constant-size field

noun

UK /ˈkɒnstənt saɪz fiːld/

US /ˈkɑːnstənt saɪz fiːld/

A field that always takes up the same amount of space.

The record uses a constant-size field for the date so every entry is the same length.

SYNONYMS

fixed-length field fixed-size field fixed-width field static-size field

RELATED WORDS

variable-length field record layout data structure byte offset

OTHER MEANINGS

2. A database column whose storage width never changes, making records easy to scan.

Storing the country code as a constant-size field speeds up lookups.

3. A file-format slot reserved for exactly the same number of bytes in every record.

The header has a constant-size field for the version number.

4. A programming structure member declared with a fixed array length rather than a pointer.

The packet struct includes a constant-size field for the checksum.