A storage place within an object for a data element. The data
element is an object, such as a number or date, stored as an attribute of the
containing object.
In VisualAge, a part that receives an identity at run time. A
variable by itself contains no data or program logic; it must be
connected such that it receives run-time identity from a part elsewhere in the
application.
variable byte class
A class that contains indexed instance variables that are bytes.
String is a variable byte class. See also variable
class.
variable class
A class that contains indexed instance variables. Array
is a variable class. See also variable byte class.
version
In the team programming environment, an edition of a software component
that cannot be changed. Each version has a version name, such as
R4.0. Contrast with edition, scratch
edition.
view
A composite visual part. A view can display and change the
underlying nonvisual objects of an application. In VisualAge, views are
both the end result of developing an application and the basic unit of
composition of user interfaces. Compare to visual
part.
virtual machine
The program that provides the Smalltalk execution environment on a single
machine. It maps data and logic to the executing machine architecture,
isolating the Smalltalk code from the architecture of the machine.
visible class
A class that another class can subclassify or refer to by name in a
method. Visible refers to the scope in which the class name
can be used. For a class in a given application, visible classes
include:
All classes defined in the same application
All public classes defined in any subapplication
All prerequisite classes, including prerequisites of prerequisites to the
lowest level
visual part
A part that has a visual representation at run time. Visual parts,
such as windows, push buttons, and entry fields, make up the user interface of
an application. Compare to view. Contrast with
nonvisual part.
visual programming tool
A tool, such as VisualAge, that provides a means for specifying programs
graphically. Application programmers write applications by manipulating
graphical representations of components.