Glossary of Terms

Use this page to look up common terms used throughout the Matchbox documentation.

Term	Meaning
Argument	A value supplied to a function call.
AST	Abstract syntax tree; the checked tree of nodes built by the parser and consumed by the compiler.
Bytecode	The compact instruction stream emitted by the compiler and executed by the virtual machine.
Built-in Function	A function provided by Matchbox, such as `print`, `abs`, or `max`.
Call Frame	The VM stack region and metadata used while a function call is running.
Constant Pool	A module-owned runtime array of values such as function objects and large integer literals.
Declaration	Tells the compiler that a name exists. A variable declaration gives the variable's name and type, and the type determines how much memory Matchbox reserves.
Definition	A declaration that also provides the declared thing's contents or implementation. A variable definition gives the variable an initial value; a function definition provides the function's name, parameters, return type, and body. Every definition is also a declaration, but not every declaration is a definition.
Expression	Code that produces a value.
Initialization	Gives a variable its first value.
Integer	A whole-number value represented by the `int` type.
Parameter	A named input in a function definition.
Scope	The region of code in which a declared name is available.
Standard Output	The default output stream used by `print`.
Shadowing	A local declaration hiding a top-level declaration with the same name.
Stack	The virtual machine's fixed-size value storage used for operands, arguments, locals, call metadata, and return values.
Token	A source span classified by the lexer, such as an identifier, keyword, operator, delimiter, or literal.
Undefined Behavior	A case for which the language does not promise a result, such as division by zero.
Value	The runtime representation stored on the stack, in globals, and in the constant pool.
Virtual Machine	The bytecode interpreter that executes compiled Matchbox code.