Programming — page 13 of 14

1,381 terms including subtopics (0 terms filed directly here)

Subtopics

Java 983 terms
Perl 498 terms

Programming terms

switch statement A selection statement in which the value of an arithmetic expression {expression!arithmetic} is compared for a match against different case labels.
swizzling The process of recursively writing the contents of an object via object serialization.
symbol A graphic pattern used to represent a feature. For example, line symbols represent arc features; marker symbols, points; shades symbols, polygons; and…
symbol table Where a "compiler" remembers symbols. A program like Perl must somehow remember all the names of all the variables, filehandles, and subroutines you've…
symbolic debugger A program that lets you step through the execution of your program, stopping or printing things out here and there to see whether anything has gone wrong…
symbolic link An alternate filename that points to the real "filename", which in turn points to the real "file".
symbolic reference A variable whose value is the name of another variable or subroutine. By dereferencing the first variable, you can get at the second one.
synchronized A keyword in the Java programming language that, when applied to a method or code block, guarantees that at most one thread at a time executes that code.
synchronized statement A statement in which an object-lock must be obtained for the target object before the body of the statement can be entered.
synchronous Programming in which the orderly sequence of events can be determined; that is, when things happen one after the other, not at the same time.
syntactic sugar An alternative way of writing something more easily; a shortcut.
syntax From Greek, "with-arrangement". How things (particularly symbols) are put together with each other.
syntax error An error detected by the compiler during its parsing of a program. Syntax errors usually result from mis-ordering symbols within expressions and…
syntax tree An internal representation of your program wherein lower-level constructs dangle off the higher-level constructs enclosing them.
syscall A "function" call directly to the "operating system". Many of the important subroutines and functions you use aren't direct system calls, but are built up…
system administrator The person responsible for configuring and administering the enterprise's computers, networks, and software systems.
T9 T9 is a text input method for mobile phones and other small devices. It replaces the "multi-tap" input method by guessing the word that you are trying to…
tag See: label.
tainted Said of data derived from the grubby hands of a user and thus unsafe for a secure program to rely on.
TCP Transmission Control Protocol (Internet protocol).
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) A protocol within TCP/IP that governs the breakup of data messages into packets to be sent by IP (Internet Protocol) and the reassembly and verification…
TCP endpoint The combination of an IP address and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) port number.
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol A collection of protocols that define the basic workings of the features of the Internet.
TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) is a second-generation modulation standard using bandwidth allocated in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, and 1900MHz ranges.
Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK) A test suite, a set of tools, and other requirements used to certify an implementation of a particular Sun technology conformant both to the applicable…
Telematics Telematics is a location-based service that routes event notification and control data over wireless networks to and from mobile devices installed in…
Template a standard shape that the race car must comply to be within the NASCAR rules. The template closely resembles the shape of the factory car.
Term A term is the length of time between when a fixed-income security, such as a bond or note, is offered for sale and its maturity date.
terminator 1. A DNA sequence just downstream of the coding segment of a gene, which is recognized by RNA polymerase as a signal to stop synthesizing mRNA. 2.
ternary An "operator" taking three operands. Sometimes pronounced "trinary".
ternary operator See conditional operator
text A "string" or "file" containing primarily printable characters.
Thin Client A networked user computer that acts only as a terminal and stores no applications or user files. May have little or no hard drive space. See Client.
this A Java reserved word with several different uses: Within a constructor, it may be used as the first statement to call another constructor in the same…
thread A series of postings on a particular topic. Threads can be a series of bulletin board messages (for example, when someone posts a question and others…
thread starvation A condition that applies to a thread that is prevented from running by other threads that do not yield or become blocked.
throw A Java keyword that allows the user to throw an exception or any class that implements the "throwable" interface.
throw an exception When an exceptional circumstance arises in a program - often as a result of a logical error, and exception object is created and thrown.
throw statement A statement used to throw an exception. For instance throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException(i+" is too large.");
throws A Java keyword used in method declarations that specify which exceptions are not handled within the method but rather passed to the next higher level of…
throws clause A clause in a method header indicating that one or more exceptions will be propagated from this method.
TIE this is where neither the house nor the player wins.
timesharing system An operating system that shares processor time between multiple processes by allocating each a timeslice.
timeslice The amount of running time allocated to a process or thread before the scheduler considers another to be run.
TMTOWTDI There's More Than One Way To Do It, the Perl Motto. The notion that there can be more than one valid path to solving a programming problem in context.
Toggle A switch that is either on or off, and reverses to the opposite when selected.
Token See definition for: access token
tokener A module that breaks a program text into a sequence of tokens for later analysis by a parser.
tokenizing Splitting up a program text into tokens. Also known as "lexing", in which case you get "lexemes" instead of tokens.
Tomcat Tomcat is a reference implementation of the Java servlet and JavaServer Pages (JSP) specifications.
tool provider An organization or software vendor that provides tools used for the development, packaging, and deployment of J2EE applications.
toolbox approach The notion that, with a complete set of simple tools that work well together, you can build almost anything you want.
top level class A class defined either at the outermost level of a package or a static nested class.
topic A communication channel to send messages and subscribe to notifications. It provides an access point for publishers and subscribers to communicate with…
transaction Includes any series of related steps carried out as part of a prearranged plan.
transaction attribute A value specified in an enterprise bean's deployment descriptor that is used by the EJB container to control the transaction scope when the enterprise…
transaction isolation level The degree to which the intermediate state of the data being modified by a transaction is visible to other concurrent transactions and data being modified…
transaction manager Provides the services and management functions required to support transaction demarcation, transactional resource management, synchronization, and…
transient A keyword in the Java programming language that indicates that a field is not part of the serialized form of an object.
transliterate To turn one string representation into another by mapping each character of the source string to its corresponding character in the result string.
trigger (TRIH-ger) In medicine, a specific event that starts a process or that causes a particular outcome.
trinary Not a stellar system with three stars, but an "operator" taking three operands. Sometimes pronounced "ternary".
troff A venerable typesetting language from which Perl derives the name of its 0 variable and which is secretly used in the production of Camel books.
true Any scalar value that doesn't evaluate to 0 or "".
truncating Emptying a file of existing contents, either automatically when opening a file for writing or explicitly via the truncate function.
trusted applet An applet with more privileges than an ordinary (untrusted) applet.
try A Java keyword that defines a block of statements that may throw a Java language exception.
try clause See try statement.
try statement The try statement acts as an exception handler - a place where exception objects are caught and dealt with.
twos-complement notation In twos-complement notation, the most significant bit in an integer value is used as the sign bit.
type A class or interface.
type casting Converting data from one type to another. C permits this. Perl does not need it. Nor want it.
typed lexical A "lexical variable" that is declared with a "class" type: my Pony $bill.
typedef A type definition in the C language.
typeglob Use of a single identifier, prefixed with *. For example, *name stands for any or all of $name, @name, %name, &name, or just name.
typemap A description of how C types may be transformed to and from Perl types within an "extension" module written in "XS".
UDDI (Universal Description Discovery and Integration) Universal Description Discovery and Integration is a standard to use Web Services across various systems, including .NET and J2EE-based solutions.
UDP User Datagram Protocol, the typical way to send datagrams over the Internet.
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) A connectionless protocol within TCP/IP that corresponds to the transport layer in the International Standard Organization's Open System Interconnect…
UID A user ID. Often used in the context of "file" or "process" ownership.
umask A mask of those "permission bits" that should be forced off when creating files or directories, in order to establish a policy of whom you'll ordinarily…
UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service) Developed by Nortel Networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) is a standard that will provide cellular users a consistent set of…
unary operator An operator taking a single operand. Java's unary operators are -, +, !, !, ++ and --.
unbounded repetition Repetition where the statements within a loop's body are performed an arbitrary number of times, according to the effects of the statements within the…
unchecked exception An exception for which it is not required to provide a local try statement, or to propagate via a throws clause defined in the method header.
Unicode A 16-bit character set designed to make it easier to exchange and display information that makes use of a wide range of different languages and symbols.
uninitialized variable A local variable that been declared, but has had no value assigned to it. The compiler will warn of variables which are used before being initialized.
Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) project An industry initiative to create a platform-independent, open framework for describing services, discovering businesses, and integrating business services…
Universal Standard Products and Services Classification (UNSPSC) A schema that classifies and identifies commodities. It is used in sell-side and buy-side catalogs and as a standardized account code in analyzing…
UNIX A software operating system.
unnamed package All classes defined in files without a package declaration are placed in the unnamed package.
unparsed entity A general entity that contains something other than XML. By its nature, an unparsed entity contains binary data.
upcast A cast towards an object's ultimate super type - that is, `up' the inheritance hierarchy towards the Object class, for instance // Upcast from…
URI A character string used to identify a resource (such as a file) from anywhere on the Internet by type and location.
URL Uniform Resource Locator (internet protocol term).
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) The Internet address for a document, file, or other resource. It describes the protocol required to access the resource, the host where it can be found…
URL path The part of a URL passed by an HTTP request to invoke a servlet. A URL path consists of the context path + servlet path + path info, where
URN Uniform resource name. A unique identifier that identifies an entity but doesn't tell where it is located.
user (security) An individual (or application program) identity that has been authenticated. A user can have a set of roles associated with that identity, which entitles…
user data constraint Indicates how data between a client and a Web container should be protected. The protection can be the prevention of tampering with the data or prevention…