Developer Jargon: 100 Programming Concepts Every Programmer Should Know

In the fast-paced world of technology, it is easy to get carried away with advanced concepts that you forget the basics. Here are 100 essential programming concepts I believe every programmer should at least have an idea of to help them articulate complex ideas with clarity.

Computer System Concepts

1. Computer System: A computer system is an electronic device that can input, process, store, and retrieve data.

2. Hardware: Hardware refers to the physical components of the computer system. Examples are the mouse, hard drive, etc.

3. Central Processing Unit (a.k.a. CPU): The CPU refers to the brainbox of the computer, which contains the Arithmetic Logic Unit, Control Unit, and Memory Unit.

4. Software: Also known as a program, software is a set of instructions given to a computer to perform a specific task. The three types of software are application software, utility software, and system software.

5. Application Software: Application software is software designed to perform specific tasks for users. Examples are web browsers, word processors, etc.

6. Utility Software: Utility software is software designed to perform specific tasks to control and manage the computer's resources. Examples are Antivirus, Compression tools, etc.

7. System Software: System software is software designed for other software to be developed and executed. An example is operating systems

   Software Development Concepts

8. Software Development: Software Development refers to the process of creating, designing, deploying, and maintaining software applications.

9. Software Development Life Cycle: The software development lifecycle is a sequence of phases that are used in developing software applications. These phases include Planning, Requirement Analysis, Design, Coding, Testing, Deployment and Maintenance.

10. Code Testing: Code Testing is running each line of code with controlled input, expecting it to produce the same output. This is used to verify the correctness of the software.

11. Code Debugging: Code Debugging is the process of identifying, diagnosing, and fixing bugs in a software application.

12. Code Refactoring: Code refactoring is the process of restructuring existing code while maintaining its original functionality.

13. Code Deployment: Code Deployment refers to the practice of moving code from the development environment to a production environment where it can be accessed by end-to-end users.

    Programming Basics

14. Programming: Programming involves giving a computer a set of instructions to perform a given task.

15. Programming Language: A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. The three types of programming languages are high-level, low-level, and machine programming languages.

16. Version Control: Also known as source control, version control is the practice of tracking and managing changes to source code. It also allows collaboration between developers by managing different file versions and coordinating contributions.

    Code Syntax and structure

17. Code Syntax: Code Syntax refers to the rules that define the structure of symbols, words, and punctuation in programming languages.

18. Code Semantics: Semantics refer to the meaning or behavior of code.

19. Syntax error: A syntax error occurs when the code violates syntax rules.

20. Semantic error: A semantic error occurs when a code syntax is correct, but does not work as intended by the programmer.

21. Comments: Comments allow a programmer to add explanations or annotations to code.

22. Boilerplate: A boilerplate is a section of code that can be used in different projects with little or no variation.

    Integration Development Environment & Tools

23. Integrated Development Environment (IDE): An IDE is a software application that provides an environment that helps programmers develop software code efficiently. Examples are Visual Studio code (a.k.a. VS Code), Sublime Text, etc.

24. Compilers: A compiler is software that converts high-level code (source code) to machine-level code (object code) as a whole.

25. Interpreters: Interpreters convert source code to object code one line at a time

26. Assemblers: Assemblers convert low-level language code to machine-level code that the computer can read and execute.

    Programming Basics

27. Algorithm: An algorithm is a step-by-step solution to a given problem. Algorithms can be in the form of flowcharts, natural language, or pseudocode.

28. Flowchart: A flowchart is a graphical representation of an algorithm.

29. Pseudocode: A pseudocode is a method of writing an algorithm that uses plain English and concise phrases to outline a program before executing it in a chosen programming language. It is also known as a simpler version of coding in a programming language.

30. Data types: A data type indicates the type of value of a variable and tells the computer how to interpret its value. A data type can either be primitive or user-defined.

31. Primitive data types: Primitive data types are predefined data types like integer, float, etc.

32. User-defined data types: User-defined data types are data types derived from existing data types. Examples include arrays, structures, etc.

    Functions and Variables

33. Functions: A function is a self-contained module of code that accomplishes a specific task.

34. Function Definition: The function definition specifies the body of code executed when the function is called.

35. Function Declaration: The function declaration tells the compiler about the function’s signature, which includes the function’s name, return type, and parameters.

36. Variable: A variable is a container used to store reusable data. The value of a variable may be altered by a program during execution.

37. Local variable: A local variable is defined within a specified function and cannot be used outside the function.

38. Global variable: A global variable is defined outside a specified function, and can be used throughout the code for any function.

39. Class variable: A class variable, also known as a static variable, is a variable that can be declared from anywhere at the class level with the keyword ’static’. It is also defined within a class in which a single copy exists, regardless of how many instances of the class exist.

40. Instance variable: An instance variable is a class variable without a static modifier and is usually shared by all class instances.

41. Constant: A constant is a value that is not altered by a program during execution.

42. Characters: A character is a basic unit of information that represents a letter, symbol, or control code.

43. Strings: A string is a sequence of characters that may include symbols or numbers. It is usually enclosed in single or double quotes.

44. Concatenation: Concatenation combines two or more strings to form a new string. For example, if a=”Hello” and b=”world” , then c = a + b results in c=”Helloworld”.

    Programming operations and Operators

45. Operand: An operand is a value or expression used to perform an operation.

46. Operation: An operation is a process or action that takes one or more operands to produce a result.

47. Operators: An operator is a character that represents a mathematical operation. For Example, the + is used for addition, and the x is used for multiplication.

48. Statement: A statement is a line of code that is used to express a command in a program. Example: if (x > 10) { print("x is greater than 10"); } is a conditional statement, and x = 10; is an assignment statement.

49. Expressions: An expression is a combination of operands, operators, and possibly function calls that can be evaluated to produce a result. For example, 1+2 is an expression that produces 3 as its result.

50. Comparison operator: A comparison operator is used to evaluate two values to determine the relationship between them, and it usually returns a boolean result. For example, 5 > 3 is true.

51. Assignment operator: An assignment operator is used to assign a value to a variable. For example, x = 3 means that we are assigning the integer 3 to the variable x.

52. Return Values: Return Values are data returned by a function after execution.

53. Pointers: A pointer is used to reference a memory location that stores a value.

    Data Structures

54. Data Structure: Data structure refers to the way data is organized and stored so it can be used effectively.

55. Array: An array is a data structure that holds a collection of elements of the same data type. For example, if X is an array of integers, it could be defined as X = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

56. Structure: A structure is a user-defined data type that contains elements with different data types.

57. Linked list: A linked list is a linear data structure where each element contains a node and a pointer to the next node in the sequence. For example, in a singly linked list, the structure is represented as follows:

    Head -> [Data | Next] -> [Data | Next] -> [Data | Next] -> null

58. Stack: A stack is a linear data structure that follows the Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) principle, which means that the last element to be added is the first element to be removed.

59. Queue: A queue is a linear data structure that follows the First-in-First-Out (FIFO) principle, which means that the first element to be added is the first element to be removed.

60. Tree: A tree is a hierarchical data structure that consists of nodes connected by edges where each node has a relationship with a parent node and zero or more child nodes

61. Graph: A graph is a non-linear data structure that represents the relationship between nodes connected by entities.

    Object Oriented Programming Concepts (OOP)

62. Constructors: A constructor is a function called to create an object.

63. Class: A class is a user-defined data type that is a blueprint for creating an object. It defines the set of attributes and methods the created objects will have.

64. Object: An object is an entity with properties and methods. It is also known as an instance of a class.

65. Properties: A property refers to a key-value pair that defines the characteristics or attribute of an object.

66. Methods: A method, like a function, performs a specific task, except that a method belongs to an object while a function does not.

67. Inheritance: Inheritance allows an object to acquire the attributes and methods belonging to its parent.

68. Abstraction: Abstraction handles complexity by hiding unnecessary implementation details and showing only essential information to the user.

69. Polymorphism: Polymorphism allows the use of a single type entity to represent multiple types in different scenarios. For example, the '+' operator can be used for the addition of integers but can also be used for the concatenation of strings.

70. Encapsulation: Also known as data hiding, encapsulation protects data by bundling its attributes and methods under one single entity. In other words, encapsulation allows you to hide private details of a class from other objects.

71. Parent Class: A parent class, also known as a base class or a superclass, is a class that passes down its methods and properties to another class through inheritance.

72. Child Class: A child class is a class that inherits the methods and attributes passed down from its parent class.

73. Parameters: A parameter is a variable used to pass data to a function.

74. Actual Parameter: These are the actual values passed into functions when they are being invoked.

75. Formal Parameter: Formal parameters, also known as arguments, are the variables defined when the variable is declared.

    Client-Server Architecture

76. Resource: A resource is any hardware or software accessible by another computer.

77. Client: A client is any computer program or device that requests access to a resource provided by a server.

78. Server: A server is a computer program or device that provides a service to a client.

    Data and Databases

79. Data: Data can be defined as raw, unprocessed facts and figures stored in a computer.

80. Database: A database is an organized collection of structured data.

81. Database Management System: A database management system is a software system for creating and managing databases

82. Authorization: Authorization is the process by which a server determines if the client has permission to access resources

83. Authentication: Authentication is the process by which a server verifies the identity of a client before allowing access to the resources

84. Access control: Access control is a security technique that regulates access to resources.

    Programming Paradigms

85. Programming Paradigm: Programming paradigms refer to the different ways or styles in which a programming language can be organized or structured. The four major programming paradigms are: procedural, object-oriented, functional, and logical.

86. Procedural Programming: Procedural programming implements programs as instructions to be followed in a specific order.

87. Object-Oriented Programming: Object-Oriented programming paradigm implements programs using the concept of objects that have attributes and methods.

88. Functional programming: Functional programming paradigm allows you to write programs using functions that produce the same output for the same input.

89. Logical Programming: This programming paradigm focuses on what the program should do rather than how to do it.

    Control Structures

90. Control Structure: Control structures determine the order of execution in a program. The main types of control structures are sequential, selection, and iterative control.

91. Sequential Control: The sequential control allows the program to be executed in the order they appear (sequentially), from top to bottom.

92. Selection Control: Also known as conditional control, allows the program to make decisions and execute blocks of code based on conditions met. Examples include if, if-else, if-elif-else, and switch-case statements.

93. Iterative Control: Also known as repetitive control or looping, allows the program to execute a block of code multiple times until a condition is met. Examples include for, while, and do-while.

    Advanced Programming Concepts

94. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs): An API allows communication between two different software applications

95. Microservices: Microservices is a software engineering architecture style in which a larger application is broken down into smaller, independent services that communicate with each other.

96. Endpoint: An endpoint is a specific uniform resource locator that can be used to access API resources.

97. Asynchronous Operation: An asynchronous operation is an operation that runs independently of the main flow of execution, allowing other tasks to be executed while the operation is being processed.

98. Async/Await: Syntax for handling asynchronous operations more like synchronous code.

99. Callbacks: Callbacks are functions passed as arguments into another function.

100. Promise: A promise is an object that represents the eventual completion or failure of an asynchronous operation.

Remember that even the best developers still go back to the basics occasionally, so it’s okay to refresh your memory when needed. So the next time someone asks you what an array is, you can convey your thoughts clearly and confidently.

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