🧱IT: Package (Definitions)

"A Data Transformation Services (DTS) object that defines one or more tasks to be executed in a coordinated sequence to import, export, or transform data." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"In PL/SQL, a program unit that can contain other PL/SQL constructs, including procedures, functions, variables, constants, exceptions, datatypes, and cursors. Packages have a specification that serves as an API, and an optional body. In addition to providing some features available in no other way (such as overloading and the ability to save variable state throughout a session), packages can improve software design, performance, and reusability." (Bill Pribyl & Steven Feuerstein, "Learning Oracle PL/SQL", 2001)

"A group of affiliated Java classes and interfaces. Packages organize classes into distinct name spaces. Classes are placed in packages by using the package keyword in the class definition. A package limits the visibility of classes and minimizes name collision." (Marcus Green & Bill Brogden, "Java 2™ Programmer Exam Cram™ 2 (Exam CX-310-035)", 2003)

"A container of tasks used by Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (SSIS) that can be organized into a specific sequence for processing Analysis Services commands, to name just one capability of SSIS." (Reed Jacobsen & Stacia Misner, "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Step by Step", 2006)

"An executable module that is a collection of class implementations." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"In UML, a package is a graphical mechanism used to organize classes into groups for better readability." (Toby J Teorey, ", Database Modeling and Design" 4th Ed., 2010)

"A collection of control flow and data flow elements that runs as a unit." (SQL Server 2012 Glossary, "Microsoft", 2012)

"A namespace for global variables, subroutines, and the like, such that they can be kept separate from like-named symbols in other namespaces. In a sense, only the package is global, since the symbols in the package’s symbol table are only accessible from code compiled outside the package by naming the package. But in another sense, all package symbols are also globals - they’re just well-organized globals." (Jon Orwant et al, "Programming Perl" 4th Ed., 2012)

"In Java programming, a group of types. Packages are declared with the package keyword. (Sun) In PL/SQL programming, a collection of database objects that is defined by using a CREATE PACKAGE statement and represented as a module. See also module. A control-structure database object produced during program preparation that can contain both executable forms of static SQL statements or XQuery expressions and placement holders for executable forms of dynamic SQL statements." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)