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Software Engineering vocabulary · Data Structures and Algorithms

Iterate

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˈɪtəreɪt/verbCommon term

In software engineering, iterate means: To go through the items of a collection one by one, or more generally to repeat a process and improve the result each time.

In Turkish: üzerinde dolaşmak, yinelemek, adım adım geliştirmek

How it is used

In code you iterate over or iterate through a list or map. In product talk the meaning is broader: 'Let's ship a simple version and iterate on it.' The noun is 'iteration'.

Example sentences

  1. We iterate over every user and check when they last logged in.

  2. The first design is rough; we'll iterate on it after user testing.

Common collocations

  • iterate over a list
  • iterate through
  • iterate on a design
  • each iteration
  • loopA piece of code that repeats the same steps several times, for example once for every item in a list or until a condition becomes false.
  • arrayAn ordered collection of items stored one after another, where each item can be reached by its position number, called an index.
  • hash mapA data structure that stores key-value pairs and finds the value for a given key very quickly, usually in constant time.
  • agileDescribing a way of working in short cycles, delivering small pieces often and changing plans based on feedback, instead of following one long fixed plan.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Data Structures and Algorithms

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