Questions about how specific notions have to be understood as well as conventions of notation.
Questions tagged [terminology]
1130 questions
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Why is the unit of image size not Pixel²?
If you calculate the area of a rectangle, you just multiply the height and the width and get back the unit squared.
Example:
5cm * 10cm = 50cm²
In contrast, if you calculate the size of an image, you also multiply the height and the width, but you…
JFFIGK
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Fixed point, what does it mean in the world of computer science
I keep coming across references to fixed point in questions and answers at stackexchange and I look up the meaning on the web obviously finding reference at sites such as Wikipedia. However none of the references really answer my question of what is…
Guy Coder
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What is a 'Key' in computer science?
I'm a bit confused on what exactly the meaning of a 'key' is in computer science. I understand key-value pairs, primary keys, etc... But I can't find a definition of what the term 'key' means by itself.
As far as I can tell it just means a piece of…
TheMax
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What does apostrophe-like symbol in the superscript mean?
It's hard to look up the meaning of a symbol if you don't know what it is called in the context that it is written.
That apostrophe-type symbol in the sequence notation - what is that?
dthree
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What is it called when f(g(x)) = x?
There are a couple of function pairs which give the identity when composed, e.g.,
decrypt(encrypt(value)) == value
deserialize(serialize(data, filepath)) == data
What is this property called? Suppose one function undoes the property of the other,…
Martin Thoma
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3 answers
Why is the set for which a decision problem is true called a "language"?
When we have a decision problem, " does $f(x)=1$ hold?", we call the set of strings $x$ for which the answer is yes a "language".
Why this strange terminology?
user56834
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What is the name for a function's "return arity"?
The number of parameters a function has (and thus the number of arguments it can take) is known as arity. What is the name for the number of values a function returns? I'm not asking for the "size" of a function's return values. A function returning…
oconnor0
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What's the difference between Computer Science and Informatics?
The Terms are much used in actual IT (Information Technology). Is it possible to make a difference or are this terms nearly synonyms for the same fact?
Prof. i. R. Franz Plochberger
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Terminology - machine code and byte code
Do "machine code" and "byte code" terms refer to the available instruction set to the CPU and virtual CPU and their encoding (the language specification) or do they refer to the "encoding" of the current program's instructions after compilation?
The…
othman
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Proper pronunciation of "Aho-Corasick?"
Tomorrow I'm going to be teaching a class on Aho-Corasick string matching. I'm pretty sure I know how to pronounce Margaret Corasick's name, but I don't actually know the proper pronunciation of Alfred Aho's surname.
Can anyone comment on the proper…
templatetypedef
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What are the justifications and historical reasons regarding the choice between the words 'calculus' and 'algebra'?
The principles of calculus, historically, are differentials and integrals [1], while those of algebra are operators and equation solving [2]. Contemporary principles are analysis and abstract objects, respectively.
As an example case, why is…
Alexis Petrounias
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4
votes
2 answers
Is "Feral Concurrency Control" a disparaging description?
The paper Feral Concurrency Control:
An Empirical Investigation of Modern Application Integrity uses the term "feral" in a way I have never seen before.
Rails has developed a range of concurrency control strategies,
two of which operate external…
Nathan Long
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4
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2 answers
When describing a CS paper, can it be assumed that the meaning of "tick" is known?
I thinkt this question fits better here than on english.stackexchange.
When describing a figure in a computer science paper, is it safe to use "tick" meaning "tick mark"?
Examples:
... (see the thick line right of tick "17") meaning tick mark…
mrsteve
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Name of an Exact Cover by 3 sets variant
Exact cover by 3-sets is $\sf{NP}$-complete:
Instance: Given a finite set $X = \{ x_1,x_2,...,x_{3n}\}$ of $3n$ elements and a collection $C = \{ ( x_{i_1}, x_{i_2}, x_{i_3}) \} $ of $m$ 3-elements subsets of $X$;
Question: Find a subcollection…
Vor
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What is "Containment order"? Could I get a friendly explanation?
Reading the Wikipedia page was a little dense for me. Can anyone offer a friendly explanation of what this means? It sounds like it saying that if you have two ordered collections, if they are "ordered by containment" then they will be in roughly…
Austin Cory Bart
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