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Terms Definitions PF

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6 views2 pages

Terms Definitions PF

Uploaded by

adeela.afzaal.hfz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PF/BS FCIT/Dept of IT

Glossary of Terms

Line of code
The term ‘line’ is considered as a single, syntactically correct (following the grammar of a
programming language) statement that can bring a change in state.

Piece of code
It is a generic expression not technical and points to a piece or collection (a single statement
or a function, or program or a module, or a component or a sub-system) of code. Not a
technical expression in terms of programming vocabulary.

Code block
A code block is a technical term used to describe a collection of programming statements (at
least one line). Curly braces “{ }” are used to mark the start and end of a code block.

Code routine
A code routine is a collection of logical/interconnected statements that bring a meaningful
and observable change in state. The routines are normally named and are re-usable. OS
internal calls are sometimes referred to as system routines.

Code snippet
Like ‘Piece of Code’ it is also another way to point to a collection of code that may or may not
be complete in terms of state change capabilities. A snippet may result in state transition, or
it may only be a part of a bigger state changing collection.

Function
A named block of code that brings a meaningful and observable change in state. It is
technically more formal in nature. Following is a grammatical expression for function
structure.
return_type function_identifier(param_1, param_2, …, param_n)
{//start of function block
}//end of function block
Program
A program is a well-defined, well-formed, and logical entity of code containing at least one or
more lines of code. Each program has a goal that is a series of state transitions. At the end of
each program run a desired state is achieved. Programs are stored in files and are used
repeatedly. A program has a PEP and a structure of code is formed around PEP. Depending
on this structure the type of program is defined. A program may have a data part, a control
part, and an exit/termination logic.

Software
A software is a collection of one or more programs that work together to provide a set of
functionalities to user. The nature of these functionalities may be unidirectional (providing
similar goals) or varied (providing different type of goals). Software are generally Graphical
User Interface (GUI) enabled and hide the programming from the user. GUI works as a space

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PF/BS FCIT/Dept of IT

of interaction (exchange of data) between software internals and outside world (user).
Software varies in size (from small like 50 lines of code to millions of lines of code) nature
(single user, multi-user, network, web, distributed, etc), and functionality.
Application
An application or APP is a light-weight software meant for a light-weight system. Cellular
devices contain software that are classified as APPs. An APP has a limited set of capabilities
both in nature and scope. What a software can achieve an APP would do a fraction of that
work.

Enterprice Systems/Software
A software that can manage a collection of businesses is ranked as an enterprise system
software. Imagine a group of companies owned by a board of partners. Each business is
different in nature and has different workflows. But they are owned by a single entity and
that entity wants to have a single software solution for every aspect of the business. That
software is ranked as enterprise system software. These software are huge in size, contain
many modules/sub-systems, has many levels of users, provide data/behavior services of
multiple types etc.

Web application
A web application is an app that uses web protocols to function and provide services. These
services include mail, messaging, file transfer, data stores etc.

Website
A collection of web pages is called a web site. A web page is a file containing hyper media
(text, image, audio, video etc.). hyper media is data transferrable over web using some
protocol. Websites can be of static nature (having only displayable/or viewable data arranged
in pages) or dynamic (having ability to send/receive data by a particular user).

Web-portal
A web site providing multiple services is ranked as a web portal. In other words, a web portal
is a collection of web sites.

Web-service
A web service is a functionality provided over web/network using protocols. This service may
be accessed through a web site/portal or can be called using a API (Application Programming
Interface). A service is atomic (capable of performing unit task independently) and resides at
a server over the network.

API stands for "Application Programming Interface." It is a set of rules and protocols that allow
different software applications to communicate with each other. APIs define the methods and data
formats that applications can use to request and exchange information.

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