big-endianA common difference between machines is the order in which they store the individual bytes of multi-byte numerical data.
binaryMathematical base 2, or numbers composed of a series of zeros and ones. Since zero's and one's can be easily represented by two voltage levels on an…
binary operatorAn operator taking two operands. Java has many binary operators, such as the arithmetic operators +, -, *, / and %, and the boolean operators &&, || and…
binary searchA search of sorted data, in which the middle position is examined first. Search continues with either the left or the right portion of the data, thus…
bindTo assign a specific "network address" to a "socket".
binding (XML)Generating the code needed to process a well-defined portion of XML data.
BitA bit ( B inary dig IT ) is the smallest unit of computer data. A bit consists of either 0 or 1. There are eight bits in a byte.
bit manipulation operatorOperators, such as &, | and ^, that are used to examine an manipulate individual bits within the bytes of a data item.
bit shiftThe movement of bits left or right in a computer word, which has the effect of multiplying or dividing by a power of 2.
bit stringA sequence of bits that is actually being thought of as a sequence of bits, for once.
bitwise operatorAn operator that manipulates the bits of one or more of its operands individually and in parallel.
blank final variableA final variable that is not initialized as part of its declaration. Such a variable must be initialized in either an instance initialization block or all…
blessIn corporate life, to grant official approval to a thing, as in, "The VP of Engineering has blessed our WebCruncher project.
blockA repetition/replication of the Early, Mid and Late Seral Treatment plots and a Control plot. See Repetition/replication.
block bufferingA method of making input and output efficient by passing one "block" at a time. By default, Perl does block buffering to disk files.
bookmarkA link to a Web site or page previously visited.
BooleanBoolean logic (named for the British-born Irish mathematician George Boole) is way to express relationships in logic arguments using the following three…
Boolean contextA special kind of "scalar context" used in conditionals to decide whether the "scalar value" returned by an expression is "true" or "false".
Boolean expressionA type of expression that reduces to a true or false (logical) condition. A Boolean expression contains logical expressions (e.g.
bootstrap classesClasses that make up the Java Platform Core Application Programming Interface (API), such as those found in the java.lang, java.io and java.io packages.
boundary errorErrors that arise from programming mistakes made at the edges of a problem - indexing off the edge of an array, dealing with no items of data, loop…
bounded repetitionRepetition where the statements within a loop's body are performed a fixed number of times and the number of times is established when the loop is started.
boundsThe limits of an array or collection. In Java, the lower limit is always zero. In the case of an array, the upper bound is one less than then length of…
branch instructionStores a new instruction address into the program counter. The effect of this is the next instruction to be fetched will not usually be the one…
breakDistinct variation in otherwise constant stretches of cover, structure, or bottom type. Basically anything that "breaks up" the underwater terrain.
break statementA statement used to break out of a loop, switch statement or labeled block. In all cases, control continues with the statement immediately following the…
BreakpointA breakpoint is the level at which your account balance in a mutual fund company or the size of a new investment in the company's funds qualifies you to…
bridging methodA method that provides a bridge between the methods of a class's public interface and its private implementation.
broadcastTo send a "datagram" to multiple destinations simultaneously.
bucketA part of an excavator which digs, lifts, and carries dirt.
bufferA zone of a specified distance around coverage features. Both constant- and variable-width buffers can be generated for a set of coverage features based…
build fileThe XML file that contains one or more asant targets. A target is a set of tasks you want to be executed.
built-inA "function" that is predefined in the language. Even when hidden by "overriding", you can always get at a built-in function by qualifying its name with…
bundleA group of related modules on "CPAN". (Also, sometimes refers to a group of command-line switches grouped into one "switch cluster".)
business logicThe code that implements the functionality of an application. In the Enterprise JavaBeans architecture, this logic is implemented by the methods of an…
business methodA method of an enterprise bean that implements the business logic or rules of an application.
byteEight bits. A byte is a collection of bits used by computers to represent a character (i.e., "a", "1", or "&").
bytecodeJava source files are translated by a compiler into bytecodes - the instruction set of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Bytecodes are stored in .
C preprocessorThe typical C compiler's first pass, which processes lines beginning with # for conditional compilation and macro definition and does various…
call by referenceAn "argument"-passing mechanism in which the "formal arguments" refer directly to the "actual arguments", and the "subroutine" can change the actual…
call by valueA semantics of passing an argument to a method in which a copy of the actual argument value is taken and placed in a separate memory location, represented…
callbackA "handler" that you register with some other part of your program in the hope that the other part of your program will "trigger" your handler when some…
callback methodsComponent methods called by the container to notify the component of important events in its life cycle.
caller principalThe principal that identifies the invoker of the enterprise bean method.
canonicalReduced to a standard form to facilitate comparison.
capturingThe use of parentheses around a "subpattern" in a "regular expression" to store the matched "substring" as a "backreference".
carriage returnThe \r character. Also used as a synonym for the `Return' or `Enter' key used to terminate a line of text.
cascade deleteA deletion that triggers another deletion. A cascade delete can be specified for an entity bean that has container-managed persistence.
cascading if-else statementA form of if-else statement in which each else-part (except the last) consists of a further nested if-else statement.
CASEThe last card of a certain rank in the deck. Example: "The flop came J-8-3; I've got pocket jacks, he's got pocket 8's, and then the case eight falls on…
case labelThe value used to select a particular case in a switch statement.
case sensitiveA test that is sensitive to whether a character is upper-case (e.g., 'A') or lower-case (e.g., 'a').
CASTCommercial Acquisition Streamlining Team (USAF team name).
castingExplicit conversion from one data type to another.
CatchAt a recreational fishery, refers to the number of fish captured, whether they are kept or released.
catch clauseThe part of a try statement responsible for handling a caught exception.
catching exceptionsExceptions are caught within the catch clause of a try statement. Catching an exception gives the program an opportunity to recover from the problem or…
CDATAA predefined XML tag for character data that means "don't interpret these characters," as opposed to parsed character data (PCDATA), in which the normal…
CDMA OneAlso know as IS-95, CDMAOne is a 2nd generation wireless technology. Supports speeds from 14.4Kbps to 115K bps.
CDMA2000Also known as IS-136, CDMA2000 is a 3rd generation wireless technology. Supports speeds ranging from 144Kbps to 2Mbps.
CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data)A data communication standard utilizing the unused capacity of cellular voice providers to transfer data.
Central Processing UnitThe Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the heart of a computer as it is the part that contains the computer's ability to obey instructions.
certificate authorityA trusted organization that issues public key certificates and provides identification to the bearer.
CharA byproduct of low-temperature carbonization of a solid fuel.
character classA square-bracketed list of characters used in a "regular expression" to indicate that any character of the set may occur at a given point.
character propertyA predefined "character class" matchable by the \p "metasymbol". Many standard properties are defined for "Unicode".
character set encodingThe set of values assigned to characters in a character set. Related characters are often grouped with consecutive values, such as the alphabetic…
checked exceptionAn exception that must be caught locally in a try statement, or propagated via a throws clause defined in the method header. See unchecked exception.
cHTML (Compact HTML)Compact HTML (cHTML) is a subset of HTML which is designed for small devices. The major features of HTML that are excluded from cHTML are: JPEG image…
circumfix operatorAn "operator" that surrounds its "operand", like the angle operator, or parentheses, or a hug.
classArticle I, section 3 of the Constitution requires the Senate to be divided into three classes for purposes of elections.
class bodyThe body of a class definition. The body groups the definitions of a class's members - fields, methods and nested classes.
class constantA variable defined as both final and static.
class headerThe header of a class definition. The header gives a name to the class and defines its access.
class inheritanceWhen a super class is extended by a sub class, a class inheritance relationship exists between them.
class scopePrivate variables defined outside the methods within a class have class scope. They are accessible from all methods within the class, regardless of the…
classpathThe path searched by the compiler and interpreter for class definitions. The class path may be set by a command-line argument to either, or via an…
clientAny computer system that requests a service of another computer system. A workstation requesting the contents of a file from a file server is a client of…
client-certificate authenticationAn authentication mechanism that uses HTTP over SSL, in which the server and, optionally, the client authenticate each other with a public key certificate…
cloisterA "cluster" used to restrict the scope of a "regular expression modifier".
closureIn transportation, the process of a unit arriving at a specified location. It begins with the arrival of the first element at a designated location and…
clusterClusters are fixed length blocks of bytes that store data for Microsoft operating systems.
code generatorA system that writes code for you in a low-level language, such as code to implement the backend of a compiler. See "program generator".
code subpatternA "regular expression" subpattern whose real purpose is to execute some Perl code, for example, the (?{...}) and (??{...}) subpatterns.
codebaseWorks together with the code attribute in the <APPLET> tag to give a complete specification of where to find the main applet class file: code specifies…
CohesionThe mutual attraction of soil particles due to molecular and capillary forces in the presence of water.