Glossary Terminology part-5 M,N,O

M

machine code

Machine instructions in a binary format that can be recognized directly by the machine

without further translation.

machine language

See machine code.

macro

A short piece of text, or text template, that can be expanded into a longer text.

macro processor

A program that generates code by replacing values into positions in a defined template.

magnitude (of a number)

The value of a number without regard to sign.

maintenance (of a program)

Modification of a program because of changing conditions external to the computer system.

make

A utility of both UNIX and MS-DOS/Windows that manages the compilation of programs.

Makefile

The file that contains the commands for the utility make.

malloc

A C procedure that manages a memory heap. This function is now obsolete. The C++

operator new supersedes this function.

mask

A pattern of bits for controlling the retention or elimination of another group of bits.

member

An element of a class or structure.

module

One logical part of a program.

MS-DOS

An operating system for IBM personal computers developed by Microsoft.

N

new

C++ operator to get a new variable from the heap.

new-line character

A character that causes an output device to go to the beginning of a new line.

nonsignificant digits

Leading digits that do not affect the value of a number (0s for a positive number, Is for a

negative number in complement form).

normalization

The shifting of a floating-point fraction (and adjustment of the exponent) so there are no

leading nonsignificant digits in the fraction.

NOT

A Boolean operation that yields the logical inverse of the operand. NOT 1 yields a 0 and

NOT 0 yields a 1.

not a number

A special value defined in IEEE 754 to signal an invalid result from a floating-point

operation

NULL

A constant of value 0 that points to nothing.

null pointer

A pointer whose bit pattern is all zeros. This indicates that the pointer does not point to

valid data.

O

object-oriented design

A design methodology where the programmer bases his or her design on data objects

(classes) and the connections between them.

octal number

A base-eight number.

ones complement

An operation that flips all the bits in a integer. Ones become zeros and zeros become ones.

operator

A symbol that represents an action to be performed.

OR

A Boolean operation that yields a 1 if either of the operands is a 1 or yields a zero if both

of the operands are 0.

overflow error

An arithmetic error caused by the result of an arithmetic operation being greater than the

space the computer provides to store the result.