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In computer programming, a function (also procedure, method, subroutine, routine, or subprogram) is a callable unit [1] of software logic that has a well-defined interface and behavior and can be invoked multiple times. Callable units provide a powerful programming tool. [2]
In computer programming, a nested function (or nested procedure or subroutine) is a named function that is defined within another, enclosing, block and is lexically scoped within the enclosing block – meaning it is only callable by name within the body of the enclosing block and can use identifiers declared in outer blocks, including outer ...
In computer programming, a parameter or a formal argument is a special kind of variable used in a subroutine to refer to one of the pieces of data provided as input to the subroutine. [ a ] [ 1 ] These pieces of data are the values [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] of the arguments (often called actual arguments or actual parameters ) with which the subroutine ...
A Huffman code is a variable-length string of bits that identifies a unique token. A Huffman-threaded interpreter locates subroutines using an index table or a tree of pointers that can be navigated by the Huffman code. Huffman-threaded code is one of the most compact representations known for a computer program.
In computer programming, a return statement causes execution to leave the current subroutine and resume at the point in the code immediately after the instruction which called the subroutine, known as its return address. The return address is saved by the calling routine, today usually on the process's call stack or in a register.
A wrapper function is a function (another word for a subroutine) in a software library or a computer program whose main purpose is to call a second subroutine [1] or a system call with little or no additional computation. Wrapper functions simplify writing computer programs by abstracting the details of a subroutine's implementation.
A function signature consists of the function prototype. It specifies the general information about a function like the name, scope and parameters. Many programming languages use name mangling in order to pass along more semantic information from the compilers to the linkers. In addition to mangling, there is an excess of information in a ...
In computer programming, a thunk is a subroutine used to inject a calculation into another subroutine. Thunks are primarily used to delay a calculation until its result is needed, or to insert operations at the beginning or end of the other subroutine. They have many other applications in compiler code generation and modular programming.