linear type

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
linear type

   1. <theory, programming> An attribute of values which are used
   exactly once: they are neither duplicated nor destroyed.  Such
   values require no {garbage collection}, and can safely be
   updated in place, even if they form part of a data structure.

   Linear types are related to the {linear logic} of J.-Y Girard.
   They extend Schmidt's notion of {single threading}, provide an
   alternative to Hudak and Bloss' {update analysis}, and offer a
   practical complement to Lafont and Holmström's elegant {linear
   languages}.

   ['Use-Once' Variables and Linear Objects - Storage Management,
   Reflection and Multi-Threading, Henry Baker.
   (ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/hb/hbaker/Use1Var.html)].

   ["Linear types can change the world!", Philip Wadler,
   "Programming Concepts and Methods", April 1990, eds. M. Broy,
   C. Jones, pub. North-Holland, IFIP TC2 Working Conference on
   Programming Concepts and Methods, Sea of Galilee, Israel].

   (1995-03-03)