I'm supporting some old VB code - they have all these ExecuteScalar calls to the database... What on earth does Scalar mean in the VB World? Return a Single Value!

I know what Scalar means with respect to Physics, but what about database calls?  Return a single value!

VB Scalar:  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/eeb84awz(v=vs.71).aspx

Physics/Mathematical Scalar:  http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1dkin/u1l1b.cfm