Appendix:Glossary of computer programming
This is a glossary of computer programming.
| Contents: | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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A edit
- abstract class
- A class that cannot be directly constructed, one that can be constructed only through construction of some of its subclasses.
- abstract type
- A type in a nominative type system that cannot be instantiated.
- actual argument
- A value, or reference to a value, passed to a function.
- app
- An application that executes on a small, handheld device.
- application
- A program or integrated suite of programs that has a defined function.
- argument
- A value, or reference to a value, passed to a function; an actual argument.
- argument
- A parameter in a function definition; a formal argument.
- array
- An ordered sequence of same-typed values whose elements are fast to access by their numerical index in the array.
B edit
- Boolean
- A data type for yes or no, true or false values.
C edit
- class
- A set of objects having the same behavior (but typically differing in state), or a template defining such a set.
- compiler
- A computer program which transforms source code into object code.
- constant
- An identifier that is bound to an invariant value.
- constructor
- A class method (in object-oriented programming) that creates and initializes each instance of an object.
D edit
- data type
- A classification or category of various types of data, that states the possible values that can be taken, how they are stored, and what range of operations are allowed on them.
- destructor
- In object-oriented programming, the command sequence that is launched when the execution of an object is finished.
- dump
- A formatted listing of the contents of program storage, especially when produced automatically by a failing program
E edit
- enumeration
- A data type whose values are a set of mutually exclusive named constants.
- exception
- An interruption in normal processing, especially as caused by an error condition.
F edit
- floating point
- A method of representing real numbers as a pair of integers (the mantissa and characteristic)
- flow chart
- A schematic representation of the logic that defines the flow of control through a program
- formal argument
- A parameter in a function definition.
- function
- A routine that receives zero or more arguments and may return a result.
- functional programming
- A programming paradigm that treats computation as the evaluation of mathematical functions, avoids state and mutable data, and makes it easy to construct functions as if they were data objects.
G edit
H edit
- heap
- An area of memory reserved for dynamically allocated data objects, contrasted to the stack.
I edit
- identifier
- A formal name used in source code to refer to a variable, function, procedure, package, etc.
- integer
- A data type for integer values.
- interpreter
- A program which executes another program written in a programming language other than machine code.
L edit
- linker / link editor
- A computer program that takes one or more objects generated by compilers and assembles them into a single executable program.
- logic programming
- A style or paradigm of computer programming exemplified by the language Prolog.
M edit
- machine code
- System of instructions and data directly understandable by a computer's central processing unit.
- method
- In object-oriented languages, a subroutine or function belonging to a class or object.
- module
- A program that is linked with others to form a functioning application; one method of implementing a subroutine
O edit
- object
- An instance of a class.
- object code
- The output of a compiler or assembler, not necessarily executable directly without linking to other modules.
- object-oriented
- Using entities called objects that can process data and exchange messages with other objects.
P edit
- paradigm
- A fundamental style of computer programming to which the design of a programming language typically has to cater, such as imperative programming, declarative programming, or, on a finer level, functional programming, logic programming or object-oriented programming.
- parameter
- A name in a function or subroutine definition that is replaced by, or bound to, the corresponding actual argument when the function or subroutine is called.
- procedure
- A subroutine or function coded to perform a specific task.
- program
- A software application, or a collection of software applications, designed to perform a specific task.
R edit
S edit
- source code
- Human-readable instructions in a programming language, to be transformed into machine instructions by a compiler, interpreter, assembler or other such system.
- stack
- The portion of the computer memory used to keep track of called procedures or call instructions.
- string
- A data type for a sequence of characters such as letters of English alphabet.
- subclass
- In object-oriented programming, an object class derived from another class (its superclass) from which it inherits a base set of properties and methods.
- subprogram
- A program contained within a larger program.
- subroutine
- A section of code that implements a task. While it may be used at more than one point in a program, it need not be.
- superclass
- A class that passes attributes and methods down the hierarchy to subclasses.
T edit
- type
- A tag attached to variables and values used in determining what values may be assigned to what variables.
V edit
- variable
- A named memory location in which a program can store intermediate results and from which it can read them.
See also edit
- List of object-oriented programming terms on Wikipedia