computer programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer program, computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be visual programming language, graphical. They are a kind of computer ...

s, TypeParameter is a generic label used in

generic programming Generic programming is a style of computer programming in which algorithms are written in terms of types ''to-be-specified-later'' that are then ''instantiated'' when needed for specific types provided as parameters. This approach, pioneered b ...

to reference an unknown

data type In computer science and computer programming, a data type (or simply type) is a set of possible values and a set of allowed operations on it. A data type tells the compiler or interpreter how the programmer intends to use the data. Most progra ...

data structure In computer science, a data structure is a data organization, management, and storage format that is usually chosen for Efficiency, efficient Data access, access to data. More precisely, a data structure is a collection of data values, the rel ...

, or class. TypeParameter is most frequently used in C++ templates and

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

generics Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

. TypeParameter is similar to a

metasyntactic variable A metasyntactic variable is a specific word or set of words identified as a placeholder in computer science and specifically computer programming. These words are commonly found in source code and are intended to be modified or substituted before ...

(e.g., foo and bar), but distinct. It is not the name of a generic type variable, but the name of a generic ''type of'' variable. The capitalisation varies according to programming language and programmer preference. TypeParameter, Typeparameter, TYPEPARAMETER, typeparameter, and type_parameter are all possible. Alternate labels are also used, especially in complex templates where more than one type parameter is necessary. X, Y, Foo, Bar, Item, Thing are typical alternate labels. Many programming languages are

case-sensitive In computers, case sensitivity defines whether uppercase and lowercase letters are treated as distinct (case-sensitive) or equivalent (case-insensitive). For instance, when users interested in learning about dogs search an e-book, "dog" and "Dog" a ...

, making a consistent choice of labels important. The

CamelCase Camel case (sometimes stylized as camelCase or CamelCase, also known as camel caps or more formally as medial capitals) is the practice of writing phrases without spaces or punctuation. The format indicates the separation of words with a single c ...

TypeParameter is one of the most commonly used.

External links

''How to Think Like a Computer Scientist'', Chapter 17: Templates
Programming constructs {{Compu-lang-stub

See also

External links