AP Computer Science
Principles Key Terms 2026
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,Algorithm A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.
Abstraction Reducing information and detail to focus on essential characteristics.
for loop A particular kind of looping construct provided in many languages. Typically, this
defines a counting variable that is checked and incremented on each iteration in
order to loop a specific number of times.
Heuristic a problem-solving approach (algorithm) to find a satisfactory solution where finding
an optimal or exact solution is impractical or impossible.
while loop a programming construct used to repeat a set of commands (loop) as long as
(while) a boolean condition is true
Conditionals Statements that only run under certain conditions.
Computing Innovation(s)/Computer Any device that takes in data, transforms it, and then outputs it
Linear Search a method for finding a target value within a list. It sequentially checks each element
of the list for the target value until a match is found or until all the elements have
been searched.
Binary Search Looking for an item in an already sorted list by eliminating large portions of the data
on each comparison
Decidable problem a problem for which there exists an algorithm that will always return a correct "Yes"
or "No" answer
, solvable a problem is solvable in practice if there exists an algorithm to solve it that runs in a
reasonable amount of time
unsolvable a problem is unsolvable in practice if any algorithm to find a perfect solution will run
in an unreasonable amount of time
programming language a set of abstractions for giving instructions to a computer in order to perform a task
or a series of tasks
Hardware Abstraction Architecture dependent code used by the kernel to interact with different hardware
architectures. Hardware is made of transistors and logic gates.
object collection of properties or more. A property is an association between a name and
more.
input Data that is entered into the computer system.
output Transformed data that the computer lets out
Variable A value that can change by programming depending on its conditions.
sequence the order in which things happen or should happen. Step by step execution.
Selection After a question in the program is asked, it decides an action to answer that
question. Conditionals.
Principles Key Terms 2026
| Vocabulary, Study Guide,
Practice Questions,
Answers & Exam Review |
Complete Ethics Study
Guide
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers
100% Verified Exam Prep and Comprehensive
Rationales
Included
,Algorithm A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.
Abstraction Reducing information and detail to focus on essential characteristics.
for loop A particular kind of looping construct provided in many languages. Typically, this
defines a counting variable that is checked and incremented on each iteration in
order to loop a specific number of times.
Heuristic a problem-solving approach (algorithm) to find a satisfactory solution where finding
an optimal or exact solution is impractical or impossible.
while loop a programming construct used to repeat a set of commands (loop) as long as
(while) a boolean condition is true
Conditionals Statements that only run under certain conditions.
Computing Innovation(s)/Computer Any device that takes in data, transforms it, and then outputs it
Linear Search a method for finding a target value within a list. It sequentially checks each element
of the list for the target value until a match is found or until all the elements have
been searched.
Binary Search Looking for an item in an already sorted list by eliminating large portions of the data
on each comparison
Decidable problem a problem for which there exists an algorithm that will always return a correct "Yes"
or "No" answer
, solvable a problem is solvable in practice if there exists an algorithm to solve it that runs in a
reasonable amount of time
unsolvable a problem is unsolvable in practice if any algorithm to find a perfect solution will run
in an unreasonable amount of time
programming language a set of abstractions for giving instructions to a computer in order to perform a task
or a series of tasks
Hardware Abstraction Architecture dependent code used by the kernel to interact with different hardware
architectures. Hardware is made of transistors and logic gates.
object collection of properties or more. A property is an association between a name and
more.
input Data that is entered into the computer system.
output Transformed data that the computer lets out
Variable A value that can change by programming depending on its conditions.
sequence the order in which things happen or should happen. Step by step execution.
Selection After a question in the program is asked, it decides an action to answer that
question. Conditionals.
