Data visualization is charting data numbers in a graph, bar chart or a pie chart so it’s visually pleasing and easy to understand numbers, trend over time, distribution, etc.
A set of packaged instructions and programs that provides a major or multiple but related user functionalities.
A set of code that can be executed independently. Program(s) can be stand-alone utilities or together make up a larger Software application.
Software applications that are free to use but proprietary. They cannot be modified unlike Open Source, that are free to use and modify. Example: Google Docs.
Software applications that are free to use and can be modified under the open-source license. Example: Linux OS, LibreOffice
Applications hosted on a remote server and made available to you online. No Software installations required on your local machine, saving time and effort. It is available to access from anywhere that there is an internet connection. Example: Google Docs, YouTube, Netflix
The rules defined for a programming language. For example, when coding in Python, indentation is important. When coding in Java, a semi-colon to indicate end-of-line is important. Some languages are case-sensitive; an “IF” is not the same as “if”. If the right syntax for that language is not used, the program will not run successfully.
Lines written prior to actual coding, as a planning exercise. It looks like code but has no specific rules and is not executed by a computer; it is kind of a “blueprint”.
Commands written using a programming language. It can also be used as a verb, meaning the action of writing lines of code. For example, “I need to code for all possibilities”
A group of lines of code that can be run by the computer as one unit. A computer can run a program and output the result.
When you write code using a high level language, how does the machine understand the commands in the program? That’s the job of a special type of software called the compiler. A compiler or an interpreter is a software created for a high level programming language that converts or compiles the commands to “low-level” machine-readable commands. Every language has its own compiler or interpreter.
Code should conform to the syntax (rules) of a programming language. When it does not, the compiler will throw an error also called a syntax error. The program can also throw an error due to a “logical” error such as trying to divide a number by 0.
When the output is not what you expect of a program, indicates an issue. The piece of code causing the issue or the unexpected output is called a “bug”. For example, to calculate the average, you need to add up all numbers and divide by count. But when you run the program, it always outputs 0. Stepping through the program, you realize there is an unwanted line of code that sets the output variable to 0. That line in there, is a bug.
When a program throws an explicit error or the output is not what you expect, you will need to step through each line of code and figure out where the issue lies. Process of finding the cause of an error or issue in your program is called debugging.