Merge pull request rust-lang#67 from crlf0710/glossory

[WIP] Add a glossory.

src/SUMMARY.md

@@ -58,3 +58,5 @@
 [Appendix: Influences](influences.md)
 
 [Appendix: As-yet-undocumented Features](undocumented.md)
+
+[Appendix: Glossory](glossory.md)

src/glossory.md

@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+# Glossary
+
+### Abstract Syntax Tree
+
+An ‘abstract syntax tree’, or ‘AST’, is an intermediate representation of
+the structure of the program when the compiler is compiling it.
+
+### Arity
+
+Arity refers to the number of arguments a function or operation takes.
+For example, `(2, 3)` and `(4, 6)` have arity 2, and`(8, 2, 6)` has arity 3.
+
+### Array
+
+An array, sometimes also called a fixed-size array or an inline array, is a value
+describing a collection of elements, each selected by an index that can be computed
+at run time by the program. It occupies a contiguous region of memory.
+
+### Bound
+
+Bounds are constraints on a type or trait. For example, if a bound
+is placed on the argument a function takes, types passed to that function
+must abide by that constraint.
+
+### Combinator
+
+Combinators are higher-order functions that apply only functions and
+earlier defined combinators to provide a result from its arguments. 
+They can be used to manage control flow in a modular fashion.
+
+### Dispatch
+
+Dispatch is the mechanism to determine which specific version of code is actually
+run when it involves polymorphism. Two major forms of dispatch are static dispatch and
+dynamic dispatch. While Rust favors static dispatch, it also supports dynamic dispatch
+through a mechanism called ‘trait objects’.
+
+### Dynamically Sized Type
+
+A dynamically sized type (DST) is a type without a statically known size or alignment. 
+
+### Expression
+
+An expression is a combination of values, constants, variables, operators 
+and functions that evaluate to a single value, with or without side-effects.
+
+For example, `2 + (3 * 4)` is an expression that returns the value 14.
+
+### Prelude
+
+Prelude, or The Rust Prelude, is a small collection of items - mostly traits - that are
+imported into very module of every crate. The traits in the prelude are pervasive.
+
+### Slice
+
+A slice is dynamically-sized view into a contiguous sequence, written as `[T]`. 
+
+It is often seen in its borrowed forms, either mutable or shared. The shared 
+slice type is `&[T]`, while the mutable slice type is `&mut [T]`, where `T` represents
+the element type.
+
+### Statement
+
+A statement is the smallest standalone element of a programming language
+that commands a computer to perform an action.
+
+### String literal
+
+A string literal is a string stored directly in the final binary, and so will be 
+valid for the `'static` duration. 
+
+Its type is `'static` duration borrowed string slice, `&'static str`.
+
+### String slice
+
+A string slice is the most primitive string type in Rust, written as `str`. It is
+often seen in its borrowed forms, either mutable or shared. The shared
+string slice type is `&str`, while the mutable string slice type is `&mut str`.
+
+Strings slices are always valid UTF-8.
+
+### Trait
+
+A trait is a language item that is used for describing the functionalities a type must provide.
+It allow a type to make certain promises about its behavior. 
+
+Generic functions and generic structs can exploit traits to constrain, or bound, the types they accept.