Programming terms starting with S

160 terms

Sandbox A network or series of networks that are not connected to other networks.
SAX See Simple API for XML.
Scalar A constant number. 1, -16, .3534, 7346 are all scalars.
scalar context The situation in which an "expression" is expected by its surroundings (the code calling it) to return a single "value" rather than a "list" of values.
scalar literal A number or quoted "string"--an actual "value" in the text of your program, as opposed to a "variable".
scalar value A value that happens to be a "scalar" as opposed to a "list".
scalar variable A "variable" prefixed with 0/code> that holds a single value.
scheduler Term used to describe a job scheduler mechanism to which GRAM interfaces. It is a networked system for submitting, controlling, and monitoring the…
Schema A set of rules or conceptual model for data structure and content, such as a description of the data content and relationships in a database.
scheme See protocol.
scope what is included - as in the scope of a claim
scratchpad The area in which a particular invocation of a particular file or subroutine keeps some of its temporary values, including any lexically scoped variables.
script A text "file" that is a program intended to be executed directly rather than compiled to another form of file before execution.
Script kiddie A "cracker" who is not a "hacker", but knows just enough to run canned scripts. A cargo-cult programmer.
SDK (Software Development Kit) A Software Development Kit (SDK) is a set of tools used to develop applications for a particular platform.
search path A list of folders (directories) to be searched - for a program or class, for instance.
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) A technology that allows Web browsers and Web servers to communicate over a secured connection.
security attributes A set of properties associated with a principal. Security attributes can be associated with a principal by an authentication protocol or by a J2EE product…
security constraint A declarative way to annotate the intended protection of Web content. A security constraint consists of a Web resource collection, an authorization…
security context The security attributes or rules that are currently in effect. For example, the rules that govern what a user can do to a protected object are determined…
security permission A mechanism defined by J2SE, and used by the J2EE platform to express the programming restrictions imposed on application component developers.
security permission set The minimum set of security permissions that a J2EE product provider must provide for the execution of each component type.
Security Policy The set of laws, rules, and practices that regulate how an organization manages, protects, and distributes sensitive information.
security policy domain A scope over which security policies are defined and enforced by a security administrator.
security role See role (security).
security technology domain A scope over which the same security mechanism is used to enforce a security policy.
security view The set of security roles defined by the application assembler.
SED Software Engineering Division. 261
semantic error An error in the meaning of program. A statement may have no syntax errors, but might still break the rules of the Java language.
semaphore A fancy kind of interlock that prevents multiple threads or processes from using up the same resources simultaneously.
separator A "character" or "string" that keeps two surrounding strings from being confused with each other. The split function works on separators.
serialization The encoding of objects, and the objects reachable from them, into a stream of bytes and the complementary reconstruction of the object graph from the…
Server Any computer on a network that contains data or applications shared by users of the network on their client PCs.
server certificate An electronic stamp stored in the server's key ring file that contains a public key, a name, an expiration date, and a digital signature.
server principal The OS principal that the server is executing as.
Service See Services
service element A representation of the combination of one or more Connector components that share a single engine component for processing incoming requests.
service endpoint interface A Java interface that declares the methods that a client can invoke on a Web service.
servlet For more information, see http://www.apache.org.
servlet container A container that provides the network services over which requests and responses are sent, decodes requests, and formats responses.
servlet container, distributed A servlet container that can run a Web application that is tagged as distributable and that executes across multiple Java virtual machines running on the…
servlet context An object that contains a servlet's view of the Web application within which the servlet is running.
servlet mapping Defines an association between a URL pattern and a servlet. The mapping is used to map requests to servlets.
Session The period during which Congress assembles and carries on its regular business.
session bean An enterprise bean that is created by a client and that usually exists only for the duration of a single client-server session.
setgid Same as "setuid", only having to do with giving away "group" privileges.
setuid A process which can set its effective user to super-user (root). That is, although any user can run the process, the process can then execute operations…
SGML Standard Generalized Markup Language (Computer term).
shallow copy A copy of an object in which copies of all the object's sub-components are not also made.
shared memory A piece of "memory" accessible by two different processes who otherwise would not see each other's memory.
shebang Irish for the whole McGillicuddy. In Perl culture, a portmanteau of "sharp" and "bang", meaning the #!
shell See shoulder.
shift operator See left shift operator and right shift operator.
short A Java keyword used to define a variable of type short.
short-circuit operator An operator in which only as many operands are evaluated as are needed to determine the final result of the operation.
shortcut key A key-press associated with a component in a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that provides an alternative to selecting the component's operation with a…
sibling sub classes Classes that have the same immediate super class. See inheritance hierarchy.
side effects Something extra that happens when you evaluate an "expression". Nowadays it can refer to almost anything.
sign bit In twos-complement notation, the most significant bit in an integer value is used to determine the sign of the value.
sign extension When an integer value from a type with a particular range is stored in a variable with a bigger range, Java uses sign extension to determine the resulting…
signal A bolt out of the blue; that is, an event triggered by the "operating system", probably when you're least expecting it.
signal handler A "subroutine" that, instead of being content to be called in the normal fashion, sits around waiting for a bolt out of the blue before it will deign to…
SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) A Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) is a stripped-down smart card containing information about the identity of a cell-phone subscriber, and subscriber…
Simple API for XML An event-driven interface in which the parser invokes one of several methods supplied by the caller when a parsing event occurs.
single inheritance In Java, a class may not extend more than one class. This means that Java has a single inheritance model for class inheritance.
single line comment A comment in the form // This line will be ignored by the compiler.
single precision Refers to a level of coordinate accuracy based on the number of significant digits that can be stored for each coordinate.
singleton pattern A pattern that allows us to ensure that only a single instance of a particular class exists at any one time. Such an instance is called a singleton.
slice A selection of any number of elements from a "list", "array", or "hash".
slurp To read an entire "file" into a "string" in one operation.
SMS (Short Message Service) Short Message Service (SMS) is a point-to-point service similar to paging for sending text messages of up to 160 characters to mobile phones.
SOAP SOAP provides a standard, extensible, composable framework for packaging and exchanging XML messages between a service provider and a service requester.
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) Simple Object Access Protocol is a means of sending messages between a service requester and provider.
SOAP with Attachments API for Java (SAAJ) The basic package for SOAP messaging, SAAJ contains the API for creating and populating a SOAP message.
socket An endpoint for network communication among multiple processes that works much like a telephone or a post office box.
soft reference See "symbolic reference".
Software Coded instructions (programs) that make a computer do useful work.
software engineering (1) A discipline whose objectives are to define, create, and apply a welldefined methodology that addresses a software life cycle of planning…
software reuse The ability to reuse software components in different contexts. Object-oriented languages help to promote reuse by their support of encapsulation.
sound card A hardware device used to turn digital data into sound.
source filter A special kind of "module" that does "preprocessing" on your script just before it gets to the "tokener".
SQL Structured Query Language (Computer term).
SQL/J A set of standards that includes specifications for embedding SQL statements in methods in the Java programming language and specifications for calling…
SSL See definition for: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) A security protocol for the Internet and Intranets that provides communications privacy and authentication for IBM® Lotus® Domino™ server tasks that…
Stack A group of 20 roulette chips.
stack overflow Stack overflow occurs when too many items are pushed onto a stack with a finite capacity.
stack trace A display of the runtime stack.
Standard a statement that describes an acceptable level of performance, excellence, or attainment in that particular activity.
standard error The standard error of an estimate is a measure of the sampling variability of the estimate.
standard I/O A standard C library for doing buffered input and output to the "operating system".
standard input The default input "stream" for your program, which if possible shouldn't care where its data is coming from.
standard output The default output "stream" for your program, which if possible shouldn't care where its data is going.
stat structure A special internal spot in which Perl keeps the information about the last "file" on which you requested information.
State State means one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
stateful session bean A session bean with a conversational state.
stateless session bean A session bean with no conversational state. All instances of a stateless session bean are identical.
Statement A summary of all transactions that occurred over the preceding month and could be associated with a deposit account or a credit card account.
statement modifier A "conditional" or "loop" that you put after the "statement" instead of before, if you know what we mean.
statement terminator The semicolon (;) is used to indicate the end of a statement.