- S
-
- samples-per-second
- The number of times per second that the audio card records data from the audio input.
For example, 44 kiloHertz is CD quality, 22 kiloHertz is FM music quality, and 11
kiloHertz is voice quality.
- SBCS
- See single-byte character set.
- scalar
- An arithmetic object, or a pointer to an object of any type.
- scan
- To search backward and forward at high speed on a CD audio device.
- schema
- (1) The set of statements, expressed in data definition language, that completely
describe the structure of a database. IBM.
- scope
- That part of a source program in which an identifier is defined and recognized. See class scope, global scope,
local scope, namespace
scope.
- scope operator (::)
- An operator that defines the scope for the argument on the right. If the left argument
is blank, the scope is global; if the left argument is a class name, the scope is within
that class.
- scroll increment
- The number by which the current value of the circular slider is incremented or
decremented when a user presses one of the circular slider control buttons.
- secondary window
- See child window.
- secondary source file
- A file that is used as input to a build, like any other source file, but which is not
listed in the configuration file. Instead, it is included via preprocessor directives in
another source file. When a source file that includes a secondary source is compiled, the
secondary source file is also compiled, even if no changes were made to it. Contrast with primary source file.
- section
- (1) A unit of code or data produced by the compiler. Sections do not have attributes.
Contrast with segment.
- seed
- An initial value supplied to a random-number algorithm with which the algorithm can
generate a unique sequence of pseudo-random numbers.
- segment
- A unit of code or data produced by the linker and existing only in an executable image
of the program. The linker assigns attributes to sections, orders and groups them, and
puts them into segments. Contrast with section.
- semaphore
- A variable that is used to enforce mutual exclusion.
- sequence
- A sequentially ordered flat collection.
- sequential collection
- An abstract class with the property of sequentially ordered elements.
- server
- (1) A functional unit that provides services to one or more clients over a network.
Contrast with client. (2) In the AIX operating system, an
application program that usually runs in the background and is controlled by the system
program controller. (3) In Compound Document Framework, an application or a document
component that supplies an object. For example, a drawing program that provides a picture
that can be placed inside a word processing document is referred to as a server.
- shadow
- In the OS/2 operating system, a duplicate object that maintains a link to the original
object. The objects can be located in different folders. If the duplicate or the original
is changed, the other changes as well. See shortcut.
- shared library
- On the AIX operating system, a library created by the ld command that
contains at least one subroutine that can be used by multiple processes. Code common to
different subroutines is combined in one library file, which can be loaded at run time and
shared by many programs. A key to identify the shared library file is left in the header
of each subroutine.
- shell
- A program that interprets sequences of text input as commands. It may operate on an
input stream or it may interactively prompt and read commands from a terminal. X/Open.
- shortcut
- In the Windows operating system, a duplicate object that maintains a link to the
original object. Changes to either object are reflected in the other. A shortcut object on
the desktop or the start menu allows it to be opened quickly. See shadow.
- siblings
- All the children of the same parent (class, node, window) are said to be siblings of one
another.
- signal
- (1) A condition that may be reported as a result of an error in program execution or
other exceptional situation. For example, SIGFPE is the signal used to represent erroneous
arithmetic operations such as a division by zero. See asynchronous signal, synchronous signal, exception.
(2) A mechanism by which a process may be notified of, or affected by, an event occurring
in the system. Examples of such events include hardware exceptions and specific actions by
processes. The term signal is also used to refer to the event itself. X/Open, I.
(3) In AIX operating system operations, a method of interprocess communication that
simulates software interrupts. IBM.
- signaled
- A state in which an object has been reactivated after the threads have been put to
sleep. For example, if a thread in a parent process needs to wait for the child process to
terminate, the parent's thread puts itself to sleep until the kernel object identifying
the child process becomes signaled. See nonsignaled.
- signal handler
- A function to be called when the signal is reported.
- silent mode
- See unattended mode.
- single-byte character set (SBCS)
- A set of characters in which each character is represented by a one-byte code. Contrast
with double-byte character set.
- single-precision
- Pertaining to the use of one computer word to represent a number, in accordance with the
required precision. I.
- slash
- The character /, also known as solidus. This character is named <slash> in the
portable character set.
- SMPTE
- Society for Motion Picture and TV Engineers.
- SMPTE time code
- A frame-numbering system developed by SMPTE that assigns a number to each frame of
video. The 8-digit code is in the form HH:MM:SS:FF (hours, minutes, seconds, frame
number). The numbers track elapsed hours, minutes, seconds, and frames from any chosen
point.
- Society for Motion Picture and TV Engineers
- An organization that prepares standards and documentation for television production.
- sorted
- Segregated into groups according to specified criteria.
- sorted bag
- A sorted flat collection that allows duplicate elements. See key sorted bag.
- sorted collection
- (1) An abstract class with the property of sorted elements. (2) Any collection with
sorted elements. See key sorted collection.
- sorted map
- A sorted flat collection with key and element equality.
- sorted relation
- A sorted flat collection that uses keys, has element equality, and allows duplicate
elements.
- sorted set
- A sorted flat collection with element equality. See key
sorted set.
- source directory
- A directory where a project's parts are physically stored. A project can have many
source directories.
- source file
- (1) A file that contains source statements for such items as high-level language
programs and data description specifications. IBM. Contrast with object file.
- source group
- A named collection of files defined by a group directive in a configuration file. See group directive.
- source program
- A set of instructions written in a programming language that must be translated to
machine language before the program can be run. IBM.
- source type
- Information associated with and used by an action. An action's list of source types
specifies the kind of parts or files to which the action applies.
- space character
- The character defined in the portable character set as <space>. The space
character is a member of the space character class of the current locale, but represents
the single character, and not all of the possible members of the class. X/Open.
- specifier
- In declarations, an indication of storage class, fundamental data type, or other
property of the object or function being declared.
- sprite
- A small graphic that can be moved independently around the screen, producing animated
effects.
- SQL
- Structured Query Language.
- SQL predicate
- The conditional part of a Structured Query Language statement.
- stack
- A data structure in which new elements are added to and removed from the top of the
structure. A stack is characterized by last-in, first-out (LIFO) behavior.
- stack frame
- The physical representation of the activation of a routine. The stack frame is allocated
and freed on a LIFO (last-in, first-out) basis.
- stack storage
- See automatic storage.
- standard error
- An output stream usually intended to be used for diagnostic messages.
- standard input
- An input stream usually intended to be used for primary data input. X/Open.
Standard input comes from the keyboard unless redirection or piping is used, in which case
standard input can be from a file or the output from another command.
- standard output
- An output stream usually intended to be used for primary data output. X/Open.
When programs are run interactively, standard output usually goes to the display unless
redirection or piping is used, in which case standard output can go to a file or to
another command.
- Standard Template Library (STL)
- A collection of C++ class templates. Also the Containers, Iterators, and Algorithms
Library. It provides template functions and classes for storing and manipulating
collections.
- stanza
- In the AIX operating system, a group of lines in a file that together have a common
function or define a part of the system. Stanzas are usually separated by blank lines or
colons, and each stanza has a name. For example, the stanzas for the AIX compiler default
configuration file specify information that the compiler uses when it is invoked.
- statement
- (1) A language construct that represents a step in a sequence of actions or a set of
declarations. (2) In a program or procedure, an instruction that ends with a semicolon
(;), or several instructions that are surrounded by brace brackets ({}). See break statement, switch
statement.
- static
- A keyword used for defining the scope and linkage of variables and functions. For
internal variables, the variable has block scope and retains its value between function
calls. For class variables, the variable is shared by all objects of the class and retains
its value within the entire program.
- static library
- A library linked with other modules when those modules are built. In VisualAge C++, it
has the file extension .lib. Contrast with shared library.
- static linking
- Combining code and data at build time. Static linking increases the size of the
executable file. Contrast with dynamic linking.
- step backward
- In multimedia applications, to move the medium backward one frame or segment at a time.
- step forward
- In multimedia applications, to move the medium forward one frame or segment at a time.
- step frame
- A function of devices such as digital video and videodisc players that enables a user to
move frame-by-frame in either direction.
- STL
- Standard Template Library.
- stopping thread
- The thread that causes a program being debugged to stop.
- storage class specifier
- A keyword (auto, register, static, or extern) that defines the potential lifetime of the
storage containing an object.
- stored procedure
- A facility that allows an application program to be run in two parts, one on a client
and the other on a server. The procedure is stored on the server and is part of a
relational database. Data Access Builder can generate C++ code that accesses and runs
stored procedures.
- stream
- (1) A contiguous group of data elements being transmitted, or intended for transmission,
in character or binary-digit form, using a defined format. (2) A file access object that
allows access to an ordered sequence of characters, as described by the ISO C standard. A
stream provides the additional services of user-selectable buffering and formatted input
and output. (3) In text processing, treating the entire text as a single string, even when
the string is broken into lines for viewing purposes.
- stream buffer
- A stream buffer is a buffer between the ultimate consumer, ultimate producer, and the
I/O Stream Library functions that format data. It is implemented in the I/O Stream Library
by the streambuf class and the classes derived from streambuf.
- string
- A contiguous sequence of characters.
- string literal
- A contiguous sequence of zero or more characters enclosed in double quotation marks that
is itself data, rather than a reference to data.
- stub
- (1) A routine placed into a program to provide a common function. (2) A local object
that sends a message to a remote object to invoke its associated operation.
- stub file
- A small program at the start of an executable file, which runs when DOS is booted. The
default stub file outputs the message, "This program cannot be run under DOS."
The most common use of a stub file is to display copyright information when a program is
loaded.
- structure
- A construct that contains an ordered group of data objects. Unlike an array, the data
objects within a structure can have varied data types.
- structured exception handling
- A mechanism for handling system exceptions that matches exceptions with handlers based
on the value returned from an exception filter expression. It allows C programmers
exception-handling capabilities similar to those offered by C++. See exception handling.
- Structured Query Language (SQL)
- A language used to interrogate and process data in a relational database.
- structure tag
- The identifier that names a structure data type.
- subclass
- See derived class.
- subscript
- One or more expressions, each enclosed in brackets, that follow an array name. A
subscript refers to an element in an array.
- subset
- A set in which each element is also an element of another specified set. Contrast with superset.
- subsystem
- A secondary or subordinate system, usually capable of operating independently of, or
asynchronously with, a controlling system. T.
- subtree
- A tree structure created by arbitrarily denoting a node to be the root node in a tree. A
subtree is always part of a whole tree. See tree, root, node.
- superclass
- See base class, abstract
class.
- superset
- Given two sets, A and B, A is a superset of B if all elements of B are also elements of
A. Contrast with subset.
- super video graphics adapter (SVGA)
- Any graphics adapter that offers better resolution than a video graphics adapter (VGA),
usually an adapter that can display 256 colors with a resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels.
See video graphics adapter.
- switch expression
- The controlling expression of a switch statement.
- switch statement
- A C or C++ language statement that causes control to be transferred to one of several
statements, depending on the value of an expression.
- symbolic name
- (1) A unique name used to represent an entity such as a field, file, data structure, or
label. IBM. (2) One or more characters with visible glyphs, enclosed between
angle brackets.
- synchronous
- (1) Pertaining to two or more processes that depend on the occurrence of specific events
such as common timing signals. T. (2) Occurring with a regular or predictable
time relationship. IBM.
- synchronous signal
- A signal that can occur during program execution as a result of the activity of the
program. The signal may be the result of an error, such as a floating point exception, or
the program may raise the signal by calling the raise function. See signal, asynchronous
signal.
- system default
- A default value defined in the system profile. IBM.
