Glossary

An argument that is passed to a procedure, function, or subprogram. Contrast with formal parameter.

An exact location in memory. A program can store or retrieve data from this address.

A procedure used to solve a task. It describes the sequence of steps or operations, done in a finite number of steps.

To set up a memory location to hold variable values.

A character in the range of A through Z and a through z.

A character in the range of A through Z, a through z, and 0 through 9.

A variable or constant whose value is passed to a procedure or function. See actual parameter, formal parameter, or parameter.

An expression that performs arithmetic operations and consists of constants, variables, and arithmetic operators.

A data structure in which consecutive memory locations contain data items of the same type.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange; a seven-bit code representing a prescribed set of characters.

A programming language in which each operation performed by the Central Processing Unit (CPU) is written as a symbolic instruction. Assembly language is a convenient means of representing machine language. A program known as an assembler translates instructions written in assembly language into machine language.

Assigns a value to a variable or function by using the special Pascal symbol ":=".

The method used to represent numbers, alphabetic characters, and symbols in digital computers. It is a base two numbering system that uses only two digits, 0's and 1's, to express numeric quantities.

A unit of information with a value of 1 or 0. Usually eight bits equal one byte. A bit is the smallest unit of information in a digital computer.

Blocks contain groups of statements for programs, procedures, and functions, and are enclosed with the reserved words begin and end.

An expression that evaluates to a value of true or false.

The part of a computer or device memory where data is held temporarily until it can be processed or transmitted elsewhere. A buffer usually refers to a memory area that is reserved for I/O operations.

A combination of eight consecutive bits treated as a unit. A byte represents one letter or number within the computer.

A high-level computer programming language that can do low-level manipulations.

COmmon Business Oriented Language. A high-level computer language primarily used for business applications.

The "alphabetical order" of all characters used by a computer. They include digits, punctuation marks, and special characters. The collating sequence uses the same order of precedence as the numeric codes for characters, either in ASCII or EBCDIC.

Information in a computer program that is ignored by the compiler, but is included for documenting the program for human readers.

The time during which a source program is translated by a compiler to an object program. Compile time is usually used to indicate things that happen when a program is compiled.

An error that occurs or that is detected at compile time.

A program that translates source code into machine instructions. The compiler also diagnoses and reports syntax errors found in the application program.

A group of statements enclosed with the reserved words begin and end, and which are treated as a single statement.

The operation of joining two or more character strings together.

A fixed value, as opposed to a variable which is a symbol for a changing value.

A structured constant; a construct specifies the value of a declared constant.

One or more items of information.

To find and correct mistakes in a computer program.

The base 10 numbering system in which the numbers 0 through 9 are used.

A value or condition that is assumed by the operating system or compiler if no other value or condition is specified.

A symbol that marks the beginning and end of a syntactic unit in source code.

A circular plate used to store computer data; the disk can be fixed, removable, hard, or flexible.

A variable which is not declared and cannot be referred to by name. A dynamic variable is created during execution of a program.

The process of writing code that prevents a program from aborting due to run-time errors. Error recovery code does not catch compile-time errors, warnings, or notes.

A program or procedure that is ready to be executed.

The act of a computer carrying out a set of instructions given by a program.

A construct composed of operators and operands that represent the computation of a result of a particular type.

A routine defined in another compilation unit.

To redirect the association of one physical file to another physical file, or to specify additional file attributes using the MPE XL FILE command.

A parameter which is defined in a procedure, function, or subprogram header.

A block that is invoked with a function call and returns a value.

A call that invokes the block of a function and returns a value to the calling point of the program

Consists of the reserved word FUNCTION, an identifier that specifies a function name, an optional formal parameter list, and a result type.

The base 16 numbering system in which the numbers 0 through 15 are used. 10 through 15 are represented by the letters A through F.

Used to denote declared constants, types, variables, procedures, functions, modules, and programs, and consists of a letter preceding an optional character sequence of letters, digits, or the underscore character (_).

To give an initial value to a variable in a program.

An external routine that can be called by a program written in any language that your operating system supports.

A value in a program that is represented by it's actual value rather than a variable or a constant.

When a program performs a statement over and over a specified number of times or while certain conditions are met.

The maximum value that an integer variable can contain.

The minimum value that an integer can contain.

An acronym for Native Language Support.

The variables, constants, or literals that are used in an operation.

Defines the action to be performed on one or more operands.

The process which the compiler uses to modify your program so that it uses machine resources more efficiently.

The argument used for sending and receiving information to and from functions and procedures.

The location in a program where the parameters and their values are declared.

An acronym for Position Independent Code.

Rules that determine the required order of operations.

A block of statements that are invoked with a procedure call.

The call in a program that invokes the procedure block.

Numbers that are whole or fractional. A real number can also have an exponent.

A programming technique in which a procedure calls itself.

An operator that compares two operands and returns a Boolean result.

Predefined terms that have special meaning to the Pascal language, and which can only be used for their specified purpose.

An error the computer system finds in a program during run time.

An error which is caused by using the wrong wording in a program.

The process of separating the source for a large program into pieces that can be compiled independently of other pieces.

The input program that is to be translated by the compiler.

All of the rules and definitions of Pascal as defined by the ANSI standard.

Pascal's single unit of activity. Each statement is separated by a semicolon.

A variable which is declared in the declaration part of a program block.

See procedure.

The process of breaking a problem into pieces that can be easily solved.

A memory location that holds data values, and which is referenced by a variable name. Information in this location can be changed.

The compiler produces warnings to indicate a possible source of run-time errors.

Four consecutive bytes. Some numeric items are defined in terms of words, and many items must start at a word boundary in memory.