Glossary

entity

An entity is a named item with an associated name path, such as a function, type, interface, or namespace. For example, in fn GetTime(), GetTime refers to an entity which is a function.

identifier

An identifier is the token which names an entity, and is also used in code to refer to the entity. For example, in fn GetTime(), GetTime is the identifier for the function.

library

A library is a group of files that form an importable API and its implementation. Carbon encourages small libraries, bundled into larger packages. For example, given package Geometry library Shapes;, Shapes is a library in the Geometry package.

name path

A name path is the dot-separated identifier list that indicates a relative or full path of a name. For example, given fn GetArea(var Geometry.Circle: x), Geometry.Circle is a name path. GetArea is also a name path, albeit with only one identifier needed.

namespace

A namespace is an entity that contains entities, and may be nested. For example, given a name path of Geometry.Circle, Geometry is a namespace containing Circle.

package

A package is a group of libraries in Carbon, and is the standard unit for distribution. The package name also serves as the root namespace for all name paths in its libraries. The package name should be a single, globally-unique identifier. For example, given package Geometry; in a file, Geometry is the package and root namespace.