8.5. Glossary¶

algorithm

A step-by-step process for solving a category of problems.

body

The indented statements after a heading ending in a colon, for instance after a for-loop heading.

counter

A variable used to count something, usually initialized to zero and incremented in the body of a loop.

cursor

An invisible marker that keeps track of where the next character will be printed.

definite iteration

A loop where we have an upper bound on the number of times the body will be executed. Definite iteration is usually best coded as a for loop.

escape sequence

An escape character, \, followed by one or more printable characters used to designate a nonprintable character.

generalize

To replace something unnecessarily specific (like a constant value) with something appropriately general (like a variable or parameter). Generalization makes code more versatile, more likely to be reused, and sometimes even easier to write.

infinite loop

A loop in which the terminating condition is never satisfied.

indefinite iteration

A loop where we just need to keep going until some condition is met. A while statement is used for this case.

iteration

Repeated execution of a set of programming statements.

loop

A statement or group of statements that execute repeatedly until a terminating condition is satisfied.

loop variable

A variable used as part of the terminating condition of a loop.

nested loop

A loop inside the body of another loop.

newline

A special character that causes the cursor to move to the beginning of the next line.

reassignment

Making more than one assignment to the same variable during the execution of a program.

tab

A special character that causes the cursor to move to the next tab stop on the current line.