Python

13. Glossary

pure function

A function that does not modify any of the objects it receives as arguments. Most pure functions are fruitful.

modifier

A function that changes one or more of the objects it receives as arguments. Most modifiers are fruitless.

functional programming style

A style of program design in which the majority of functions are pure.

prototype development

A way of developing programs starting with a prototype and gradually testing and improving it.

planned development

A way of developing programs that involves high-level insight into the problem and more planning than incremental development or prototype development.

algorithm

A set of instructions for solving a class of problems by a mechanical, unintelligent process.

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14. Glossary

object-oriented language

A language that provides features, such as user-defined classes and inheritance, that facilitate object-oriented programming.

object-oriented programming

A style of programming in which data and the operations that manipulate it are organized into classes and methods.

method

A function that is defined inside a class definition and is invoked on instances of that class.

override

To replace a default. Examples include replacing a default value with a particular argument and replacing a default method by providing a new method with the same name.

initialization method

A special method that is invoked automatically when a new object is created and that initializes the object's attributes.

operator overloading

Extending built-in operators (+, -, *, >, <, etc.) so that they work with user-defined types.

dot product

An operation defined in linear algebra that multiplies two Points and yields a numeric value.

scalar multiplication

An operation defined in linear algebra that multiplies each of the coordinates of a Point by a numeric value.

polymorphic

A function that can operate on more than one type. If all the operations in a function can be applied to a type, then the function can be applied to a type.

15. Glossary

encode

To represent one set of values using another set of values by constructing a mapping between them.

class attribute

A variable that is defined inside a class definition but outside any method. Class attributes are accessible from any method in the class and are shared by all instances of the class.

accumulator

A variable used in a loop to accumulate a series of values, such as by concatenating them onto a string or adding them to a running sum.

16. Glossary

inheritance

The ability to define a new class that is a modified version of a previously defined class.

parent class

The class from which a child class inherits.

child class

A new class created by inheriting from an existing class; also called a "subclass."

 

 

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