VCE Software Development U4O1 Definitions Worksheet: Efficient and effective solutions and user-centred design to Classes, objects and access modifiers (Modules 3–79)
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Key terms
Write what each term means, in your own words.
1
user-centred design
2
(a + b) / 2
3
int(input())
4
procedure vs function
5
def main():
6
objects.append(obj)
7
self.name
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_name
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self.__name
10
@property
Answer Key
VCE Software Development U4O1 · Modules 3–79 · Student wording will vary for definitions
1user-centred design — Designing a solution around the needs of its real users, by finding out what they need and involving them throughout development, using their feedback to revise the design.
2(a + b) / 2 — Python works out brackets first, so (a + b) / 2 adds a and b before dividing by 2. Without the brackets, the division would happen first and the average would be wrong.
3int(input()) — input() always returns a str, so convert it (e.g. with int) to store it as a number. Turn it back into text with str() or an f-string when you output it.
4procedure vs function — A procedure carries out a task without returning a value, while a function returns a value to the code that called it, so the result can be stored or used.
5def main(): — A function that calls other small functions, each doing one job, so the program is built in parts. Each box in a hierarchy chart can become one function.
6objects.append(obj) — Adds an object to the end of a list so many objects are stored together. You can then loop over the list with a for loop to call each object's methods or find one by its attribute.
7self.name — A public member has no leading underscore, so code inside or outside the class can access it, e.g. self.name in the class or pet.name outside it.
8_name — A single underscore prefix marks a protected member: by convention it is for use inside the class and its subclasses only. Python does not enforce it, so outside code can still access it.
9self.__name — A private attribute: the double underscore makes Python name-mangle it, so code outside the class cannot reach it directly and gets an AttributeError.
10@property — A decorator above a getter method. It lets outside code read a private attribute like a normal attribute, such as obj.name, with no brackets. With no setter, the attribute is read-only.