Terminology
- Absent
- Describes a method invocation's return value as being
missing. An absent return value is often, but not always,
represented by
null,
an empty Optional,
or the throwing of
an appropriate
exception. The opposite of an absent value is
a present value.
- Determinate
- Describes a method invocation's return value as being wholly
determined by the invocation's arguments, i.e. if
the method is invoked with the same arguments multiple times,
each such invocation will return a value that is equal to the
return value of any other invocation with arguments equal to
the invocation's arguments. A method invocation's return
value that is not wholly determined by the invocation's
arguments is said to be indeterminate.
- Load
- To select and instantiate
exactly one present and
maximally suitable
configuration-related object for a given load request.
- Load Request
- A notional request to load a
(suitable
and present)
configuration-related object.
- Present
- Describes a method invocation's return value as existing.
The opposite of a present value is
an absent value.
- Selection
- The process of choosing a (present)
configuration-related object that is more, or
less, suitable for a given
load request.
- Suitability
- The property that any given configuration-related object has
that describes its fitness for a
given load request. The
process of finding a suitable configuration-related object for
a given load request is known
as selection. Any given
configuration-related object may be more or less suitable than
another for any given load request.