Programming terms starting with F

54 terms

factory pattern A pattern of class definition that is used as a generator of instances of other classes.
false In Perl, any value that would look like "" or "0" if evaluated in a string context.
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions
fatal error A fatal error occurs in the SAX parser when a document is not well formed or otherwise cannot be processed. See also error, warning.
FDMA (Frequency-division multiple-access) Frequency-division multiple-access (FDMA) is a mechanism for sharing a radio frequency band among multiple users by dividing it into a number of smaller…
fetch-execute cycle The simple set of steps that are endlessly repeated by a computer's Central Processing Unit for each program instruction: `Fetch the next instruction…
field Field A region of space at each point of which a given physical or mathematical quantity has some definite value.
FIFO First In, First Out. See also "LIFO". Also, a nickname for a "named pipe".
FIFO (first in, first out) The (FIFO) semantics of a queue data structure. Items are removed in the order in which they arrived in the queue, so older items are always removed…
file To place a paper in the official custody of the clerk of court/court administrator to enter into the files or records of a case.
file descriptor The little number the "operating system" uses to keep track of which opened "file" you're talking about.
File System The engine that an operating system or program uses to organize and kept track of files.
file test operator A built-in unary operator that you use to determine whether something is "true" about a file, such as -o $filename to test whether you're the owner of the…
File Transfer Protocol The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) defines a standard set of rules that make it possible to transfer a file from one file system to another.
fileglob A "wildcard" match on filenames. See the glob function.
filehandle An identifier (not necessarily related to the real name of a file) that represents a particular instance of opening a file until you close it.
Filename The name of a file, excluding root drive and directory path information. Different operating systems may impose different restrictions on filenames, for…
filesystem A set of directories and files residing on a partition of the disk. Sometimes known as a "partition".
filter A criterion you specify to limit the results when you list or describe your Amazon EC2 resources.
filter chain A concatenation of XSLT transformations in which the output of one transformation becomes the input of the next.
filter stream An input-output class that filters or manipulates its stream of input- or output-data in some way. Two examples are DataInputStream and DataOutputStream.
final A Java keyword. You define an entity once and cannot change it or derive from it later.
final class A class with the final reserved word in its header. A final class may not be extended by another class.
final method A method with the final reserved word in its header. A final method may not be overridden by a method defined in a sub class.
final variable A variable with the final reserved word in its declaration. A final may not assigned to once it has been initialized.
finalization Immediately before an object is garbage collected, its finalize method is called.
finally A Java keyword that executes a block of statements regardless of whether a Java Exception, or run time error, occurred in a block defined previously by…
finally clause Part of a try statement that is always executed, either following the handling a caught exception, or normal termination of the protected statements.
finder method A method defined in the home interface and invoked by a client to locate an entity bean.
flag See affinity tag.
Float 1) The amount of uncollected funds represented by checks in the possession of one bank but drawn on other banks.
floating point A method of storing numbers in "scientific notation", such that the precision of the number is independent of its magnitude (the decimal point "floats").
floating point number See real number.
flush a hand of five cards all of the same suit, irrespective of value
FMTEYEWTK Far More Than Everything You Ever Wanted To Know. An exhaustive treatise on one narrow topic, something of a super-"FAQ". See Tom for far more.
FOR Field of Regard.
for loop One of Java's three control structures used for looping. The other two are the while loop and do loop.
fork Terms used to refer to a Unix fork, supported MJS scheduler mechanism.
form-based authentication An authentication mechanism in which a Web container provides an application-specific form for logging in.
formal argument The definition of a method's argument which are part of a method header. Each formal argument has an associated type.
formal arguments The generic names by which a "subroutine" knows its arguments. In many languages, formal arguments are always given individual names, but in Perl, the…
formal parameter See formal argument.
formal parameter list The parameters specified in the definition of a particular method. See also actual parameter list.
Format The internal structure of a file, which defines the way it is stored and used. Specific applications may define unique formats for their data (i.e.
Foundation Profile The Foundation Profile is a Java ME profile specification that builds on CDC. It adds additional classes and interfaces to the CDC APIs but does not go so…
freely available Means you don't have to pay money to get it, but the copyright on it may still belong to someone else (like Larry).
freely redistributable Means you're not in legal trouble if you give a bootleg copy of it to your friends and we find out about it.
freeware Historically, any software that you give away, particularly if you make the source code available as well. Now often called open source software.
FTP File Transfer Protocol (ADP/Internet term).
fully evaluating operator An operator that evaluates all of its arguments to produce a result. Standard arithmetic operators, such as +, are fully evaluating.
fully qualified class name The name of a class, including any package name and enclosing class name. Given the following class outline package oddments; class Outer { public class…
function A built-in formula that performs a specialized calculation automatically.
functional programming A style of programming associated with languages such as Haskell. Functional programming languages are more closely tied to a mathematical concept of…
funny character Someone like Larry, or one of his peculiar friends. Also refers to the strange prefixes that Perl requires as noun markers on its variables.