truncate

Truncate is a term used to describe shortening something by cutting off a part of its end. In everyday language, truncation implies removing or narrowing content, often with some loss of information.

In computing, truncation commonly means discarding excess characters or digits to fit a limit. For example, truncating a string shortens it to a maximum length, potentially losing trailing data. A numeric truncation removes the fractional part of a number without rounding; for instance, trunc(3.9) yields 3, and trunc(-2.5) yields -2. In file systems, the truncate command or function adjusts a file’s size, shortening or extending it and discarding data beyond the new end.

In databases, TRUNCATE TABLE is a data definition language command that quickly removes all rows from a table. It is typically faster than a DELETE operation and may reset auto-increment counters. The exact behavior, including whether triggers fire or whether the operation can be rolled back, depends on the database system being used.

In linguistics and typography, truncation refers to shortening a word or sign by omitting letters or characters, such as abbreviations or clipped forms. In data processing and statistics, truncation can also describe limiting a data range or censoring values beyond specified bounds.

Overall, truncation describes a deliberate reduction in length or extent, whether dealing with text, numbers, files, or database content, often balancing compactness against completeness. The term derives from the Latin truncare, meaning to cut off.