{{fbdoc item="title" value="Glossary - common terms used in fbc development"}}----

''arg'', ''argument''
	An expression passed to a parameter in a procedure call.

''cast''
	A type cast changes the compile-time data type of an expression and either causes a ''conversion'' (e.g. float <-> int) or a reinterpretation of the expression value's bit representation (e.g. integer <-> uinteger).

''comp'', ''compound''
	- Compound blocks in the language: Any code block that allows nested code such as IF blocks, SCOPE blocks, NAMESPACE blocks, etc. is called a compound.
	- Compound symbols: UDTs, sometimes also namespaces, because both may contain nested (namespaced) symbols and they share some common code.

''conv'', ''conversion''
	A conversion is an operation that translates between two different representations of the same value (e.g. float <-> int, or 32bit <-> 64bit).

	''cast'' and ''conv'' are often used interchangeably in the compiler sources. For example, the AST's CONV nodes represent type casts, no matter whether they perform conversions or not.

	Some (but not all) ''cast''s require run-time ''conversion''s, for example:
		short <-> integer
		single <-> integer
		single <-> double

	Simple ''cast''s between types of equal class and size do not require a run-time ''conversion'', because the bit representation wouldn't change anyways. For example:
		short <-> ushort
		integer <-> uinteger
	These are also called ''noconv cast''s.

''ctor'', ''constructor''
	- UDT constructor
	- module constructor

''ctx'', ''context''
	UDTs/"classes" in the fbc sources for holding global information shared amongst multiple procedures or modules.

''desc'', ''descriptor''
	- Dynamic string descriptor
	- Dynamic array descriptor

''dtor'', ''destructor''
	- UDT destructor
	- module destructor

''fbc''
	- The ""FreeBASIC"" compiler project as a whole, the Git repository, the project registered on Sourceforge
	- The compiler program binary/executable (fbc or fbc.exe), as built from the compiler sources
	- The compiler's main module/frontend/driver

''fbctinf''
	FB compile-time information, also see ''objinfo''.

''fbgfx''
	FB graphics, usually referring to the use of FB's built-in graphics keywords, implemented in ''gfxlib2''

''frontend stage 1''
	Compilation of the .bas input files into the next intermediate format: .asm (-gen gas), .c (-gen gcc) or .ll (-gen llvm)

''frontend stage 2''
	Compilation of the .c (-gen gcc) or .ll (-gen llvm) intermediate files into .asm files. (doesn't apply to -gen gas because there the FB compiler generates .asm itself directly)

''function''
	A ''procedure'' with result value; sometimes also used in place of ''procedure'', as in C.

''gfxlib2''
	The FB graphics runtime library implementation from the fbc project.

''hashtb''
	A hash table, often used together with a symbol table to allow fast lookup of the symbols in that symbol table.

''libfb'', ''libfbmt'', ''libfbgfx'', ''libfbgfxmt''
	Names of the libraries built from the ''rtlib''/''gfxlib2'' sources. Libraries named ##lib*mt## are the thread-safe versions of their ##lib*## counterparts. They are built with the ##ENABLE_MT## ""#define"".

''local''
	- Sometimes: A variable allocated on stack
	- Any symbol in a nested scope, not the global/toplevel namespace. Scoped static variables also have the ##FB_SYMBATTRIB_LOCAL## attribute, even though they are not allocated on stack.

''method''
	- A member-procedure with ##THIS## parameter. Static member-procedures (those without the ##THIS## parameter) do not have ##FB_SYMBATTRIB_METHOD##.
	- Sometimes: Any member-procedure, with or without ##THIS## parameter

''noconv cast''
	A ''cast'' that does not require a ''conversion''.

''normal build''
	Described here: [[DevNormalVsStandalone Normal vs. Standalone]]

''objinfo''
	See [[DevObjinfo]]

''param'', ''parameter''
	Procedure parameters as declared in procedure DECLARE statements or bodies.

''paramvar''
	For each parameter, the compiler will create a corresponding local variable in the procedure's scope, allowing the parameters to be accessed by user code.

''proc'', ''procedure''
	Any ''sub'' or ''function'', including constructors/destructors, operator overloads, property setters/getters.

''standalone build''
	Described here: [[DevNormalVsStandalone Normal vs. Standalone]]

''static''
	- static variable allocation: on the heap instead of the stack, but still scoped -- also see ''local''.
	- static member variables: are actually ''extern''s.
	- static member procedures: member-procedures without a ##THIS## parameter, also see ''method''.
	- "static array" is often used in place of "fixed-size array" (QB language)

''struct, structure''
	##TYPE## or ##UNION##, also known as ##struct##/##union## in C.

''sub''
	A ''procedure'' without result (with VOID result).

''symtb''
	A symbol table: owns a linked list of ##FBSYMBOL## in a specific scope. This is where ##FBSYMBOL##s live.

''rtlib''
	The FB runtime library implementation from the fbc project

''UDT'', ''user-defined type''
	TYPEs/UNIONs/ENUMs, sometimes just TYPEs/UNIONs.

''vreg''
	Virtual registers are used when emitting the AST. The AST creates a vreg for the operands and results of all operations that make up the input program. Each backend emits them differently:
		- The ASM backend actually maps the vregs to real registers and also re-uses them as they become free again. The vregs then also let the x86 code emitter know which exact registers are used.
		- The C backend sometimes emits vregs as temporary variables, sometimes simply inserts the expression whose result is represented by a vreg in place of that vreg's first use.
		- The LLVM backend simply emits each vreg as a numbered intermediate value.
	Since the C/LLVM backends don't re-use vregs, the vregs are almost in static-single-assignment form; although not quite because there still are self-operations etc. produced by the AST which don't take SSA form into account.

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