Learn English – what does “in terms of” mean

meaning-in-context

Can anyone tell me about the meaning of the sentence?

The walker presents chains to the compiler in terms of bytecode-level actions

Does it mean:

The walker presents chains to the compiler, and these chains are in the format of bytecode-level actions?

or something else?

Best Answer

Your interpretation seems to be correct.

"in terms of" is widely used in programming and computer science when referring to the format and granularity of the underlying information(data). Essentially, it describes the kind of "language" that different software components use to communicate between each other.

The relevant meaning can be found in the American Heritage Dictionary:

terms: 4b) Language of a certain kind; chosen words: spoke in rather vague terms; praised him in glowing terms.

and also

in terms of: 1) As measured or indicated by; in units of: distances expressed in terms of kilometers as well as miles

Here is another example of similar usage taken from a software manual:

Ultimately, however, computers represent everything in terms of [= computers speak the language of] binary digits, or bits. (The GNU Awk User's Guide)

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