<file system> An element of data storage in a {file system}.

	The history of computing is rich in varied kinds of files and
	{file systems}, whether ornate (e.g., {Macintosh file system}
	for a well-known case) or deficient (e.g., many simple
	pre-1980s file systems don't allow {directories}).

	However, the prototypical file has these characteristics:

	* It is a single sequence of bytes (but consider {Macintosh}
	{resource forks}).

	* It has a finite length, unlike, e.g. a {Unix} {device}.

	* It is stored in a {non-volatile storage} medium (but see
	{ramdrive}).

	* It exists (nominally) in a {directory}.

	* It has a name that it can be referred to by in file
	operations, possibly in combination with its {path}.

	Additionally, a file system may associate other information
	with a file, such as {permission} bits or other {file
	attributes}; timestamps for file creation, last revision, and
	last access; revision numbers (a` la VMS), and other kinds of
	{magic}.

	Compare: {document}.

	(1997-04-08)

<data, database> An area of a {database} {record}, or
	{graphical user interface} {form}, into which a particular
	item of data is entered.

	Example usage: "The telephone number field is not really a
	numerical field", "Why do we need a four-digit field for the
	year?".

	A {database} {column} is the set of all instances of a given
	field from all records in a {table}.

	(1999-04-26)

<library, networking> {Berkeley} {Unix} networking {socket}
	library routine to satisfy a connection request from a remote
	{host}.  A specified socket on the local host (which must be
	capable of accepting the connection) is connected to the
	requesting socket on the remote host.  The remote socket's
	socket address is returned.

	{Unix manual pages}: accept(2), connect(2).

	(1994-11-08)

<theory, programming> (Or "data type") A set of values from
	which a {variable}, {constant}, {function}, or other
	{expression} may take its value.  A type is a classification
	of data that tells the {compiler} or {interpreter} how the
	programmer intends to use it.  For example, the process and
	result of adding two variables differs greatly according to
	whether they are integers, floating point numbers, or strings.

	Types supported by most programming languages include
	{integers} (usually limited to some range so they will fit in
	one {word} of storage), {Booleans}, {floating point numbers},
	and characters.  {Strings} are also common, and are
	represented as {lists} of characters in some languages.

	If s and t are types, then so is s -> t, the type of
	{functions} from s to t; that is, give them a term of type s,
	functions of type s -> t will return a term of type t.

	Some types are {primitive} - built-in to the language, with no
	visible internal structure - e.g. Boolean; others are
	composite - constructed from one or more other types (of
	either kind) - e.g. {lists}, {arrays}, {structures}, {unions}.
	{Object-oriented programming} extends this with {classes}
	which encapsulate both the structure of a type and the
	operations that can be performed on it.

	Some languages provide {strong typing}, others allow {implicit
	type conversion} and/or {explicit type conversion}.

	(2003-12-22)

<tool> A {spreadsheet} program from {Microsoft}, part of their
	{Microsoft Office} suite of productivity tools for {Microsoft
	Windows} and {Macintosh}.  Excel is probably the most widely
	used spreadsheet in the world.

	Current version: Excel 97, as of 1997-01-14.

	{Home (http://www.microsoft.com/msexcel/)}.

	[Feature summary?  History?]

	(1997-01-14)

<programming> A sequence of {data} values, usually {bytes},
	which usually stand for {characters} (a "character string").
	The {mapping} between values and characters is determined by
	the {character set} which is itself specified implcitly or
	explicitly by the environment in which the string is being
	interpreted.

	The most common character set is {ASCII} but, since the late
	1990s, there has been increased interest in larger character
	sets such as {Unicode} where each character is represented by
	more than eight {bits}.

	Most programming languages consider strings (e.g.
	"124:shabooya:\n", "hello world") basically distinct from
	numbers which are typically stored in fixed-length {binary} or
	{floating-point} representation.

	A {bit string} is a sequence of {bits}.

	(1999-12-21)

1. A language supporting {concurrency} through {message
	passing} to named message queues from {ParaSoft} Corporation

	{(ftp://ftp.parasoft.com/express/docs)}.

	2. Data definition language, meant to become an ISO standard
	for product data representation and exchange.  TC 184/SC4 N83,
	ISO, 1991-05-31.  E-mail: <smith@cme.nist.gov>.

	3. A data modelling language adopted by the {ISO} working
	group on {STEP}.

1. To copy {data} (often {program} {code} to be {run}) into
	{memory}, possibly {parsing} it somehow in the process.
	E.g. "{WordPerfect} can't load this {RTF} file - are you sure
	it didn't get corrupted in the {download}?"  Opposite of
	{save}.

	2. The degree to which a computer, {network}, or other
	resource is used, sometimes expressed as a percentage of the
	maximum available.  E.g. "What kind of CPU load does that
	program give?", "The network's constantly running at 100%
	load".  Sometimes used, by extension, to mean "to increase the
	level of use of a resource".  E.g. "Loading a spreadsheet
	really loads the CPU".  See also: {load balancing}.

	3. To {install} a piece of {software} onto a system.
	E.g. "The computer guy is gonna come load Excel on my laptop
	for me".  This usage is widely considered to be incorrect.

	(2002-07-02)

<hypertext, World-Wide Web, standard> (HTML) A {hypertext}
	document format used on the {World-Wide Web}.  HTML is built
	on top of {SGML}.  "Tags" are embedded in the text.  A tag
	consists of a "<", a "directive" (in lower case), zero or
	more parameters and a ">".  Matched pairs of directives, like
	"<title>" and "</title>" are used to delimit text which is to
	appear in a special place or style.

	Links to other documents are in the form

	 <a href="http://machine.edu/subdir/file.html">foo</a>

	where "<a>" and "</a>" delimit an "anchor", "href" introduces
	a hypertext reference, which is most often a {Uniform Resource
	Locator} (URL) (the string in double quotes in the example
	above).  The link will be represented in the browser by the
	text "foo" (typically shown underlined and in a different
	colour).

	A certain place within an HTML document can be marked with a
	named anchor, e.g.:

	 <a name="baz">

	The "fragment identifier", "baz", can be used in an href by
	appending "#baz" to the document name.

	Other common tags include <p> for a new paragraph, <b>..</b>
	for bold text, <ul> for an unnumbered list, <pre> for
	preformated text, <h1>, <h2> .. <h6> for headings.

	{HTML} supports some standard {SGML} {national characters} and
	other non-{ASCII} characters through special {escape
	sequences}, e.g. "&eacute;" for a lower case 'e' with an acute
	accent.  You can sometimes get away without the terminating
	semicolon but it's bad style.

	Most systems will ignore the case of tags and attributes but
	lower case should be used for compatibility with {XHTML}.

	The {World-Wide Web Consortium} (W3C) is the international
	{standards} body for HTML.

	Latest version: {XHTML} 1.0, as of 2000-09-10.

	{Home (http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/)}.

	{Character escape sequences
	(http://www.w3.org/hypertext/WWW/MarkUp/ISOlat1.html)}.

	See also {weblint}.

	(2006-01-19)

<database> A collection of {records} in a {relational database}.

	(1997-06-04)

<data, data processing, jargon> /day't*/ (Or "raw data")
	Numbers, {characters}, {images}, or other method of recording,
	in a form which can be assessed by a human or (especially)
	input into a {computer}, stored and {processed} there, or
	transmitted on some {digital channel}.  Computers nearly
	always represent data in {binary}.

	Data on its own has no meaning, only when interpreted by some
	kind of {data processing system} does it take on meaning and
	become {information}.

	People or computers can find patterns in data to perceive
	information, and information can be used to enhance
	{knowledge}.  Since knowledge is prerequisite to wisdom, we
	always want more data and information.  But, as modern
	societies verge on {information overload}, we especially need
	better ways to find patterns.

	1234567.89 is data.

	"Your bank balance has jumped 8087% to $1234567.89" is
	information.

	"Nobody owes me that much money" is knowledge.

	"I'd better talk to the bank before I spend it, because of
	what has happened to other people" is wisdom.

	(1999-04-30)

<character> An {atom} in a {character repertoire}.

	Compare with {glyph}.

	(1998-10-18)

<software> Instructions for a computer in some programming
	language, often {machine language}.  The word "code" is often
	used to distinguish instructions from {data} (e.g. "The code
	is marked 'read-only'") whereas "{software}" is used in
	contrast with "{hardware}" and may consist of more than just
	code.

	(2000-04-08)

See {followup}.

<language> An {algorithm} or program to determine the
	syntactic structure of a sentence or string of symbols in some
	language.  A parser normally takes as input a sequence of
	{tokens} output by a {lexical analyser}.  It may produce some
	kind of {abstract syntax tree} as output.  One of the best
	known {parser generators} is {yacc}.

	(1997-07-21)

/uhp'lohd/ To transfer programs or data over a digital
	communications link from a smaller or peripheral "client"
	system to a larger or central "host" one.

	Opposite: {download}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1994-10-27)

<character> The space character, {ASCII} 32.

	See {octal forty}.

<file format, multimedia> (MIME) A {standard} for multi-part,
	{multimedia} {electronic mail} messages and {World-Wide Web}
	{hypertext} documents on the {Internet}.  MIME provides the
	ability to transfer non-textual data, such as graphics,
	{audio} and fax.  It is defined in {RFC 2045}, {RFC 2046},
	{RFC 2047}, {RFC 2048}, {RFC 2049}, and {BCP0013}.  It uses
	{mimencode} to encode binary data into {base 64} using a
	subset of {ASCII}.

	{FAQ
	(http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/mail/mime-faq/top.html)}.

	(1995-04-04)

<character> (Or "ctrl", "^") One (or a pair) of {modifier
	keys} found on all modern {keyboards}.  If the control key is
	held down while pressing and releasing certain other keys then
	a "{control character}" is generated, e.g. holding control and
	hitting "A" generates control-A ({ASCII} code 1).  The ASCII
	code for the control character is generally 64 less than that
	for the unmodified character.

	The control key does not generate any character on its own but
	most modern keyboards and {operating systems} allow a program
	to tell whether each of the individual keys on the keyboard
	(including modifier keys) is pressed at any time.

	Control characters mostly have some kind of "non-printing"
	effect on the output such as ringing the bell (Control-G) or
	advancing to the next line (Control-J).  Most have alternative
	names suggesting these functions (Bell, Line Feed, etc.).

	See {ASCII character table}.

	(1997-07-10)

<networking> /root/ The sequence of {hosts}, {routers},
	{bridges}, {gateways}, and other devices that network traffic
	takes, or could take, from its source to its destination.  As
	a verb, to determine the link down which to send a {packet},
	that will minimise its total journey time according to some
	{routeing algorithm}.

	You can find the route from your computer to another using the
	program {traceroute} on {Unix} or tracert on {Microsoft
	Windows}.

	(2001-05-26)

<text> The spacing between {characters} in a line of {text}.
	This is defined when a {font} is designed but can often be
	altered in order to change the appearance of the text or for
	special effects.

	Tracking should not be confused with {kerning} which deals
	with the spacing between certain pairs of characters.

	See also {leading}.

	(1996-06-07)

<programming> (Or "computer program", "program", "code") The
	instructions executed by a computer, as opposed to the
	physical device on which they run (the "{hardware}").

	The term was coined by the eminent statistician, {John Tukey}.

	Programs stored on {non-volatile storage} built from
	{integrated circuits} (e.g. {ROM} or {PROM}) are usually
	called {firmware}.

	Software can be split into two main types - {system software}
	and application software or {application programs}.  System
	software is any software required to support the production or
	execution of application programs but which is not specific to
	any particular application.  Examples of system software would
	include the {operating system}, {compilers}, editors and
	sorting programs.

	Examples of application programs would include an accounts
	package or a {CAD} program.  Other broad classes of
	application software include {real-time} software, {business
	software}, scientific and engineering software, {embedded
	software}, personal computer software and {artificial
	intelligence} software.

	Software includes both {source code} written by humans and
	executable {machine code} produced by {assemblers} or
	{compilers}.  It does not usually include the data processed
	by programs unless this is in a format such as {multimedia}
	which depends on the use of computers for its presentation.
	This distinction becomes unclear in cases such as {spread
	sheets} which can contain both instructions (formulae and
	{macros}) and data.  There are also various intermediate
	compiled or {semi-compiled}, forms of software such as
	{library} files and {byte-code}.

	Some claim that {documentation} (both paper and electronic) is
	also software.  Others go further and define software to be
	programs plus documentation though this does not correspond
	with common usage.

	The noun "program" describes a single, complete and
	more-or-less self-contained list of instructions, often stored
	in a single {file}, whereas "code" and "software" are
	uncountable nouns describing some number of instructions which
	may constitute one or more programs or part thereof.  Most
	programs, however, rely heavily on various kinds of {operating
	system} software for their execution.  The nounds "code" and
	"software" both refer to the same thing but "code" tends to
	suggest an interest in the implementation details whereas
	"software" is more of a user's term.

	(2002-07-21)

<data, database, programming> An {ordered set} of {fields},
	usually stored contiguously.  The term is used with similar
	meaning in several different contexts.  In a file, a "record"
	probably has some fixed length, in contrast to a "line" which
	may have any length and is terminated by some {End Of Line}
	sequence).  A {database} record is also called a "row".  In a
	{spreadsheet} it is always called a "row".  Some programming
	languages use the term to mean a type composed of fields of
	several other types ({C} calls this a "{struct}").

	In all these cases, a record represents an entity with certain
	field values.

	Fields may be of a fixed width ({bits} or {characters}) or
	they may be separated by a {delimiter} character, often
	{comma} ({CSV}) or {HT} ({TSV}).

	In a database the list of values of a given field from all
	records is called a column.

	(2002-03-22)

<text> /ledding/ The spacing between lines of {text}.  This is
	defined when a {font} is designed but can often be altered in
	order to change the appearance of the text or for special
	effects.  It is measured in {points} and is normally 120% of
	the height of the text.

	See also {kerning}, {tracking}.

	(1996-06-07)

<operating system> A character string which tells a program to
	perform a specific action.  Most commands take {arguments}
	which either modify the action performed or supply it with
	input.  Commands may be typed by the user or read from a file
	by a {command interpreter}.  It is also common to refer to
	menu items as commands.

	(1997-06-21)

1. <hardware> An electrical conductor.  For distances larger
	than a breadbox, a single line may consist of two electrical
	conductors in twisted, parallel, or concentric arrangement
	used to transport one logical signal.

	By extension, a (usually physical) medium such as an {optical
	fibre} which carries a signal.

	(1995-09-29)

<World-Wide Web, database, tool> {Allaire Corporation}'s
	commercial {database} application development tool that allows
	{databases} to have a {World-Wide Web} {interface}, so a
	database can be queried and updated using a {web browser}.

	The ColdFusion Server application runs on the {web server} and
	has access to a {database}.  ColdFusion files on the web
	server are {HTML} pages with additional ColdFusion commands to
	{query} or {update} the database, written in {CFML}.  When the
	page is requested by the user, the {web server} passes the
	page to the Cold Fusion application, which executes the {CFML}
	commands, places the results of the {CFML} commands in the
	{HTML} file, and returns the page to the {web server}.  The
	page returned to the {web server} is now an ordinary {HTML}
	file, and it is sent to the user.

	Examples of ColdFusion applications include order entry, event
	registration, catalogue search, directories, calendars, and
	interactive training.  ColdFusion applications are robust
	because all database interactions are encapsulated in a single
	industrial-strength {CGI} script.  The formatting and
	presentation can be modified and revised at any time (as
	opposed to having to edit and recompile {source code}).

	ColdFusion Server can connect with any database that supports
	{ODBC} or {OLE DB} or one that has a native database driver.
	Native database drivers are available for {Oracle} and
	{Sybase} databases.

	ColdFusion is available for {Windows}, {Solaris}, and {HP-UX}.
	A {development environment} for creating ColdFusion files,
	called ColdFusion Studio, is also available for {Windows}.

	Current version: MX(6), as of 2003-07-11.

	The {filename extension} for ColdFusion files is .cfm

	{Home (http://www.coldfusion.com/)}.

	(2003-07-27)