A scalar variable has a single value (at any one time); this is contrasted with a vector or an array, which contains a number of values, each of which is referred to by its index.
The scope of a variable is the part of the program in which the variable can be accessed. The scopes with which we are concerned are local, global, and class; see the entry for each specific scope for more details.
A selection sort is a sorting algorithm that selects the highest (or lowest) element from a set of elements (the "input list"), moving that selected element to another set of elements (the "output list"). The next highest (or lowest) element is then treated in the same manner; this operation is repeated until as many elements as desired have been moved to the output list.
A short is a type of integer variable that can represent a whole number in either the range -32768 to 32767 (if signed) or the range 0 to 65535 (if unsigned).
A side effect is any result of calling a function that persists beyond the execution of that function. For example, writing data to a file is a side effect.
The signature of a function consists of its name and the types of its arguments. In the case of a member function, the class to which the function belongs is also part of its signature. Every function is uniquely identified by its signature, which is what makes it possible to have more than one function with the same name; this is called function overloading.
A signed char is a type of integer variable; see char for details.
A signed int is a type of integer variable; see int for details.
A signed long is a type of integer variable; see long for details.
A signed short is a type of integer variable; see short for details.
A signed variable can represent either negative or positive values; see the individual variable type char, short, int, or long for details.
Software refers to the other, nonphysical components of a computer, the ones you cannot touch. If you can install it on your hard disk, it's software. Examples include a spreadsheet, a word processor, a database program.
Source code is a program in a form suitable for reading and writing by a human being.
Source code file; see source code module.
A source code module is a file containing part or all of the source code for a program.
The space character ( ) is one of the nonprinting characters (or nondisplay characters) that controls the format of displayed or printed information.
The square brackets, [ and ], are used to enclose an array or vector index, which selects an individual element of the array or vector. Also see [].
A stack is a data structure with characteristics similar to a spring-loaded plate holder such as you might see in a cafeteria. The last plate deposited on the stack of plates will be the first one to be removed when a customer needs a fresh plate; similarly, the last value deposited (pushed) onto a stack is the first value retrieved (popped).
The stack pointer is a dedicated register. The stack pointer is used to keep track of the most recently pushed value on the stack.
A starting expression is the part of a for statement executed once before the controlled block of the for statement is first executed. It is often used to initialize an index variable to 0, so that the index variable can be used to refer to the first element of an array or vector; see the entry for the for statement for an example.
A statement is a complete operation understood by the C++ compiler. Each statement is ended with a semicolon (;).
The static storage class is the simplest of the three storage classes in C++; variables of this storage class are assigned memory addresses in the executable program when the program is linked.
Static type checking refers to the practice of checking the correct usage of variables of different types during compilation of a program rather than during execution. C++ uses static type checking; see the type system entry for further discussion.
Stepwise refinement is the process of developing an algorithm by starting out with a "coarse" solution and "refining" it until the steps are within the capability of the C++ language.
Storage: syn. memory.
A storage class is the characteristic of a variable that determines how and when a memory address is assigned to that variable. C++ has three different storage classes: static, auto and dynamic; see the descriptions of each of these storage classes for more details. Please note that the term storage class has nothing to do with the C++ term class.
A storage function is a function that stores data for later retrieval by a retrieval function.
A stream is a place to put (in the case of an ostream) or get (in the case of an istream) characters. Some predefined streams are cin and cout.
The string class defines a type of object that contains a group of chars; the chars in a string can be treated as one unit for purposes of assignment, I/O, and comparison.