(definition)
Definition: (1) The last item of a list. (2) All but the first item of a list; the list following the head.
See also head.
Note: The first definition is common when building lists from other language constructs, such as C pointers. The second definition occurs in languages with primitive list types, such as ML or Lisp.
Author: PEB
If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please get in touch with Paul E. Black.
Entry modified 17 December 2004.
HTML page formatted Fri Mar 25 16:20:35 2011.
Cite this as:
Paul E. Black, "tail", in
Dictionary of Algorithms and Data
Structures [online], Paul E. Black, ed.,
U.S. National Institute of
Standards and Technology. 17 December 2004. (accessed TODAY)
Available from: http://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/tail.html
