pTAL Reference Manual (H06.08+)

Glossary
HP pTAL Reference Manual—523746-006
Glossary-9
parameter mask
parameter mask. A means by which the compiler keeps track of which actual parameters
are passed by a procedure to an EXTENSIBLE procedure or VARIABLE procedure.
parameter pair. Two parameters connected by a colon that together describe a single data
type to some languages.
pathname. In the Open System Services (OSS) file system and Network File System
(NFS), the string of characters that uniquely identifies a file within its file system. A
pathname can be either relative or absolute. See also ISO/IEC IS 9945-1:1990
(ANSI/IEEE Std. 1003.1-1990 or POSIX.1), Clause 2.2.2.57.
PIC (position-independent code). Executable code that need not be modified to run at
different virtual addresses. External reference addresses appear only in a data area
that can be modified by the loader; they do not appear in PIC code. PIC is also called
shared code .
PIN. See process identification number (PIN).
pointer. A variable that contains the address of another variable. Pointers include simple
pointer and structure pointers that you declare and manage. See also extended pointer
and standard pointer.
position-independent code. See PIC (position-independent code).
private data block. A BLOCK declaration that specifies the PRIVATE keyword. Global data
declared within such a BLOCK declaration is accessible only to procedures within the
current compilation unit. Compare to named data block.
procedure. A program unit that can contain the executable parts of a program and that is
callable from anywhere in a program; a named sequence of machine instructions.
procedure declaration. Declaration of a program unit that can contain the executable parts
of a program and that is callable from anywhere in a program. Consists of a procedure
heading and either a procedure body or the keyword FORWARD or EXTERNAL.
process.
1. A program that has been submitted to the operating system for execution, or a
program that is currently running in the computer.
2. An address space, a single thread of control that executes within that address
space, and the system resources required by that thread of control.
process environment. The software environment that exists when the processor module is
executing instructions that are part of a user process or a system process.
process identification number (PIN). A number that uniquely identifies a process running
in a processor. The same number can exist in other processors in the same system.