Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@staltz
Last active March 6, 2018 05:23
Show Gist options
  • Star 4 You must be signed in to star a gist
  • Fork 0 You must be signed in to fork a gist
  • Save staltz/7473252 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save staltz/7473252 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Code glossary

Code glossary

A useful list of programming jargon to solve your naming problems.

Adapter: a design pattern that translates one interface for a class into a compatible interface.

Admin: short for 'administrator'; very commonly used in speech or online to refer to the systems person in charge on a computer. Common constructions on this include sysadmin and site admin (emphasizing the administrator's role as a site contact for email and news).

Counter: a variable or user interface that counts occurrences or repetitions of some phenomena or event.

Create: verb used to name functions that "bring into existence" or "produce" a new object from a (potentially empty) set of instructions. Contrast this word with "make".

Delegate: when an object, instead of performing one of its stated tasks, delegates that task to an associated helper object.

Duck typing: a style of typing in which an object's methods and properties determine the valid semantics, rather than its inheritance from a particular class or implementation of a specific interface.

Foobar: (or fubar, foo, bar, baz) a placeholder name that can be used for variables, functions, commands, and others temporarily unimportant elements.

Make: verb used to name functions that "form by assembling constituents" or "bring into existence by shaping, modifying, or putting together material" an object that might or might not be new, and most likely has been assembled from smaller pieces. Example: "Makefile" refers to making a program which may or may not have existed previously, and often is assembled from constituents. Contrast this with "create".

Node: a computer (server) or process attached to a (computer) network, or a point in a network topology where lines intersect or terminate.

Parameter: a special kind of variable, used in a subroutine to refer to one of the pieces of data provided as input to the subroutine.

Proxy: an agent (process, server, class, etc) that works on behalf of something else or performs a process that acts on behalf of another.

Relay: to retransmit a signal or data.

Wrapper: a function in a computer program whose main purpose is to call a second function with little or no additional computation. Difference between Wrapper, Proxy, and Adapter

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment