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11.9: Glossary

  • Page ID
    42127
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    mapping:
    A relationship in which each element of one set corresponds to an element of another set.
    dictionary:
    A mapping from keys to their corresponding values.
    key-value pair:
    The representation of the mapping from a key to a value.
    item:
    In a dictionary, another name for a key-value pair.
    key:
    An object that appears in a dictionary as the first part of a key-value pair.
    value:
    An object that appears in a dictionary as the second part of a key-value pair. This is more specific than our previous use of the word “value”.
    implementation:
    A way of performing a computation.
    hashtable:
    The algorithm used to implement Python dictionaries.
    hash function:
    A function used by a hashtable to compute the location for a key.
    hashable:
    A type that has a hash function. Immutable types like integers, floats and strings are hashable; mutable types like lists and dictionaries are not.
    lookup:
    A dictionary operation that takes a key and finds the corresponding value.
    reverse lookup:
    A dictionary operation that takes a value and finds one or more keys that map to it.
    raise statement:
    A statement that (deliberately) raises an exception.
    singleton:
    A list (or other sequence) with a single element.
    call graph:
    A diagram that shows every frame created during the execution of a program, with an arrow from each caller to each callee.
    memo:
    A computed value stored to avoid unnecessary future computation.
    global variable:
    A variable defined outside a function. Global variables can be accessed from any function.
    global statement:
    A statement that declares a variable name global.
    flag:
    A boolean variable used to indicate whether a condition is true.
    declaration:
    A statement like global that tells the interpreter something about a variable.

    This page titled 11.9: Glossary is shared under a CC BY-NC 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Allen B. Downey (Green Tea Press) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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