the wiki

Every concept, in human language

The blue terms you meet inside lessons live here: a short definition, why it matters, and real-life examples. No jargon walls, no talking down.

• AlgorithmA list of steps so precise that a machine can follow it without guessing.
• AssemblyThe lowest-level human-readable language — each line is one raw instruction to the processor.
• BinaryCounting with only 0 and 1 — the only alphabet the machine's switches can store.
• BitThe smallest piece of information: one switch, off or on — 0 or 1.
• BooleanA value with only two options: True or False. The fuel of every decision a program makes.
• BugA mistake in a program that makes it behave differently from what you intended.
• ByteA row of 8 bits — holds one number from 0 to 255. The basic unit of everything digital.
• Conditional (if/else)The fork in the road: if the condition is true run this branch, otherwise run the other.
• EncryptionScrambling data with a mathematical key so only someone with the right key can read it.
• FunctionA named recipe of code you write once and call whenever you need it.
• Input / OutputInput is what goes into a program (keyboard, files, clicks); output is what comes back out (screen, sounds, files).
• ListOne variable that holds many values in order — item 0, item 1, item 2…
• LoopCode that repeats — for a set count (for) or while a condition holds (while).
• Machine LearningPrograms that improve from examples instead of being given explicit rules for every case.
• Model (ML)The "program" that machine learning produces: patterns learned from training data, ready to make predictions.
• Parameter & ArgumentA parameter is the named slot in a function's definition; an argument is the actual value you pass in.
• PixelOne tiny square of a picture, storing three numbers: how much red, green, and blue.
• Processor (CPU)The machine's cook: executes instructions one tiny step at a time, billions of times per second.
• ServerA computer that waits on the internet for requests and answers them — every site you visit lives on one.
• StringText inside a program: a chain of characters between quotes, like "hello".
• Training dataThe labeled examples a machine-learning model learns from. Its quality decides the model's quality.
• UnicodeThe world's shared code book: one agreed number for every letter in every language, plus every emoji.
• VariableA labeled box in the computer's memory that stores one value you can use and change later.