Questions tagged [terminology]
Questions about how specific notions have to be understood as well as conventions of notation.
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“Character placeholders” in a text field
The following question is asked to understand if this question can even be answered.
Say we have a data field to which a stream of one or more characters could be inputted (say as a string or as a ...
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1answer
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What category does questions like “Given n points on 2D plane find …” belong to
Not after a specific answer, do following questions belong to same set of problem types?
Given n points in on 2D plane, find 4 or 5 , or m subset of points with less total distant to each other than ...
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0answers
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Variable that takes values of $\left\{0, 1\right\}$ is called binary. How about variable that takes values of $\left\{-1, 1\right\}$?
Variable that takes values of $\left\{0, 1\right\}$ is called binary. How about variable that takes values of $\left\{-1, 1\right\}$? Is there a specific name for such variable? I search over the web ...
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2answers
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Run-Time environments
I was reading about Run-Time Environments.
In the Dragon book (2nd ed.) I came across the following presentation:
[To implement abstractions, the] compiler ...
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0answers
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Little Endian vs Big Endian?
Suppose a processor uses the big endian representation and x is a 32-bit integer stored in memory starting at the memory address 1000. The memory is byte-addressable, each location holding a byte. ...
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1answer
37 views
What is memory model in computer organization?
I'm new to Computer Organization and even to this community. I didn't find anything which was simple, clear and up to the point. Any examples supporting the discussion is appreciated. I'm not looking ...
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2answers
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Is automata concept theorized in computer science and what would be a simple example?
I understand the terms automata or automaton to mean "self operating machine".
I can't think of any such "machine" besides maybe (if it is even a machine and even exits) cyclic universe of a big-bang-...
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1answer
51 views
Is it common in the literature to define regular languages and serialization languages as programming languages?
Often when I create programs I use operating-programming language such as Bash for automating OS operations, structure ("markup") language such as HTML to define structures, styling language such as ...
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3answers
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Are regular languages and their regular expressions part of computer science?
I am trying to understand if regular languages and their regular expressions are concepts of computer science in general and if these are discovered, or invented, by computer scientists, in particular....
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1answer
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Are event and mode well defined terms in CS literature?
From my experience in programming small imperative scrips for personal usage with JavaScript,
I can conclude that an event is "A perceived change in the output of a system" (such as clicking a link ...
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6answers
316 views
Essential difference between Assembly languages to all other programming languages
I understand that any assembly programming language has so little abstraction, so that one who programms with it (OS creator, hardware driver creator, "hacker" and so on), would have to know the ...
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Is “Extended Church-Turing Thesis” the same as “Cobham-Edmonds Thesis”?
I have been looking for any reference regarding the term: "Extended Church-Turing Thesis" [some people will call it, Strong Church–Turing Thesis]? Does anyone defined it or it is just people in ...
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2answers
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Is coding a concept in this theoretical-logical field of study?
As an amateur Bash/JavaScript scripter I was wondering if coding in general ("writing source code") and abstractless coding in particular (binary) is a concept of Computer Science or just an ...
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30 views
Is 'the bombe' technically a computer?what is technically meant to be a computer?
Some say that 'the bombe' created by Alan Turing is technically not a computer despite decrypting the codes.
Why is it so? Is 'the bombe' technically a computer?
First of all what is technically ...
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Is an error-correcting code where the parity symbols are interleaved with the data symbols considered systematic?
According to the Wikipedia entry, a systematic code is one
in which the input data is embedded in the encoded output. Conversely, in a non-systematic code the output does not contain the input ...
3
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1answer
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Difference between ⫾ (U+2AFE) and ⫿ (U+2AFF) in the context of Dijkstra's Guarded Command Language?
Continuing https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/435986/how-to-draw-the-box-of-dijkstras-guarded-command-language, what is the difference in the intended usage of ⫾ (Dijkstra choice, U+2AFE) and ⫿ (...
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Why did Wegman-Carter call their class of hash functions as universal on their seminal paper
Wegman-Carter on their seminal Universal classes of hash functions uses the term universal for their definition. They gave this definition as:
Let $H$ be a class of functions from $A$ to $B$. We ...
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1answer
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Distributed algorithm can be executed in a single process
Looking at a "Distributed" algorithm from a textbook on distributed algorithms (e.g. Building a spanning tree, Broadcast/Convergecast.) I found that one can implement it using Golang's concurrency ...
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2answers
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Is there a concept called “white waveforms” in computer science?
It sounds like the lecturer is speaking
If you for example want to play a
music file, mp3 file, well you know, given
that you've taken a programming course
before, all right? How would you do ...
2
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2answers
58 views
Typesetting LTL in Unicode?
Unicode has an abundance of open circles, diamonds and boxes. Using these, we can typeset linear-time temporal logic formulas such as
$$
(\mathop{⬦}ψ)\ \,\land\ \,\mathop{⬦}(θ\ \mathsf{U}\ \mathop{◻}\...
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2answers
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What does “prime” mean in this context?
In a lecture video the instructor introduced the quadratic probing method for hash tables. The formula he gave was the following:
$h(k,i) = (h'(k) + c_1 + c_2i^2)$ $\% M$
where $h'$ was h "prime". ...
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0answers
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Is it still called “recursion” when you're using call-stack as a stack?
The most obvious way to solve a problem of balancing parentheses, like https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-parentheses/, is through a stack (a last-in-first-out (LIFO) datastructure).
However, if you ...
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0answers
31 views
General term for upcasting and downcasting?
Is there a more precise term than simply "casting"? "Casting" often includes for example integer -> float or ...
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1answer
42 views
Least Significant Bit (LSB) vs Little Endian - Are they equivalent in anyway!
For a multiple choice question: What do we call the LSB?
(i)Little Endian (ii)Upper bit (iii)Big Endian (iv)Lower Bit
I feel ideally none of them is a true correct choice, but my best bet was (...
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0answers
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What is difference between r, and r(R) in DBMS?
Sorry, for asking such a basic question.
I am really confused between small 'r' and 'r(R)' being interchangeably denoted as 'relation' or 'relational instance'. I know, that R is a relational schema. ...
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1answer
14 views
Hardness of approximation statement clarification?
In the paper I'm reading, there is a hardness of approximation result for an algorithm proved using a reduction to set cover. Roughly, the claim states that if there existed an algorithm that solved ...
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2answers
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Algorithm for producing array of objects according to the given distribution
I have a set of objects, and each object has (let's say) a color. Given a distribution such as:
...
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0answers
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Does the Hack computer from “The Elements of Computing Systems” use Von Neumann architecture?
I'm reading "The Elements of Computing Systems" (subtitled "Building a Modern Computer from First Principles - Nand to Tetris Companion) by Noam Nisan and Shimon Schocken.
Chapter 4 is about machine ...
3
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2answers
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What is the name of the operator that translates from $X\rightarrow(Y\rightarrow Z)$ to $Y\rightarrow(X\rightarrow Z)$?
Is there a standard name for the operator that takes a function $f:X\rightarrow(Y\rightarrow Z)$ and returns the function $f':Y\rightarrow(X\rightarrow Z)$ that satisfies, for every $y \in Y$ and $x \...
2
votes
1answer
37 views
Terminology: Difference between decision variables, features and attributes?
Could there be a difference between the words "feature", "attribute", and "decision variable" when used in the same paper? The one I am specifically thinking about is about an optimization method for ...
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How to detect a consensus is BFT or not?
Can we divide consensus algorithms into BFT (Byzantine Fault
Tolerant) and non-BFT ?
If so, How to detect a consensus is BFT or non-BFT ?
Is there any non-BFT consensus algorithm example ?
4
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1answer
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Term for a graph decomposition based on a maximum matching
Let $M$ be a maximum cardinality matching in a bipartite graph $G(X+Y,E)$. Let $X_0$ be the subset of $X$ unmatched by $M$. Define the following sequence:
$Y_1 = $ the neighbors of $X_0$ using edges ...
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1answer
126 views
What does it mean for a TM to solve a problem?
When we say a TM solves a problem, what does this mean?
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1answer
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Confusion with first condition of Chomsky Normal Form
I had a very quick question when it comes to CFG (more specifically the attributes of CNF). I've been browsing over some examples and I've come across a few that confuse me. One such example is this:
...
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2answers
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What does exactly theoretical computer science entail? [closed]
I am confused by the term "theoretical computer science". How can I distinguish which part of computer science are considered "theoretical" and which not?
To expand further, take Machine Learning. Is ...
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0answers
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How translation, transcription and annotation are related?
From a linguistic point of view, translation, transcription and annotation are three specific terms that introduce some (different) meanings.
However, when it comes to the application, it seems that ...
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1answer
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How to put elements in allowed bags?
Let's say I have a list of "Items"
I also have a list of "Bags". Each bag is a set of "Items" which gives what item can be placed in that bag. But only one item can go in each bag.
I want to place ...
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1answer
29 views
What is the specific name for basic data types?
What is the specific name for data types such as integer, string, real (the basic ones)?
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2answers
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What does “bounded above” mean in Family of Bachmann–Landau notations?
Per wiki
|f| is bounded above by g (up to constant factor) asymptotically
with this concrete example,
$$f(n) = \log n$$
$$g(n) = n^c = n^{0.000001}$$
Does "bounded above (up to constant factor)...
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2answers
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Are “of the order of n” and “Big O” the same thing?
I am learning from the MIT course Introduction to Algorithms.
The professor says:
Now, remember $\Theta(n)$ is essentially something
that says "of the order of $n$".
What does "of the order ...
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1answer
54 views
If an array is full of the same integer, like 0s or 1s, are they all the peak of the array?
I am learning the MIT course Introduction to Algorithms.
The professor is saying
In particular, as an example, position 2 is a peak if, and only if, b
greater than or equal to a, and b greater ...
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3answers
88 views
What should I call algorithms with non-linear non-constant time?
I am writing a paper in which I want to refer to a group of algorithms. Some of these algorithms are of complexity O(NlogN), and some of the are more complex (e.g ...
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1answer
74 views
Name for value which may only be -1, 0 or 1?
Is there a name for a value which may only be -1, 0 or 1?
Is there a name for a function which creates such a value from arbitrary numbers?
It would be implemented like this:
T Function( T value ) {...
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0answers
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What is tag-only forced cache inclusion called?
Is there a commonly accepted term for caches that are guaranteed inclusive with respect to tags but not data?
Inclusion can be helpful to simplify cache coherence, for which use only tags need to be ...
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0answers
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What is this weird gate?
This came from a picture of something that I'm supposed to make, and I can't find it in the program I'm supposed to use (LogicWorks). It looks like it 'not's only one of its inputs, but that doesn't ...
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1answer
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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 ...
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2answers
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Operator name in LL(1) computation
I'm working from a definition of the LL(1) property of context-free languages in order to build a LL(1)-computer, i.e., a program capable of determining whether a given context-free language is in LL(...
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1answer
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What is the equivalent of the integers symbol Z for n bit only integers?
We refer to the set of all integers as $\mathbb{Z}$. Now suppose we have a set of integers that can be held within a computer variable of $n$ bits width. Clearly they can only be of $2^{n}$ range, ...
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1answer
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Vertex Cover without covering all edges
What would be the name of the problem of a vertex cover that covers all the vertices without the requirement of covering all the edges?
Vertex cover has to answer whether or not there is a set of $k$ ...
