module

1. programming An independent piece of software which

forms part of one or more larger programs. Different

languages have different concepts of a module but there are

several common ideas.

Modules are usually compiled seperately (in compiled

languages) and provide an abstraction or information hiding

mechanism so that a module's implementation can be changed

without requiring any change to other modules. In this

respect they are similar to objects in an object-orientedlanguage, though a module may contain many procedures

and/or functions which would correspond to many objects.

A module often has its own name space for identifiers so

the same identifier may be used to mean different things in

different modules.

[Difference from package?].

2. hardware An independent assembly of electronic components

with some distinct function, e.g. a RAM module consisting of

several RAM chips mounted on a small circuit board.

(1997-10-27)