science

IDL specification language

IDL specification language is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand IDL specification language rather than just read about it. In short: IDL (Interface Description Language) is a software interface description language (or interface descriptor language) created by William Wulf and John Nestor of Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, and David Lamb of Queen's University in Canada. History Like other interface description languages, IDL defined interfaces in a language- and machine- independent way, allowing the specification of interfaces b…

Key takeaways

IDL specification language belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect IDL specification language to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of IDL specification language from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

IDL (Interface Description Language) is a software interface description language (or interface descriptor language) created by William Wulf and John Nestor of Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, and David Lamb of Queen's University in Canada.

History Like other interface description languages, IDL defined interfaces in a language- and machine- independent way, allowing the specification of interfaces between components written in different languages, and possibly executing on different machines using remote procedure calls. The Karlsruhe Ada compilation system used IDL resp. DIANA and its predecessor AIDA, and for marshalling the vanilla IDL External Representation. BiiN's DBMS used IDL as well, and for marshalling a more compact binary IDL External Representation.

Notes

References David Alex Lamb, Sharing intermediate representations: the interface description language, Ph.D. Dissertation, Carnegie-Mellon University, Department of Computer Science, 1983 David Alex Lamb, "IDL: sharing intermediate representations", ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems 9:3:297-318 (July 1987) John Nestor, Joseph M. Newcomer, Paola Gianinni, and Donald Stone, IDL: The language and its Implementation, Prentice-Hall, 1990. Richard Snodgrass, The Interface Description Language: Definition and Use, W.H. Freeman, 1989 J Nestor, William Allan. Wulf, David Alex Lamb, IDL, Interface Description Language, Technical Report, Carnegie-Mellon University, 1981

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with IDL specification language

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what IDL specification language claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to IDL specification language before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about IDL specification language ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of IDL specification language

In research: IDL specification language appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses IDL specification language in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: IDL specification language is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Specification languages, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for IDL specification language outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study IDL specification language in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what IDL specification language means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain IDL specification language out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is IDL specification language in simple terms?

Why does IDL specification language matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study IDL specification language?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on IDL specification language.