Python - Glossary

2.11 Glossary

value

A number or string (or other thing to be named later) that can be stored in a variable or computed in an expression.

type

A set of values. The type of a value determines how it can be used in expressions. So far, the types you have seen are integers (type int), floating-point numbers (type float), and strings (type string).

floating-point

A format for representing numbers with fractional parts.

variable

A name that refers to a value.

statement

A section of code that represents a command or action. So far, the statements you have seen are assignments and print statements.

assignment

A statement that assigns a value to a variable.

state diagram

A graphical representation of a set of variables and the values to which they refer.

keyword

A reserved word that is used by the compiler to parse a program; you cannot use keywords like if, def, and while as variable names.

operator

A special symbol that represents a simple computation like addition, multiplication, or string concatenation.

operand

One of the values on which an operator operates.

expression

A combination of variables, operators, and values that represents a single result value.

evaluate

To simplify an expression by performing the operations in order to yield a single value.

integer division

An operation that divides one integer by another and yields an integer. Integer division yields only the whole number of times that the numerator is divisible by the denominator and discards any remainder.

rules of precedence

The set of rules governing the order in which expressions involving multiple operators and operands are evaluated.

concatenate

To join two operands end-to-end.

composition

The ability to combine simple expressions and statements into compound statements and expressions in order to represent complex computations concisely.

comment

Information in a program that is meant for other programmers (or anyone reading the source code) and has no effect on the execution of the program.