Applet: Java program that runs within a web browser
Application: stand-alone Java program in Java
Javadoc: utility to turn commented classes into API pages
Source file: program written in Java
Bytecode file: compiled version of program
Execution errors: errors the interpreter finds when running programs
Compilation errors: errors the compiler finds—usually syntax errors
Logical errors: errors due to logical, not programming, mistakes
Object-oriented programming: programming using classes and objects
Object: container for data and methods
Class: definition for a type of object
Instance: object of a class
Instantiable class: class from which you can make an object
Non-instantiable class: class from which you can only use static members
Constructor: special “method” to initialize data members
Reserved word this: special reference to the object in which it's written
Standard classes: predefined classes that come with Java
Package: group of Java standard classes
Import statement: allows use of standard classes w/o using full names
Reserved word new: operation used with constructors to create objects
Reserved word null: reserved word for an empty reference
Garbage collection: automatic deletion of objects without references
Dot notation: accessing a member of an object using a “.”
Sending a message to an object: calling a method of an object
Method: named sequence of instructions in a class
Class method: method defined for a class as a whole (static)
Instance method: method defined for each individual object
Argument: value passed to a method
Pass-by-value: value of argument gets assigned into parameter
Method composition: using a method call as an argument to a method
Value-returning method: passes back (returns) a value to where it's called
Reserved word void: return type of a non-value-returning method
Accessor: method that returns information from an object
Mutator: method that changes information in an object
Overloaded methods: multiple ones with same name, different parameters
Data member / instance variable: named piece of information in a class
Class data member: data that every object of the class shares (static)
Instance data member: data for which every object has its own value
Variable: identifier that holds a changeable value
Named constant: identifier that holds a fixed value (final)
Literal constant: actual number (125, 10L, 6.5, 3.14159F)
Identifier: name of a class, object, method, variable, constant
Reserved word: identifier claimed in Java for a specific purpose
Local variable: variable declared within a method
Variable scope: variable lifetime—same as level of its declaration
Inheritance: when classes inherit members from other classes
Superclass: the parent class from which things are inherited
Subclass: the class that inherits things from the parent
Software life cycle: sequence of stages to developing a program
Analysis phase: defining the problem and analyzing solutions
Design phase: designing the classes for the program
Coding phase: writing the code
Testing phase: testing and debugging the code
Operation phase: using and maintaining the software
Class declaration: definition of a class (header and members)
Method declaration: definition of a method (header and body)
Identifier declaration: announcement of an identifier and its type
Primitive data types: types that are not classes
Reference data types: types that are classes
Numerical data types: byte, short, int, long, float, double (all primitive)
Precision: range of values in a numerical data type
Exponential notation: scientific notation for doubles (12.4e209)
Initialization: assigning an initial value to an identifier
Assignment statement: code that puts a value into a variable
Expression: code that could be evaluated into a single value
Arithmetic expression: expression involving arithmetic operators, operands
Arithmetic operator: + - * / %
Arithmetic operand: any value on which an arithmetic operator operates
Binary operator: requires two operands (minus, times)
Unary operator: requires one operand (negative sign)
Integer division: division of two ints—cuts off the remainder
Operator precedence: order in which operators are applied
Concatenation: creating a new String by combining two others (+)
Operator overloading: using one symbol for several operations (like +)
Casting: explicitly converting one type to a similar one
Type conversion: explicitly converting dissimilar types (String, int)
Numeric promotion: automatic casting of an operand in an expression
Assignment conversion: automatic casting of an assigned value
Wrapper classes: wrappers for primitive types (Integer, Double)
Standard output: window that System output goes to
Standard input: window that System input comes from
Exception: a special kind of error that readLine() can cause
Visibility modifier: says who can access data/methods (public, private)
Outside methods: methods outside class—can't access private members