Question

Words or names defined by the programmer are called _________.

Short answer

Answer: Identifiers

Step-by-step solution

Understand the context

The context is about programming, where programmers create and define names or words for various elements like variables, functions, classes, and so on.

Identify the correct term for words or names defined by the programmer

The correct term for words or names defined by the programmer is "identifiers."

Fill in the blank with the correct term

Words or names defined by the programmer are called "identifiers."

Key concepts

Variables

In programming, variables are one of the most fundamental concepts. They are essentially names that you, as a programmer, give to information you want to store and use later in your code. Think of a variable like a labeled box where you can store data.

• A variable can hold different types of data, such as numbers (integers or floats), text (strings), or even complex data structures (like lists or arrays).
• Variables allow you to manipulate and perform operations on data without having to use the actual data values directly in your code.

To create and use a variable, you usually follow this pattern: declare it, initialize it, and then use it wherever you need in your program. For example, if you declare a variable age and initialize it with a value of 30, you can later change or check this variable to determine if it's greater than a certain number. int age = 30; It’s useful to name your variables clearly and descriptively. This helps make your code readable and maintainable.

Functions

Functions are indispensable tools in programming that allow you to group together a set of instructions to perform a task. By using functions, code becomes cleaner, reusable, and easier to understand. Imagine you're writing a large program. Some parts of the code will probably need to perform the same action multiple times, like calculating taxes or sorting a list. Instead of writing the same code over and over again, you write a function once and call it whenever you need.

• A function typically has a name, which is an identifier, and it can accept inputs, known as arguments or parameters.
• Functions can return a result, also known as the output, back to the part of the program that called them.

Here's a simple function example in Python: def greet(name): return "Hello, " + name When you call greet("Alice"), it will return "Hello, Alice". Functions make it possible to break down complex problems into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Classes

Classes are a central part of object-oriented programming (OOP), which is a paradigm used to design and build manageable software. Think of a class as a blueprint for creating objects, which are instances of these classes. In the real world, a class can be compared to a blueprint of a house. The blueprint itself is not a house, but you can use it to build many houses. Each house built is an instance of the blueprint, just like an object is an instance of a class.

• A class defines properties (also known as attributes) and behaviors (known as methods) for the objects created from it.
• By defining classes, you can model real-world objects and their interactions within a software system.

For example, consider a class named Car that has attributes like color and make, and methods like drive() and stop(): class Car: def __init__(self, color, make): self.color = color self.make = make def drive(self): print("Driving now") Using this class, you can create specific car objects like myCar = Car("Red", "Toyota"). Each object can have its own unique set of attributes, even though they share the same structure defined by the class.