hook
1. a piece of material, usually metal, curved or bent and used to suspend, catch, hold, or pull something
2. short for fish-hook
3.
a. a sharp bend or angle in a geological formation, esp a river
b. a sharply curved spit of land
4. Boxing a short swinging blow delivered from the side with the elbow bent
5. Cricket a shot in which the ball is hit square on the leg side with the bat held horizontally
6. Golf a shot that causes the ball to swerve sharply from right to left
7. Surfing the top of a breaking wave
8. Ice hockey the act of hooking an opposing player
9. Music a stroke added to the stem of a written or printed note to indicate time values shorter than a crotchet
10. another name for a sickle
11. a nautical word for anchor
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
hook
[hu̇k] (computer science)
A modification of a computer program to add instructions to an existing part of the program.
(design engineering)
A piece of hard material, especially metal, formed into a curve for catching, holding, or pulling something.
(electronics)
A circuit phenomenon occurring in four-zone transistors, wherein hole or electron conduction can occur in opposite directions to produce voltage drops that encourage other types of conduction.
(geography)
The end of a spit of land that is turned toward shore. Also known as hooked spit; recurved spit.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
hook
hood, 1
1. A curved or bent metal device used for attachment.
2. A bend in the end of a reinforcing bar; also see hooked bar.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
HOOK
(1)? Object Oriented Kernel. Delphia. An object-oriented
extension of Delphia Prolog.
hook
(programming)A software or hardware feature included in
order to simplify later additions or changes by a user.
For example, a simple program that prints numbers might always print them in base 10, but a more flexible version would let a variable determine what base to use; setting the variable to 5 would make the program print numbers in base 5. The variable is a simple hook. An even more flexible program might examine the variable and treat a value of 16 or less as the base to use, but treat any other number as the address of a user-supplied routine for printing a number. This is a hairy but powerful hook; one can then write a routine to print numbers as Roman numerals, say, or as Hebrew characters, and plug it into the program through the hook.
Often the difference between a good program and a superb one is that the latter has useful hooks in judiciously chosen places. Both may do the original job about equally well, but the one with the hooks is much more flexible for future expansion of capabilities.
Emacs, for example, is *all* hooks.
The term "user exit" is synonymous but much more formal and less hackish.
For example, a simple program that prints numbers might always print them in base 10, but a more flexible version would let a variable determine what base to use; setting the variable to 5 would make the program print numbers in base 5. The variable is a simple hook. An even more flexible program might examine the variable and treat a value of 16 or less as the base to use, but treat any other number as the address of a user-supplied routine for printing a number. This is a hairy but powerful hook; one can then write a routine to print numbers as Roman numerals, say, or as Hebrew characters, and plug it into the program through the hook.
Often the difference between a good program and a superb one is that the latter has useful hooks in judiciously chosen places. Both may do the original job about equally well, but the one with the hooks is much more flexible for future expansion of capabilities.
Emacs, for example, is *all* hooks.
The term "user exit" is synonymous but much more formal and less hackish.
This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)
hook
In programming, instructions that provide breakpoints for future expansion. Hooks may be changed to call some outside routine or function or may be places where additional processing is added. See also switch hook.Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Hook
in machine building, a part of load-lifting machines that suspends loads or lifting attachments on the cables or chains of hoisting mechanisms (load hook); a part of transport machines that transmits tractive forces (coupling hook, draw hook), as between a tractor and trailer. Hooks are made as single hooks or double (sister) hooks. Load hooks made of cast or unit-forged steel have load-lifting capacities of up to 75 tons; laminated load hooks made of drop-forged steel plates have load-lifting capaci-ties of more than 75 tons. Coupling hooks are usually forged or cast single hooks. The main characteristics of hooks are standardized.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.