Questions about the objective meaning or common understanding of words and concepts that programmers encounter
4
votes
5answers
378 views
Is there any difference between pointers and references? [duplicate]
References and pointers do the same thing as I know. Is there any difference between them?
If there is no difference, why we call them reference not pointer?
0
votes
4answers
213 views
What does it mean to perform an operation “In Place” for Interpreted Languages?
Programming question:
Reverse words in a string (words are separated by one or more spaces).
Now do it in-place.
What does "in-place" mean in the above context for an interpreted language ...
0
votes
1answer
127 views
What is it called when you're developing a web application where every url has its own php file
What is it called when you aren't using an MVC framework and each URL has it's own file associated with it. I want to say it's model 0 or class 0 but I haven't been able to find anything useful via ...
20
votes
6answers
1k views
How can I say that programming language compiles to other languages?
How can I say in english, that programming language can be compiled to other programming languages?
The example can be Haxe. On the website the language is decribed as "Multiplatform":
...
0
votes
2answers
76 views
Proper name for a project supports 2 different release
Is there a technical name for a software project where the current and prior stable releases are both maintained?
0
votes
0answers
22 views
What is the formal name of the 'KeyTips' on ribbon framework and 'link-hints' mode in vimium? What are the algorithms used in it?
What is the formal name of the KeyTips on ribbon framework and link-hints mode in vimium?
I sometimes assume that the key sequences are generated using some sort of brute-force algorithm.
Are there ...
1
vote
2answers
120 views
Why is SIT called SIT when it serves for system testing?
I should define a testing strategy and environments and I have encountered rather terminology issue (but might well be my fault) so I hope someone will correct me here.
We are using INT environment ...
1
vote
0answers
173 views
How can I say that a program is “not error prone” and is “error resistant”? [migrated]
I'm developing a custom programming language and I want to say that it helps people write programs that are not error prone. Even better, it helps people write programs resistant to errors, so ...
1
vote
0answers
95 views
Lookup tables, code keys, or slowly moving dimensions [closed]
I am looking for a concise notion or term for the concept of "lookup tables". Under this concept I understand a data structure where detailed and mostly stable information is stored under a unique ...
4
votes
4answers
483 views
Term for accidental features
Despite the best intentions of programmers; oftentimes, in the real world, software systems contain "accidental features" that are accepted as part of a working system.
For example, there may be ...
26
votes
9answers
1k views
What is the difference between “Syntax” and “Syntactic Sugar”
Background
The Wikipedia page on Syntactic Sugar states:
In computer science, syntactic sugar is syntax within a programming language that is designed to make things easier to read or to express. ...
18
votes
5answers
1k views
What's the word for an operation that can be applied multiple times and never change state beyond the initial application?
I'm trying to remember a word, I think it's related to computational or database theory. The closest synonym is atomic but that's not exactly it. Basically it's a kind of computation that should ...
8
votes
3answers
402 views
What is the difference between a stock-hardware and a micro-coded machine in “A Critique of Common Lisp”?
I was reading this article: A Critique of Common Lisp and finding it hard to make out the precise definition of "stock-hardware machine" and its difference with "micro-coded" machines. I tried to ...
6
votes
1answer
259 views
Term for a Class with Multiple Interfaces
Say I have a class that implements multiple interfaces. I pass the same instance around using a different interface, depending on what the consumer is interested in.
I am trying to remember what this ...
-1
votes
0answers
55 views
What is the opposite of “idiomatic?” [migrated]
What is the opposite of "idiomatic," other than saying "that's not idiomatic." Is there a concise way of expressing this concept or describing such code?
3
votes
2answers
245 views
Object-Oriented Programming: Why “Oriented”?
I am most of the way through my games programming degree. This is not a computer science degree, so a lot of the theory is eschewed in favour of practical portfolio building and what I see as JIT ...
1
vote
0answers
121 views
Is there a name for this kind of database constraint? “Functional foreign key”? And is it a good idea?
Say we want to enforce that a table represents a tree. I have found this method for doing so:
create table tree (
id integer[] primary key,
parent integer[] references tree (id),
item text not ...
8
votes
4answers
442 views
The difference between “concurrent” and “parallel” execution?
What is the difference between the terms concurrent and parallel execution? I've never quite been able to grasp the distinction.
The tag defines concurrency as a manner of running two processes ...
0
votes
1answer
154 views
Why is black box called functional testing when it tests also non functional?
This has been bothering me for a while. Security, performance tests etc. are all done typically using the black box approach. But these are nonfunctional,while black box is called functional testing.
...
5
votes
4answers
265 views
Umbrella term for classes that all serve another class
I'm looking for an umbrella term for classes which are separated from a main class in order to achieve necessary encapsulation and keep main class reasonably sized.
E.g. each blog post is an ...
8
votes
3answers
213 views
Is the term 'Front-End' synonymous with 'Client-Side'? If so, is this always the case?
As a relatively new (self-taught) web developer, I've heard the terms front-end, client-side, back-end, and server-side quite often. To me, front-end and back-end were always synonymous with ...
2
votes
1answer
117 views
Terminology for class
I am integrating with a Financial Management System (FMS). I have a class that prepares a set of objects (each of these objects is called a TransactionEntity). These are then passed to the FMS.
I give ...
0
votes
6answers
318 views
Does it make sense and is it to acceptable to say “.NET code”? [closed]
There is C# code, VB.NET code... Can I also say ".NET code" as an umbrella term that covers all the languages you can use with the .NET framework?
I've seen people using it as well as people saying ...
0
votes
3answers
199 views
Is there an accepted name for a fake object injected via a preprocessor seam?
I am dealing with some old, sloppy C++ code in which there is a structure with a lot of data members and functions. I want to test a class that I have implemented which uses the struct, but this ...
4
votes
2answers
286 views
What is 'code skew'?
In the O'Reilly book on Scala, I read that copy-pasting of code creates:
... creates issues of code-bloat, maintainability and skew,
I can't see any obvious definitions of the word skew in ...
4
votes
1answer
145 views
Is it called an instance in Javascript?
Say I have a function.
function foo(){
//do stuff
}
And then I create an object of that function.
var fooObj = new foo();
What is fooObj called? An instance, An object instance, or something ...
5
votes
1answer
147 views
Terminology: Really Delete vs set IsDeleted (“soft delete”) flag
I have a site where a regular user can delete records, where what happens is that an IsDeleted flag gets set. On administrative pages, a privileged user can delete records where an actual SQL DELETE ...
31
votes
3answers
1k views
Why are actual parameters called “arguments”?
Where does the word "argument" (in the programming sense) come from?
i.e. Why are actual parameters called "arguments"?
The meanings don't seem related, and I haven't found any explanation of it ...
37
votes
2answers
2k views
IPv4 to IPv6. where is IPv5?
As all of us know that after IPv4 it came IPv6. How this transition happened?
I just want to know was there any IPv5 also? or there is any other logic in naming this version of IP as IPv6?
2
votes
1answer
214 views
Name for a bug that disappears when someone else looks at it [closed]
Does anyone know of an existing name for a bug that disappears the moment you call someone over to look at it? It's a funny phenomenon, but it has happened from time to time that I'm working on a bug ...
