705Syntax The formal rules governing how valid instructions are written in a
programming language
Ta g The syntactic element in a markup language that indicates how
information should be displayed
Tail recursion A recursive algorithm in which no statements execute after the
return from the recursive call
Termination condition The condition that causes a loop to be exited
Test plan A document that specifies how an application is to be tested
Test plan implementation Using the test cases specified in a test plan to verify
that an application outputs the predicted results
Transformer A method that changes the state of a mutable object
Transformer An operation that changes the internal state of an object
Two-dimensional array A collection of components, all of the same type, struc-
tured in two dimensions. Each component is accessed by a pair of indexes
that present the component’s position in each dimension
Type casting The explicit conversion of a value from one data type to another
Type conversion The implicit (automatic) conversion of a value from one data
type to another
Unary operator An operator that has just one operand
Uncaught exception An exception in Java that can optionally be caught or
allowed to propagate automatically to the next level
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) The address of a web page on the Internet
Unsorted list A list in which data items are placed in no particular order with re-
spect to their content; the only relationships between data elements consist
of the list predecessor and successor relationship
Unstructured data type A collection of components that are not organized with
respect to one another
Value-returning method A method that is called from within an expression and
returns a value that can be used in the expression
Variable A location in memory, referenced by an identifier, that contains a data
value that can be changed
Virtual machine A program that makes one computer act like another
Virus Code that replicates itself, often with the goal of spreading to other
computers without authorization, and possibly with the intent of doing harm
Void method A method that is called as a separate statement; when it returns,
processing continues with the next statement
Walk-through A verification method in which a team performs a manual simu-
lation of the code or design
Web An infrastructure of information and the network software used to access
it
Wide Area Network (WAN) A network that connects two or more local area net-
works
Widening conversion A type conversion that does not result in a loss of
information