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@@ -302,6 +302,15 @@ Glossary
>>> sum(i*i for i in range(10)) # sum of squares 0, 1, 4, ... 81
285
+ generic function
+ A function composed of multiple functions implementing the same operation
+ for different types. Which implementation should be used during a call is
+ determined by the dispatch algorithm.
+
+ See also the :term:`single dispatch` glossary entry, the
+ :func:`functools.singledispatch` decorator, and :pep:`443`.
+
+
GIL
See :term:`global interpreter lock`.
@@ -745,6 +754,10 @@ Glossary
mapping rather than a sequence because the lookups use arbitrary
:term:`immutable` keys rather than integers.
+ single dispatch
+ A form of :term:`generic function` dispatch where the implementation is
+ chosen based on the type of a single argument.
+
slice
An object usually containing a portion of a :term:`sequence`. A slice is
created using the subscript notation, ``[]`` with colons between numbers