Top "Terminology" questions

What is null in Java?

What is null? Is null an instance of anything? What set does null belong to? How is it represented in …

java null terminology
What is the meaning of "POSIX"?

What is POSIX? I have read the Wikipedia article and I read it every time I encounter the term. The …

linux unix posix terminology
What is the difference between a framework and a library?

What is the difference between a framework and a library? I always thought of a library as a set of …

frameworks language-agnostic libraries terminology
"Parameter" vs "Argument"

I got parameter and argument kind of mixed up and did not really pay attention to when to use one …

function parameters language-agnostic arguments terminology
What is Bit Masking?

I am fairly new to C programming, and I encountered bit masking. Can someone explain to me the general concept …

c bit-manipulation bitwise-operators terminology bitmask
What is the function of the push / pop instructions used on registers in x86 assembly?

When reading about assembler I often come across people writing that they push a certain register of the processor and …

assembly x86 stack terminology
What is a lambda (function)?

For a person without a comp-sci background, what is a lambda in the world of Computer Science?

lambda language-agnostic computer-science terminology theory
Definition of "downstream" and "upstream"

I've started playing with Git and have come across the terms "upstream" and "downstream". I've seen these before but never …

git version-control versioning terminology definition
What is the difference between UTF-8 and Unicode?

I have heard conflicting opinions from people - according to the Wikipedia UTF-8 page. They are the same thing, aren't …

unicode encoding utf-8 character-encoding terminology
What is a magic number, and why is it bad?

What is a magic number? Why should it be avoided? Are there cases where it's appropriate?

language-agnostic terminology magic-numbers