Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

linear type
     
        1.  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 Holmstrom's elegant {linear
        language}s.
     
        ['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)