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Stevebroshar (talk | contribs) It's 2-dimensional; not multi (in general) |
Stevebroshar (talk | contribs) not always an array of records |
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[[File:Control table.png|thumb|220px|A simple control table that directs program flow according to the value of a single input value. Each entry holds a possible input value and an associated subroutine to invoke.]]
A '''control table''' is a table [[data structure]] (i.e. [[Array (data structure)|array]] of [[Record (computer science)|record]]s) used to direct the [[control flow]] of a [[computer program]]. [[Software]] that uses a control table is said to be ''table-driven''.<ref>''Programs from decision tables'', Humby, E., 2007,Macdonald, 1973 ... Biggerstaff, Ted J. Englewood Cliffs, NJ : Prentice-Hall {{ISBN|0-444-19569-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dkl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/DataKinetics-Table-Driven-Design.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=17 May 2016 |archive-date=10 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610160908/http://www.dkl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/DataKinetics-Table-Driven-Design.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> A control table encodes both a [[conditional (programming)|conditional expression]] and a [[Function (computer programming)|function]] [[reference (computer science)|reference]]. An [[interpreter (computing)|interpreter]] processes a table by applying input data to the conditional expression and invoking the selected function. Using a control table can reduce the need for repetitive code that implements the same logic. The two-dimensional nature of most tables makes them easier to view and update than the one-dimensional nature of program code.
Typical uses for a control table include:
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