- B
-
- B*-tree (B star tree)
- A tree in which only the leaves contain whole elements.
All other nodes contain keys.
- background color
- The color in which the background of a graphic primitive
is drawn.
- backslash
- The character \. This character is named
<backslash> in the portable character set.
- balance
- (1) For audio, refers to the relative strength of the
left and right channels. A balance level of 0 is left
channel only. A balance level of 100 is right channel
only. (2) A state of equilibrium, usually between treble
and bass.
- base class
- A class from which other classes are derived through
inheritance. A base class may itself be derived from
another base class.
- based on
- A relationship between two classes in which one class is
implemented through the other. A new class is based on an
existing class when the existing class is used to
implement it.
- binary expression
- An operation containing two operands and one operator.
- binary stream
- (1) An ordered sequence of untranslated characters. (2) A
sequence of characters that corresponds on a one-to-one
basis with the characters in the file. No character
translation is performed on binary streams. IBM.
- bit field
- A member of a structure or union that contains a
specified number of bits.
- bit mask
- A pattern of characters used to control the retention or
elimination of portions of another pattern of characters.
- block
- (1) In programming languages, a compound statement that
coincides with the scope of at least one of the
declarations contained within it. A block may also
specify storage allocation or segment programs for other
purposes. I. (2) A string of data elements
recorded or transmitted as a unit. The elements may be
characters, words, or physical records. T. (3) The
unit of data transmitted to and from a device. Each block
contains one record, part of a record, or several
records.
- block statement
- A group of data definitions, declarations, and statements
that appear between a left brace { and a right brace }
that are processed as a unit. IBM.
- boundary alignment
- The position in main storage of a fixed-length field,
such as halfword or doubleword, on an integral boundary
for that unit of information. For example, a word
boundary is a storage address evenly divisible by four.
See alignment.
- bounded collection
- A collection that has an upper limit on the number of
elements it can contain.
- brackets
- The characters [ (left bracket) and ] (right bracket),
also known as square brackets. When used in the
phrase "enclosed in (square) brackets" the
symbol [ immediately precedes the object to be enclosed,
and ] immediately follows it. When describing these
characters in the portable character set, the names
<left-bracket> and <right-bracket> are used. X/Open.
- breakpoint
- A marker in a program that signals the debugger to stop
when execution reaches that point. Code beyond the
breakpoint is not executed until further instructions are
provided.
- break statement
- A language control statement that contains the keyword break
and a semicolon. It is used to end an iterative or switch
statement by exiting from it at any point other than the
logical end. Control is passed to the first statement
after the iteration or switch statement.
- buffer
- (1) A routine or storage used to compensate for a
difference in the rate of flow of data or in the time of
occurrence of events when transferring data from one
device to another. ANSI. (2) To allocate and
schedule the use of buffers. ANSI.
- buffer flush
- A process that removes the contents of a buffer.
- built-in function
- A function that the compiler automatically puts inline
instead of generating a call to the function. Contrast
with intrinsic
function. IBM.
