Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In computer programming, a declaration is a language construct specifying identifier properties: it declares a word's (identifier's) meaning. [1] Declarations are most commonly used for functions, variables, constants, and classes, but can also be used for other entities such as enumerations and type definitions. [1]
C functions are akin to the subroutines of Fortran or the procedures of Pascal. A definition is a special type of declaration. A variable definition sets aside storage and possibly initializes it, a function definition provides its body. An implementation of C providing all of the standard library functions is called a hosted implementation.
A declaration which creates a data object, instead of merely describing its existence, is commonly called a definition. Many find it convenient to draw a distinction between the terms "declaration" and "definition", as in the commonly seen phrase "the distinction between a declaration and definition ...", implying that a declaration merely ...
The C language specification includes the typedef s size_t and ptrdiff_t to represent memory-related quantities. Their size is defined according to the target processor's arithmetic capabilities, not the memory capabilities, such as available address space. Both of these types are defined in the <stddef.h> header (cstddef in C++).
An external variable can be accessed by all the functions in all the modules of a program. It is a global variable.For a function to be able to use the variable, a declaration or the definition of the external variable must lie before the function definition in the source code.
Semantics is concerned with the meaning of a program. The standards documents for many programming languages use BNF or some equivalent to express the syntax/grammar in a fairly formal and precise way, but the semantics/meaning of the program is generally described using examples and English prose. This can result in ambiguity. [8]
In C and C++, the type signature is declared by what is commonly known as a function prototype. In C/C++, a function declaration reflects its use; for example, a function pointer with the signature (int)(char, double) would be called as:
Declarative programming is a non-imperative style of programming in which programs describe their desired results without explicitly listing commands or steps that must be performed. Functional and logic programming languages are characterized by a declarative programming style.