| has gloss | eng: In computer programming, a sentinel value (also referred to as a flag value, trip value, rogue value, signal value, or dummy data) is a special value whose presence guarantees termination of a loop that processes structured (especially sequential) data. The sentinel value makes it possible to detect the end of the data when no other means to do so (such as an explicit size indication) is provided. The value should be selected in such a way that it is guaranteed to be distinct from all legal data values, since otherwise the presence of such values would be taken to signal the end of the data, prematurely. |