Saying "There is a cat behind the door" is just as correct, but leaves out details that your friend may find important.
Words matter, In life and in programming.
Contents
Words to know
Most of these words already have meanings in English, often their meaning is similar in the context of programming. Sometimes words used in programming seem to have very little to do with how they are used in English. The bigger difference can be an advantage at times to stop you from mixing up the common English use of the word with the Programming use of the word.
Convention
Identifier
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Function
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Parameter
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Call
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Return
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Variable
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Value
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Operator
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Expression
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Statement
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Words to lean soon
Object, Method, Array, String, Loop, Literal
Words to learn later
Closure, Floating Point, Constructor, Class, Pointer, Reference, Instance, Event, Thread, Process, Stack, Interface
Plus a whole lot more. Whenever people talk about a topic, words will come to be used to fill meanings as they are required.
