By: Every parent wants the opportunity to speak the language of their kids. For those of us who didn’t grow up with an Apple II, it may seem as though your tech-savvy kid is speaking a foreign language. However, it doesn’t have to be so difficult to understand what your kid is talking about. Below, we have put together a list of 26 common words that the parents of techie kids should know.
- Coding (computer) - The process of writing a computer program in a specific language. Coding can be done in many different languages such as Python, Ruby on Rails, C#, Java, or Javascript. There are even visual based languages like Scratch or MIT App Inventor.
- Programming (computer) - The process of writing instructions (generically, not language specific that get executed by a computer. Fundamentally, computers are a combination of hardware (laptop, desktop or mobile device) & software.
- Loops - A sequence of instructions that is repeated until a certain condition is successfully met. The most popular loop is a ‘forever’ loop.
- Functions - A block of organized, re-usable code that is used to perform a single or group of related actions. Most coding languages have a built-in set of functions that can be called on by programmers/developers.
- Variables - A storage location (identified by a memory address) paired with an associated symbolic name (an identifier), which contains some known or unknown quantity of information referred to as a value. For example, Digital Adventures = best coding school for kids.
- Classes - An extensible program-code-template for creating objects, providing initial values for state (member variables) and implementations of behavior (member functions or methods).
- Libraries - A collection of non-volatile resources used by computer programs, often for software development. These may include configuration data, documentation, help data, message templates, pre-written code and subroutines, classes, values or type specifications.
- Algorithms - An unambiguous specification of how to solve a class of problems. Algorithms can perform calculation, data processing and automated reasoning tasks. Modern day organizations, like Google, are known for the proprietary and patented algorithms that are used to achieve given outcomes like search.
- Logic - A type of programming paradigm which is largely based on formal logic. Any program written in a logic programming language is a set of sentences in logical form, expressing facts and rules about some problem domain.
- Developer/Programmer - Any computer professional who knows how to code (write computer programs).
- Open source - Computer programs, projects and applications that developers/programmers can modify and share because its source code is publicly accessible. The term originated in the context of software development to designate a specific approach to creating computer programs.
- Hacker - Any skilled computer programmer. The term has also become associated in popular culture with a "security hacker", someone who, with their technical knowledge, uses bugs or exploits to perform unauthorized break-ins into computer systems.
- Blockchain - A digital ledger of records that’s arranged in chunks of data called blocks. These blocks are then linked with one another through a cryptographic validation known as a hashing function. Linked together, these blocks form an unbroken chain — a blockchain.
- Cryptography - The process of converting ordinary plain text into unintelligible text and vice-versa. It is a method of storing and transmitting data in a particular form so that only those for whom it is intended can read and process it.
- Cryptocurrency - A digital or virtual currency designed to work as a medium of exchange. It uses cryptography to secure and verify transactions as well as to control the creation of new units of a particular cryptocurrency.
- Bitcoin - A type of digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank.
- Ethereum - An open-source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract (scripting) functionality. Ether can be transferred between accounts and used to compensate participant mining nodes for computations performed.
- Stack (technology) - A set of software components that compose a logically complete platform for running a service or supporting an application.
- Hardware - The collection of physical parts of a computer system. This includes the computer case, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. It also includes all the parts inside the computer case, such as the hard disk drive, motherboard, video card, and many others. Computer hardware is what you can physically touch.
- Software - A set of instructions and associated documentation that tells a computer what to do or how to perform a task or it can mean all the software on a computer, including the applications and the operating system.
- Binary - A numeric system that only uses two digits — 0 and 1. Computers operate in binary meaning they store data and perform calculations using only zeros and ones.
- Robotics - An interdisciplinary branch of engineering and science that includes mechanical engineering, electronics engineering, computer science, and others.
- Database - An organized collection of data, stored and accessed electronically.
- User-interface (UI) - The means by which the user and a computer system interact, in particular the use of input devices and software.
- User-experience (UX) - The overall experience of a person using a product such as a website or computer application, especially in terms of how easy or pleasing it is to use.
- Cloud (computing) - shared pools of configurable computer system resources and higher-level services that can be rapidly provisioned with minimal management effort, often over the Internet. Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale, similar to a public utility.