header
header Some coded information that precedes a more general collection of data and gives details about it.
The header of a data-structure representation is logically distinct from the data elements themselves and may serve several purposes:
(a) to hold global information about the whole structure, e.g. list length, array index bounds;
(b) to represent an empty structure;
(c) to provide links into the structure, e.g. pointers to first and last nodes in a list;
(d) to represent the entire structure in any other data structures of which it may be a part.
In networking, the header (or head) of a cell or packet is the part that holds routing and control information used to control the passage of the cell or packet across a network.
The header of a data-structure representation is logically distinct from the data elements themselves and may serve several purposes:
(a) to hold global information about the whole structure, e.g. list length, array index bounds;
(b) to represent an empty structure;
(c) to provide links into the structure, e.g. pointers to first and last nodes in a list;
(d) to represent the entire structure in any other data structures of which it may be a part.
In networking, the header (or head) of a cell or packet is the part that holds routing and control information used to control the passage of the cell or packet across a network.
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header