Software Development Terms Beginning with P
Package
Section titled “Package”A package is a directory (or project) that has a package.json file used to record information about it.
package.json
Section titled “package.json”package.json is a file that package managers—like NPM and Yarn—use to store information about your project.
package-lock.json
Section titled “package-lock.json”package-lock.json is a file that NPM uses to record the exact version of all the packages you’ve installed locally to your project’s node_modules directory.
Package Manager
Section titled “Package Manager”A package manager is a tool developers use to automatically find, download, install, configure, upgrade, and uninstall a computer’s packages.
Package Registry
Section titled “Package Registry”A package registry is a database (storage) for thousands of packages (libraries, plugins, frameworks, or tools).
Parameter in JavaScript
Section titled “Parameter in JavaScript”A parameter specifies the name you wish to call your function’s argument.
Parameter (URL)
Section titled “Parameter (URL)”A parameter (query string) allows you to send specific data to the server.
Parent Module (ES Module)
Section titled “Parent Module (ES Module)”A parent module is an aggregator file used solely to aggregate and re-export submodules.
parseInt()
Section titled “parseInt()”parseInt() parses and converts its string argument from its radix state to a decimal integer.
Partial Application
Section titled “Partial Application”A partial application is a function that meets the following conditions:
- The function’s definition contains only the first half of its arguments.
- The function returns a function containing the second half of arguments.
Here’s an example:
// Define a senseOrgans function:function senseOrgans(s1, s2, s3) { return function (s4, s5) { return `The 5 basic senses are the ${s1}, ${s2}, ${s3}, ${s4}, and ${s5}.`; };}
// Invoke the senseOrgans() function:const partOfSenseOrgans = senseOrgans("eye", "nose", "ear");
// Invoke the function in the partOfSenseOrgans variable:partOfSenseOrgans("mouth", "skin");
// The invocation above will return:// "The 5 basic senses are the eye, nose, ear, mouth, and skin."The senseOrgans() is a partial application because it splits its arguments between its definition and returned function.
Partner API Release Policy
Section titled “Partner API Release Policy”A partner API release policy allows publishing APIs to partner companies only.
Period (RegExp)
Section titled “Period (RegExp)”Regular expression’s period operator (.) specifies that you wish to find any character that is not the newline or any other line terminator characters.
Polymorphism
Section titled “Polymorphism”Polymorphism means using coding entities like variables and properties to represent multiple data types.
pop() in JavaScript
Section titled “pop() in JavaScript”pop() removes its calling array’s last item.
Port (URL)
Section titled “Port (URL)”A port is a technical gate on a website’s server from which browsers can access a site’s resources.
Positive Lookahead (RegExp)
Section titled “Positive Lookahead (RegExp)”Regular expression’s positive lookahead operator (p(?=sp)) asserts that you wish to find a RegExp pattern that is followed by another pattern.
Positive Lookbehind (RegExp)
Section titled “Positive Lookbehind (RegExp)”The positive lookbehind operator ((?<=sp)p) asserts that you wish to find a RegExp pattern that is preceded by another pattern.
Prefetching
Section titled “Prefetching”Prefetching means downloading content in the background before the user requests it.
For instance, in a Next.js app, suppose a user navigates to a page with a link. In that case, Next.js automatically prefetches the link’s content in the background in anticipation of the user clicking the link. This makes the transition between pages swift, as the destination’s content is already downloaded ahead of time.
Primary Expression in JavaScript
Section titled “Primary Expression in JavaScript”A primary expression is a piece of code that serves as the basis for creating other expressions.
Primitive Data in JavaScript
Section titled “Primitive Data in JavaScript”Primitive data is any plain JavaScript value that you can use to program a webpage and its content.
Private API Release Policy
Section titled “Private API Release Policy”A private API release policy allows publishing APIs for internal use only.
Program
Section titled “Program”A program is a list of instructions (statements) used to accomplish specific tasks.
For instance,
- A fitness program is a series of fitness instructions for completing a fitness task.
- A computer drawing program is a list of drawing instructions used to accomplish a drawing task.
- A JavaScript program is a list of JavaScript instructions, commands, or statements used to execute a scripting task.
Programmer
Section titled “Programmer”A programmer is a person that writes programming codes using one or more programming languages.
Programming Language
Section titled “Programming Language”A programming language is a vocabulary we use to write programs.
JavaScript, C#, Python, Java, .NET, C++, and PHP are examples of computer programming languages.
Programming Paradigm
Section titled “Programming Paradigm”A programming paradigm is the coding pattern you prefer to use to develop your application.
Promise (JavaScript)
Section titled “Promise (JavaScript)”A JavaScript promise refers to the object you create from JavaScript’s built-in Promise constructor function.
Properties Object (JavaScript)
Section titled “Properties Object (JavaScript)”A properties object is an element you can use to bundle up multiple named values into a single item.
Property Accessor
Section titled “Property Accessor”A property accessor is a dot or bracket used to access an object’s properties.
Prototypal Property in JavaScript
Section titled “Prototypal Property in JavaScript”A prototypal property is a property JavaScript will add to an object’s prototype chain.
Pseudocode
Section titled “Pseudocode”A pseudocode is an algorithm you write in your language for humans (not computers) to read.
Here’s an example:
When users provide their age,
If the age is between 13 and 99 (inclusive),
Display “Qualified! You will be a famous programmer.”
Else, if the age is greater than 99,
Display “Nothing is impossible. Code along with me.”
Else, for any other age,
Display “Employed! Help us invent the best gadget.”
Public API Release Policy
Section titled “Public API Release Policy”A public API release policy allows publishing APIs for public use.
Pure Function
Section titled “Pure Function”A pure function is a function without any side effects.
push() in JavaScript
Section titled “push() in JavaScript”push() adds its arguments to the end of its calling array and returns the calling array’s new length.