COM server An object-oriented software component that adheres to the Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) standard and can thus interact with any COM-compliant application. <Top>
COM client Any application that uses a COM server. <Top>
Console application An old-fashioned program that is invoked and run from a command line (e.g. a DOS prompt). <Top>
Derived type The derived type, first introduced in Fortran 90, is an arbitrary collection of scalar or array variables that have been glued together into a single entity. (Those familiar with C will recognize that a derived type is basically the same as a "struct" in that language; users of S-PLUS and R will recognize it as a list.) Derived types allow a programmer to create complicated data objects and pass them to procedures as a single argument. <Top>
Dynamic-link library (DLL) A set of compiled procedures that may be called by a program and loaded into memory while the program is running. <Top>
Get The process by which an entity queries an object to determine the value of one of its properties. A get is a kind of method with only a single argument. <Top>
Graphical user interface (GUI) A set of procedures that allows a computer user to interact with a running program in a graphical environment (e.g. Windows) through keystrokes, mouse clicks, etc. Well designed GUIs use standard controls--menus, buttons, dialog windows, etc.--that give them a familiar look and feel. <Top>
Method Any operation or procedure applied to an object. A put is one special kind of method that sets a property, and a get is another
special kind of method that retrieves a property. Other methods may be more complicated, performing nontrivial computations and altering the values of one or more properties simultaneously. <Top>
Module An organizational unit for source code introduced in Fortran 90. A simple module may be nothing more than a collection of interrelated subroutines and functions, much like a source-code file in FORTRAN 77. But the module is capable of much more because it may also contain its own constants, variables, and derived type definitions. The entities within a module may be held private (accessible only with the module) or made public (exposed to other parts of a program). <Top>
Object Loosely speaking, an object is a self-contained package of data bundled together with computational procedures that operate upon the data. More precisely, the archetype or design for the package is called the object class, and the object is a particular instance or realization of the class created by a program. <Top>
Object-oriented programming A programming style that organizes source code into definitions of object classes with their properties and methods. This style promotes encapsulation, helping a programmer to group program variables and computational routines together intelligently and organizing them into units with only limited communication allowed between them. Unlike C++ and Java, Fortran 95 is not a true object-oriented language. Nevertheless, by adopting certain programming practices, it is possible to mimic many of the essential qualities of the object-oriented style and realize their benefits. The key features of Fortran 95 that make this possible are modules, derived types and pointers. <Top>
Pointer A highly useful feature of modern Fortran. In other languages (e.g. C), a pointer can be regarded as a reference to a specific memory location. In Fortran, however, a pointer is best thought of as an alias, a portable name, that can be attached to a variable of a particular data type (integer, real, logical, character, complex), rank (number of array dimensions) and kind (single versus double precision, short versus long integer, etc.). Pointers allow a programmer to construct recursive data structures such as linked lists or binary trees, and to pass arrays to subroutines or functions that may alter their size or shape. <Top>
Property An attribute of an object that may or may not be altered during program execution. See also put and get. <Top>
Put The process by which a property of an object is set or changed by an external entity. A put is a kind of method with only a single argument. <Top>
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