A value given to a function or program when it runs. The term is often used interchangeably (and inconsistently) with parameter.
A variable that belongs to a particular class or a particular instance.
To give a value a name by associating a variable with it.
logical operators, i.e. and, or, and not, that allow us to build more complex conditional statements from simpler conditional statements. See: conditional statements
Treating text as if upper and lower case characters of the same letter were the same. See also: case-sensitive.
Treating text as if upper and lower case characters of the same letter are different. See also: case-insensitive.
A remark in a program that is intended to help human readers understand what is going on, but is ignored by the computer. Comments in Python, R, and the Unix shell start with a # character and run to the end of the line; comments in SQL start with --, and other languages have other conventions.
(CSV) A common textual representation for tables in which the values in each row are separated by commas.
A value to use for a parameter if nothing is specified explicitly.
The practice of writing programs that check their own operation to catch errors as early as possible.
Short for "documentation string", this refers to textual documentation embedded in Python programs. Unlike comments, docstrings are preserved in the running program and can be examined in interactive sessions.
Human-language text written to explain what software does, how it works, or how to use it.
A two-part notation used in many programming languages in which thing.component refers to the component belonging to thing.
A number containing a fractional part and an exponent. See also: integer.
A use of a function in another piece of software.
Unchangeable. The value of immutable data cannot be altered after it has been created. See also: mutable.
To load a library into a program.
A whole number, such as -12343. See also: floating-point number.
A family of code units (functions, classes, variables) that implement a set of related tasks. Sometimes referred to as a "package".
A function which is tied to a particular object. Each of an object's methods typically implements one of the things it can do, or one of the questions it can answer.
Changeable. The value of mutable data can be altered after it has been created. See also: immutable.
A variable named in the function's declaration that is used to hold a value passed into the call. The term is often used interchangeably (and inconsistently) with argument.
A collection of information that is presented in a specific order. For example, in Python, a string is a sequence of characters, while a list is a sequence of any variable.
A regular subsequence of a larger sequence, such as the first five elements or every second element.
Short for "character string", a sequence of zero or more characters.
A programming error that occurs when statements are in an order or contain characters not expected by the programming language.
The sequence of function calls that led to an error.
The classification of something in a program (for example, the contents of a variable) as a kind of number (e.g. floating-point, integer), string, or something else.
Indicates the nature of an error in a program. For example, in Python, an IOError to problems with file input/output. See also: syntax error.
A symbolic name that is a reference or pointer to a data object.
Any character or series of characters that represent horizontal or vertical space. Generally, space-bar, tab, return/enter. Some whitespace in python is represented differently than what you see. A return is \n and tab \t.