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Glite Dictionary
💦 A wet mark 💥 To hit and flatten 💻 Expanding in code 🪑 A chair support 🐟 To flatten (fish)
splat

splat

1 7.5
A symbol that expands a list into arguments or collects extra arguments into a list
  • noun
  • /splæt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : operador splat
  • "Splat" is programmer-speak for "asterisk" (U+002A).

Examples

  • If you ever worked with arrays of data and wanted to treat elements differently depending on what order they appear in the sequence, then you could probably do it easier using splats.

    Blog text (29)

  • In C code, the splat is not only a mathematical operator; it is a sigil that denotes a pointer.

    Blog text (3)

  • In code, splat is always a mathematical operator.

    Blog text (3)

  • Previously, we've heard BlackBerry employees refer to this symbol as the "splat," but from what we've gathered, that was more of an internal and unofficial name for it.

    Blog text (31)

  • In programming, a splat operator can transform an array into individual arguments for a function call.

  • When defining a function, using a splat allows you to handle a variable number of input arguments efficiently.

  • The splat syntax is essential for expanding collections in many programming languages.

Surface Forms

splat singular
splats plural

Etymology

Splat in programming is a playful name programmers gave to a symbol that 'spreads' a list into separate parts; think of a 'splat' of items spreading out, which is why the programming 'splat' expands an array into many arguments or collects many arguments into one array.