ARGUMENT
A value that appears in a call to a method.

ATTRIBUTES
Parts of a class that contain the current state of objects of that class. The member variables of a class.

BEHAVIORS
Parts of a class that define what objects of that class can do. The methods within a class.

CLASS
A list of specifications that define a certain type of object and can be used to create objects of that type.

COMPILING
The process of converting Java code into byte code that can then be understood by the Java interpreter.

CONSTRUCTOR
Methods of a class that define how objects of that class are created.

EDITOR
A software program that allows a programmer to type in code. Modern versions usually make it easy to format the code on the screen.

INSTANCE
An object of a class.

METHOD
Sections of code that perform some action defined by a class.

OBJECT
The basic building block of OOP, defined by classes and then instantiated within a program to solve parts of a larger problem.

OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING (OOP)
A style of programming where a programmer takes a large problem and breaks it down into smaller pieces using objects.

SOURCE CODE
The text that a programmer types into the computer and that the Java compiler can convert into byte code.

CLASS DIAGRAM
A visual representation of the relationships between classes.

COMMENTS
Text within source code that is ignored by the compiler and is used to make notes about the workings of the class.

DRIVER CLASS
A specialized class whose only purpose is to instantiate the initial objects of a program and start the interactions within.

IDENTIFIER
A name given to a variable, method, or class.

import
Keyword that allows a programmer to access pre-made classes and packages.

main
A method that is the starting point for a program. Every Java program must have one to run, but most objects should not contain one.

MESSAGE
Information and instructions passed between objects.

new
Keyword used to create objects.

PACKAGE
A collection of related classes.

UML
Standards used when designing OO systems. It stands for Unified Modeling Language.

ASCII
A standard set of two byte codes which represent characters. It stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange.

ASSIGNMENT OPERATOR
The equal sign (=). It copies the value on the right to the variable on the left.

boolean
A primitive data type that represents either true or false.

char
A primitive data type that represents an ASCII character.

DECREMENT OPERATOR
The operator (--) that decreases the value of a numerical variable by one.

double
A primitive data type that represents numbers with a decimal point. It can represent larger numbers and has more precision than float, but it takes up more memory.

ESCAPE SEQUENCE
Special characters that are interpreted differently than they appear in code. These are generally used for carriage returns (\n), tabs (\t), and quotes (\") within string literals.

float
A primitive data type that represents numbers with a decimal point. It cannot hold numbers as large or as precise as a double, but it takes up less memory.

INCREMENT OPERATOR
The operator (++) that increases the value of a numerical variable by one.

int
A primitive data type that represents whole numbers.

MODULUS OPERATOR
The operator (%) that returns the remainder of dividing the left expression by the right expression.

PRECEDENCE
A set of rules that defines in what order operators are evaluated.

PRIMITIVE DATA TYPE
Basic items that are not objects.

RESERVED WORDS
Words in Java that have special meaning and therefore cannot be used as identifiers.

STRING LITERAL
Text enclosed by double quotes.

TYPE CONVERSION
A way of changing from one primitive data type to another.

return
The keyword used to send a value back to a method's caller.

SETTERS
Methods for updating an object's attributes.

GETTERS
Methods for obtaining the value of an object's attributes.

PARAMETER
The identifier used to handle a passed in value.

SCOPE
The area where a variable can be used.

SIGNATURE
The unique structure of a class or method name.

ENCAPSULATION
The process of hiding data.

ACCESS SPECIFIER
The keywords public, private, and protected, which determine how an identifier can be used.

INSTANCE VARIABLE
An identifier whose scope is a whole object.

OVERLOADING
The process of creating multiple methods of the same name.

PSEUDOCODE
A mixture of English and source code.

TOP DOWN DESIGN
Starting with a broad concept and breaking it down into smaller and smaller pieces.

API
Documents that give details on how to use a class.

STATIC
Keyword that attaches an identifier to a class rather than to the objects created from that class.

JAVADOC
A tool which will create an API for a class or package.

FINAL
An identifier with this keyword cannot change its value after it has been initialized.

CONVERSION
A piece of the formatting String that tells the Formatter class how to react to a message.

FLAGS
Special characters that give special properties to values passed in to the Formatter class.

PRECISION
A piece of the formatting String that tells the Formatter class the maximum number of characters to print out.

printf
A method of the System class that is capable of outputting formatted text.

Scanner
A java.util class that is capable of reading input.

System.in
The default input stream.

System.out
The default output stream.

WIDTH
A piece of the formatting String that tells the Formatter class the minimum number of characters to output.

ALGORITHM
A systematic method for solving a problem.

BOOLEAN IDENTIFIER
A variable name of type boolean.

COMPOUND STATEMENT
Using multiple single line statements within one structure block.

CONDITIONAL OPERATOR
An alternate way of coding an if-else statement using three operands.

CONTROL STRUCTURE
A way to control how many times sections of code are executed.

IF-ELSE
A two way selection structure.

ITERATION
A control structure where code is repeated until a certain condition is met.

LOGICAL OPERATOR
Operators that determine if certain conditions are true or false.

PSEUDOCODE
A mixture of code and English that is used to study algorithms before actual coding is started.

RELATIONAL OPERATOR
Operators which compare two values.

STEPWISE REFINEMENT
The process of breaking a problem down into progressively smaller pieces.

STRUCTURED PROGRAMMING
A method of programming which follows rules about selection, sequence, and iteration control structures.

BASE CASE
When a recursive problem can be calculated without another recursive call.

RECURSION
The process of a method calling itself in order to solve a problem.

STACK
A data abstraction where data is 'pushed' or 'popped' from the top.

STACK OVERFLOW ERROR
When Java runs out of room in its stack, typically because a recursive program never ended.

charAt
The String method that returns a char in the String at a specified index.

compareTo
A String method that compares a specified String to the current String.

CONCATENATION
Adding two Strings together using the '+' operator.

equals
A String method that compares the content of two Strings to see if they are equivalent.

GARBAGE
An object with no references to it.

GARBAGE COLLECTION
A Java process that removes inaccessible objects from memory.

IMMUTABLE
An object that cannot be changed.

length
A String method that returns the length in characters of the String.

next
A Scanner method that returns a String ending when the Scanner object reaches whitespace.

nextLine
A Scanner method that returns a String ending when the Scanner object reaches a newline character.

null
An identifier that does not point to an object.

STRING CLASS
A class that holds a group of characters.

STRING LITERAL
Text that is hardcoded.

substring
A String method that returns a designated portion of a String.

toLowerCase
A String method that returns the String without any capital letters.

toString
A method that returns the String equivalent of any object.

toUpperCase
A String method that returns the String without any lower case letters.

trim
A String method that returns the String with any leading or trailing whitespace removed.

BASE CLASS
A class used to define a new class.

CHILD CLASS
A class based on another class.

DERIVED CLASS
A class based on another class.

extends
Keyword indicating that the class will be based upon another.

implements
Keyword indicating that the class will use an interface.

interface
A set of rules governing which attributes and behaviors a class must define.

METHOD OVERRIDING
When a child class overwrites a method inherited from a parent class.

PARENT CLASS
A class used to define a new class.

SUBCLASS
A class based on another class.

super
A reference by a child class to the parent class.

SUPERCLASS
A class used to define a new class.

break
A keyword used to move to the end of a loop's execution.

BOUNDARY
The limits of where a loop executes code.

do-while
An exit check loop with one operand.

ENTRY CHECK
A loop type that checks the condition before ever executing a statement.

EXIT CHECK
A type of loop that checks the condition after executing its statements at least once.

for
A type of loop typically used when the exact number of iterations is known in advance.

LOOP INVARIANT
An assertion about a loop that is relevant to the purpose of the loop.

NESTED LOOP
When one or more loops are placed inside of another loop.

SENTINEL
A fake value used to identify when a loop should end.

STATE
The current value of a given variable.

while
An entry check loop with only one operand.

catch
The statement that will execute in a try-catch if an appropriate exception occurs.

ERROR
A problem with a program that causes unwanted functionality.

EXCEPTION
A type of error that interrupts execution of the program during run-time.

try
A keyword indicating an exception may occur in the following block of code.

BOOLEAN ASSERTIONS
An expression that results in a true or false answer.

BOOLEAN ALGEBRA
A branch of math devoted to the study of Boolean values.

DE MORGAN’S LAWS
Rules to negate compound Boolean expressions.

ABSTRACT DATA TYPE
A data structure emphasizing properties, functionality, and use rather than implementation.

ArrayList
A data structure that can hold varying numbers of objects that can be referenced by an index.

CAST
Converting one data type to another.

for each LOOP
A shorthand way to visit every element of a collection in order.

LIST
A data structure that holds multiple pieces of information.

WRAPPER
Classes used to represent primitive data types as objects.

ARRAY
A data structure holding a fixed amount of data that can be referenced by an index.

INDEX
The location of a given piece of data in a list.

RANDOM ACCESS
The ability to access a list at any given point.

TRAVERSAL
The process of looking at each cell of a list, usually in order.

BUBBLE SORT
A quadratic sort using a nested loop and very simple comparisons.

INSERTION SORT
A quadratic sort using a nested loop and that places data into the appropriate spot.

QUADRATIC SORT
A general type of sort with a number of steps increasing with the square of the size.

SELECTION SORT
A quadratic sort using a nested loop that goes through the whole list, finds the smallest or biggest item, and swaps that item to the beginning or end.

STUB
A routine that can be called but is not complete.

SWAP
Switching two data members of a list with each other.

MERGE
Taking two lists and putting them together.

MERGESORT
A sort that divides the list into two parts, sorts those parts, and then brings the sorted parts back together.

BINARY SEARCH
A search that has an order of O(log₂N).

SEQUENTIAL SEARCH
A search that has an order of O(N).

ABSTRACT
A type of class where some or all of the methods are left undefined.

CONCRETE CLASS
A class where all the methods are fully defined.

LATE BINDING
When the actual method to call is not determined until run time.

POLYMORPHISM
When the behavior of a method is determined at run-time.

BINARY
A number base with only two digits.

DECIMAL
A number base with ten digits.

HEXADECIMAL
A number base with sixteen digits.

OCTAL
A number base with eight digits.

OVER-FLOW ERROR
When a value is placed into a data type without enough bits to handle the value's size.

ROUND-OFF ERROR
An error which affects the precision of decimal numbers.

UNDER-FLOW ERROR
When a value is placed into a data type that cannot handle numbers as small as the value.