Chapter 20. Further programming

Question 1

What is a programming paradigm?

Answer 1

A set of programming concepts and methodologies used to write and structure code.

Question 2

What is low-level programming?

Answer 2

Programming that uses the computer’s basic instruction set, such as assembly or machine code.

Question 3

What is imperative programming?

Answer 3

A paradigm where the program’s logic is expressed through statements that change a program’s state step by step.

Question 4

What is object-oriented programming (OOP)?

Answer 4

A programming methodology using self-contained objects containing data and methods to model real-world entities.

Question 5

What is declarative programming?

Answer 5

A style of programming that expresses the logic of computation without describing its control flow; based on facts and rules.

Question 6

What is a class in OOP?

Answer 6

A template that defines the methods and attributes for objects of a certain type.

Question 7

What is encapsulation?

Answer 7

The process of bundling data and methods into a single unit, a class.

Question 8

What is an object?

Answer 8

An instance of a class that includes data and methods.

Question 9

What are attributes in a class?

Answer 9

The data items that define the state of an object.

Question 10

What is a method in OOP?

Answer 10

A procedure or function that operates on the attributes of an object.

Question 11

What is data hiding?

Answer 11

A technique where attributes are kept private and only accessible through public methods, ensuring integrity of the data.

Question 12

What is inheritance in OOP?

Answer 12

The process by which a class (subclass) derives properties and methods from another class (superclass).

Question 13

What is polymorphism?

Answer 13

An OOP feature that allows a method to behave differently depending on the object calling it.

Question 14

What is method overloading?

Answer 14

Defining multiple methods with the same name but different parameters within a class.

Question 15

What is containment (aggregation)?

Answer 15

A relationship where one class contains objects of other classes.

Question 16

What is a constructor?

Answer 16

A method used to initialise new objects when an instance of a class is created.

Question 17

What is a destructor?

Answer 17

A method automatically invoked when an object is destroyed to free resources.

Question 18

What is a getter method?

Answer 18

A method used to retrieve the value of an attribute.

Question 19

What is a setter method?

Answer 19

A method used to modify the value of a private attribute.

Question 20

What is a fact in declarative programming?

Answer 20

A statement representing a basic piece of information known to be true.

Question 21

What is a rule in declarative programming?

Answer 21

A logical relationship that connects facts to derive new information or conclusions.

Question 22

What is exception handling?

Answer 22

Responding to and managing unexpected events (exceptions) that disrupt normal program execution.

Question 23

What is a file in programming?

Answer 23

A collection of data stored on disk that can be read from or written to by a program.

Question 24

What is the ‘Read’ file access mode?

Answer 24

Opens a file for reading data without modifying its content.

Question 25

What is the 'Write' file access mode?

Answer 25

Opens a file for writing, overwriting any existing content.

Question 26

What is the 'Append' file access mode?

Answer 26

Opens a file to add new data at the end without deleting existing content.

Question 27

What does 'Open' mean in file processing?

Answer 27

A command to access a file and make it available for reading or writing in a program.

Question 28

What does 'Close' mean in file processing?

Answer 28

A command to end access to a file, releasing any resources it was using.

Question 29

What is a serial file?

Answer 29

A file where records are stored one after another in no specific order.

Question 30

What is a sequential file?

Answer 30

A file where records are stored in a specific order, usually sorted by a key field.

Question 31

What is a random (direct access) file?

Answer 31

A file where records can be accessed directly using an address or key.

Question 32

Why is exception handling important?

Answer 32

To prevent a program from crashing and allow graceful handling of errors.

Question 33

Give an example of an exception

Answer 33

Trying to divide by zero or open a non-existent file.

Question 34

What is the difference between a function and a procedure?

Answer 34

A function returns a value, while a procedure does not.

Question 35

What are parameters in programming?

Answer 35

Values passed to functions or procedures to customise their operation.

Question 36

What does 'passing by value' mean?

Answer 36

Passing a copy of the variable so the original is not affected.

Question 37

What does 'passing by reference' mean?

Answer 37

Passing the actual variable so changes affect the original.

Question 38

How does object initialisation occur in Python?

Answer 38

Using a constructor method: def __init__(self, ...)

Question 39

How do you define a constructor in VB.NET?

Answer 39

Using Public Sub New(...) to initialise object attributes.

Question 40

How does Java create an object?

Answer 40

Using new keyword: employee myStaff = new employee(...);

Question 41

What is the purpose of the method `setName`?

Answer 41

It sets or updates the value of the 'name' attribute in an object.

Question 42

What is the purpose of the method `getHoursWorked`?

Answer 42

It retrieves the value of the 'hoursWorked' attribute from an object.

Question 43

How does containment relate to real-world modelling?

Answer 43

It shows 'has-a' relationships, e.g., a flight contains passengers and crew.

Question 44

Describe a sample containment diagram structure for a flight.

Answer 44

Flight contains flightID, crew (array of crew), passengers (array of passenger), and related methods.

Question 45

What is the role of the 'teaching' predicate in declarative programming examples?

Answer 45

It identifies languages that are both high-level and use OOP.

Question 46

What does the predicate `language(X

Answer 46

oop)` signify?

Question 47

What does the predicate `translator(Y

Answer 47

lowLevel)` define?

Question 48

What is the use of a destructor in OOP?

Answer 48

To clean up and free memory when an object is no longer needed.

Question 49

What are common file-processing operations?

Answer 49

Open, Read, Write, Append, Close.

Question 50

What is the difference between serial and random file access?

Answer 50

Serial reads records in order, random allows direct access to any record.