![]() | This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Too many examples of unclear relevancy; not enough references; problematic mentions of header files and multiple declarations. (December 2013) |
In computer programming, a declaration is a language construct specifying identifier properties: it declares a word's (identifier's) meaning.[1] Declarations are most commonly used for functions, variables, constants, and classes, but can also be used for other entities such as enumerations and type definitions.[1] Beyond the name (the identifier itself) and the kind of entity (function, variable, etc.), declarations typically specify the data type (for variables and constants), or the type signature (for functions); types may also include dimensions, such as for arrays. A declaration is used to announce the existence of the entity to the compiler; this is important in those strongly typed languages that require functions, variables, and constants, and their types to be specified with a declaration before use, and is used in forward declaration.[2] The term "declaration" is frequently contrasted with the term "definition",[1] but meaning and usage varies significantly between languages; see below.
Declarations are particularly prominent in languages in the ALGOL tradition, including the BCPL family, most prominently C and C++, and also Pascal. Java uses the term "declaration", though Java does not require separate declarations and definitions.
[A] declaration [...] introduces just the name and type of something but allocates no storage[...].
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search