8.13. Glossary¶

algorithm¶: A step-by-step process for solving a category of problems.
body¶: The indented statements after a heading ending in a colon, for instance after a for-loop heading.
counter¶: A variable used to count something, usually initialized to zero and incremented in the body of a loop.
cursor¶: An invisible marker that keeps track of where the next character will be printed.
definite iteration¶: A loop where we have an upper bound on the number of times the body will be executed. Definite iteration is usually best coded as a for loop.
escape sequence¶: An escape character, \, followed by one or more printable characters used to designate a nonprintable character.
generalize¶: To replace something unnecessarily specific (like a constant value) with something appropriately general (like a variable or parameter). Generalization makes code more versatile, more likely to be reused, and sometimes even easier to write.
infinite loop¶: A loop in which the terminating condition is never satisfied.
indefinite iteration¶: A loop where we just need to keep going until some condition is met. A while statement is used for this case.
iteration¶: Repeated execution of a set of programming statements.
loop¶: A statement or group of statements that execute repeatedly until a terminating condition is satisfied.
loop variable¶: A variable used as part of the terminating condition of a loop.
nested loop¶: A loop inside the body of another loop.
newline¶: A special character that causes the cursor to move to the beginning of the next line.
reassignment¶: Making more than one assignment to the same variable during the execution of a program.
tab¶: A special character that causes the cursor to move to the next tab stop on the current line.