1. <storage> {Random Access Memory}.

	2. <humour> Rarely Adequate Memory.

	A humorous reference to the fact that programs and data
	expand to fill the memory available.

	(1995-04-22)

<hardware> To press and release a {button} on a {mouse} or
	other {pointing device}.  This generates an {event}, also
	specifying the screen position, which is processed by the
	{window manager} or {application program}.  On a mouse with
	more than one button, the unqualified term usually implies
	pressing the left-most button (with the right index finger),
	other buttons would be qualified, e.g. "{right-click}".
	{Keyboard} modifiers may also be used, e.g. "shift-click",
	meaning to hold down the shift key on the keyboard while
	clicking the mouse button.

	If the mouse moves while the button is pressed then this is a
	{drag}.

	(1995-03-14)

1. <electronics> {push-button}.

	2. <operating system> A graphical representation of an
	electrical {push-button} appearing as part of a {graphical
	user interface}.  Moving the {mouse pointer} over the
	graphical button and pressing one of the physical mouse
	buttons starts some software action such as closing a window
	or deleting a file.

	See also {radio button}.

	(1997-07-07)

<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)

1. <World-Wide Web> {Internet Information Server}.

	2. <language> {Idealized Instruction Set}.

	(1999-08-26)

1. <networking> {e-mail address}.

	2. <networking> {Internet address}.

	3. <networking> {MAC address}.

	4. <storage, programming> An unsigned integer used to select
	one fundamental element of storage, usually known as a {word}
	from a computer's {main memory} or other storage device.  The
	{CPU} outputs addresses on its {address bus} which may be
	connected to an {address decoder}, {cache controller}, {memory
	management unit}, and other devices.

	While from a hardware point of view an address is indeed an
	integer most {strongly typed} programming languages disallow
	mixing integers and addresses, and indeed addresses of
	different data types.  This is a fine example for {syntactic
	salt}: the compiler could work without it but makes writing
	bad programs more difficult.

	(1997-07-01)

1. The {supervisor} program or {operating system} on a
	computer.

	2. The entire computer system, including input/output devices,
	the {supervisor} program or {operating system} and possibly
	other {software}.

	3. Any large program.

	4. Any method or {algorithm}.

	[{Jargon File}]

<jargon> A {marketroid} term for something he wants to sell
	you without bothering you with the often dizzying distinctions
	between {hardware}, {software}, {services}, {applications},
	{file formats}, companies, brand names and {operating
	systems}.

	"{Flash} is a perfect image-streaming solution."  "What is
	it?"  "Um...  about a thousand dollars."

	See also: {technology}.

	(1998-07-07)

<programming> One of a sequence of copies of a program, each
	incorporating new modifications.  Each version is usually
	identified by a number, commonly of the form X.Y where X is
	the major version number and Y is the release number.
	Typically an increment in X (with Y reset to zero) signifies a
	substantial increase in the function of the program or a
	partial or total re-implementation, whereas Y increases each
	time the progam is changed in any way and re-released.

	Version numbers are useful so that the user can know if the
	program has changed ({bugs} have been fixed or new functions
	added) since he obtained his copy and the programmer can tell
	if a bug report relates to the current version.  It is thus
	always important to state the version when reporting bugs.
	Statements about compatibility between different software
	components should always say which versions they apply to.

	See {change management}.

	(1997-12-07)

1. A program which provides some service to other ({client})
	programs.  The connection between client and server is
	normally by means of {message passing}, often over a
	{network}, and uses some {protocol} to encode the client's
	requests and the server's responses.  The server may run
	continuously (as a {daemon}), waiting for requests to arrive
	or it may be invoked by some higher level daemon which
	controls a number of specific servers ({inetd} on {Unix}).

	There are many servers associated with the {Internet}, such as
	those for {HTTP}, {Network File System}, {Network Information
	Service} (NIS), {Domain Name System} (DNS), {FTP}, {news},
	{finger}, {Network Time Protocol}.  On Unix, a long list can
	be found in /etc/services or in the {NIS} database "services".
	See {client-server}.

	2. A computer which provides some service for other computers
	connected to it via a network.  The most common example is a
	{file server} which has a local disk and services requests
	from remote clients to read and write files on that disk,
	often using {Sun}'s {Network File System} (NFS) {protocol} or
	{Novell Netware} on {PCs}.  Another common example is a {web
	server}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(2003-12-29)

1. <file system> {hard link} or {symbolic link}.

	2. <hypertext> {hyperlink}.

	(1997-10-22)

<messaging> (e-mail) Messages automatically passed from one
	computer user to another, often through computer {networks}
	and/or via {modems} over telephone lines.

	A message, especially one following the common {RFC 822}
	{standard}, begins with several lines of {headers}, followed
	by a blank line, and the body of the message.  Most e-mail
	systems now support the {MIME} {standard} which allows the
	message body to contain "{attachments}" of different kinds
	rather than just one block of plain {ASCII} text.  It is
	conventional for the body to end with a {signature}.

	Headers give the name and {electronic mail address} of the
	sender and recipient(s), the time and date when it was sent
	and a subject.  There are many other headers which may get
	added by different {message handling systems} during delivery.

	The message is "composed" by the sender, usually using a
	special program - a "{Mail User Agent}" (MUA).  It is then
	passed to some kind of "{Message Transfer Agent}" (MTA) - a
	program which is responsible for either delivering the message
	locally or passing it to another MTA, often on another {host}.
	MTAs on different hosts on a network often communicate using
	{SMTP}.  The message is eventually delivered to the
	recipient's {mailbox} - normally a file on his computer - from
	where he can read it using a mail reading program (which may
	or may not be the same {MUA} as used by the sender).

	Contrast {snail-mail}, {paper-net}, {voice-net}.

	The form "email" is also common, but is less suggestive of the
	correct pronunciation and derivation than "e-mail".  The word
	is used as a noun for the concept ("Isn't e-mail great?", "Are
	you on e-mail?"), a collection of (unread) messages ("I spent
	all night reading my e-mail"), and as a verb meaning "to send
	(something in) an e-mail message" ("I'll e-mail you (my
	report)").  The use of "an e-mail" as a count noun for an
	e-mail message, and plural "e-mails", is now (2000) also well
	established despite the fact that "mail" is definitely a mass
	noun.

	Oddly enough, the word "emailed" is actually listed in the
	Oxford English Dictionary.  It means "embossed (with a raised
	pattern) or arranged in a net work".  A use from 1480 is
	given.  The word is derived from French "emmailleure",
	network.  Also, "email" is German for enamel.

	{The story of the first e-mail message
	(http://www.pretext.com/mar98/features/story2.htm)}.

	(2002-07-14)

<World-Wide Web> (Or "website") Any computer on the
	{Internet} running a {World-Wide Web} {server} process.  A
	particular website is usually identified by the {hostname}
	part of a {URL}.  Multiple hostnames may actually map to the
	same computer in which case they are known as "{virtual
	servers}".

	(2005-07-12)

<networking> Hardware and software data communication systems.

	The {OSI} seven layer model attempts to provide a way of
	partitioning any computer network into independent modules
	from the lowest (physical) layer to the highest (application)
	layer.  Many different specifications exist at each of these
	layers.

	Networks are often also classified according to their
	geographical extent: {local area network} (LAN), {metropolitan
	area network} (MAN), {wide area network} (WAN) and also
	according to the {protocols} used.

	See {BITNET}, {Ethernet}, {Internet}, {Novell}, {PSTN},
	{network, the}.

	[Tanenbaum, A., "Computer Networks; 2nd ed.", Prentice Hall,
	Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1989.]

	(1995-03-10)

<hypertext> A program which allows a person to read
	{hypertext}.  The browser gives some means of viewing the
	contents of {nodes} (or "pages") and of {navigating} from one
	node to another.

	{Netscape Navigator}, {NCSA} {Mosaic}, {Lynx}, and {W3} are
	examples for browsers for the {World-Wide Web}.  They act as
	{clients} to remote {web servers}.

	(1996-05-31)

<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)

<World-Wide Web> A {Java} program which can be distributed as
	an attachment in a {World-Wide Web} document and executed by a
	Java-enabled {web browser} such as Sun's {HotJava},
	{Netscape Navigator} version 2.0, or {Internet Explorer}.

	Navigator severely restricts the applet's file system and
	network access in order to prevent accidental or deliberate
	security violations.  Full Java applications, which run
	outside of the browser, do not have these restrictions.

	Web browsers can also be extended with {plug-ins} though these
	differ from applets in that they usually require manual
	installation and are {platform}-specific.  Various other
	languages can now be embedded within {HTML} documents, the
	most common being {JavaScript}.

	Despite Java's aim to be a "write once, run anywhere"
	language, the difficulty of accomodating the variety of
	browsers in use on the Internet has led many to abandon
	client-side processing in favour of {server}-side Java
	programs for which the term {servlet} was coined.

	Merriam Webster "Collegiate Edition" gives a 1990 definition:
	a short application program especially for performing a simple
	specific task.

	(2002-07-12)

<programming> A type of {COM} component that can
	self-register, also known as an "ActiveX control".  All COM
	objects implement the "IUnknown" interface but an ActiveX
	control usually also implements some of the standard
	interfaces for embedding, user interface, methods, properties,
	events, and persistence.

	ActiveX controls were originally called "{OLE} Controls", and
	were required to provide all of these interfaces but that
	requirement was dropped, and the name changed, to make ActiveX
	controls lean enough to be downloaded as part of a web page.

	Because ActiveX components can support the OLE embedding
	interfaces, they can be included in web pages.  Because they
	are COM objects, they can be used from languages such as
	{Visual Basic}, {Visual C++}, {Java}, {VBScript}.

	["Understanding ActiveX and OLE", David Chappell, MS Press,
	1996].

	{Home (http://www.microsoft.com/com/tech/activex.asp)}.

	(2002-04-19)

<programming> An {object} adhering to a {component
	architecture}.

	(1997-11-20)

1. <language> An English-like query language used in the
	{Pick} {operating system}.

	2. <database, product> {Microsoft Access}.

	(1994-11-08)

To produce something according to an {algorithm} or program or
	set of rules, or as a (possibly unintended) {side effect} of
	the execution of an algorithm or program.

	The opposite of {parse}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1995-06-15)

1. Executable code, especially a "pure code" portion shared
	between multiple instances of a program running in a
	{multitasking} {operating system}.

	Compare {English}.

	2. Textual material in the mainstream sense; data in ordinary
	{ASCII} or {EBCDIC} representation (see {flat ASCII}).  "Those
	are text files; you can review them using the editor."

	These two contradictory senses confuse hackers too.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1995-03-16)

<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)

<operating system> See {Microsoft Windows}, {Windows NT}.

	(1997-11-23)

<language, text> (XML) An initiative from the {W3C} defining
	an "extremely simple" dialect of {SGML} suitable for use on
	the {World-Wide Web}.

	{(http://www.w3.org/XML/)}.

	[Relationship to the {XSL} forthcoming subset of {DSSSL}?]

	(1997-11-20)

<unit> (b) {binary} digit.

	The unit of information; the amount of information obtained by
	asking a yes-or-no question; a computational quantity that can
	take on one of two values, such as false and true or 0 and 1;
	the smallest unit of storage - sufficient to hold one bit.

	A bit is said to be "set" if its value is true or 1, and
	"reset" or "clear" if its value is false or 0.  One speaks of
	setting and clearing bits.  To {toggle} or "invert" a bit is
	to change it, either from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0.

	The term "bit" first appeared in print in the computer-science
	sense in 1949, and seems to have been coined by the eminent
	statistician, {John Tukey}.  Tukey records that it evolved
	over a lunch table as a handier alternative to "bigit" or
	"binit".

	See also {flag}, {trit}, {mode bit}, {byte}, {word}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(2002-01-22)

<chat> Hope This Helps.  Often used sarcastically, see {HAND}.

	(1998-03-06)

1. Lacking any complex internal structure.  "That {bitty box}
	has only a flat file system, not a hierarchical one."  The verb
	form is {flatten}.  Usually used pejoratively (at least with
	respect to file systems).

	2. Said of a memory architecture like that of the {VAX} or
	{Motorola} {680x0} that is one big linear address space
	(typically with each possible value of a processor register
	corresponding to a unique address).  This is a {Good Thing}.
	The opposite is a "{segmented}" architecture like that of the
	{Intel 80x86} in which addresses are composed from a
	base-register/offset pair.  Segmented designs are generally
	considered cretinous.

	3. A flat {domain} is one where all elements except {bottom}
	are incomparable (equally well defined).  E.g. the integers.

	[{Jargon File}]

/de'moh/ 1. A demonstration of a product, often of an early
	version or prototype.  A demo is a far more effective way of
	inducing bugs to manifest themselves than any number of {test}
	runs, especially when important people are watching.

	2. {demo version}.

	3. A program written to demonstrate the programmer's coding
	ability and/or the power of the computer it runs on.  Such
	demos are nearly always written in {machine code} and
	traditionally feature scrolling text about the author, his
	friends, his code and anything else he fancies and animated
	graphics.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1994-11-04)

<computer> A general-purpose computer designed to be used by
	one person at a time and which offers higher performance than
	normally found in a {personal computer}, especially with
	respect to graphics, processing power and the ability to carry
	out several tasks at the same time.

	(1995-05-04)

<hardware> The physical, touchable, material parts of a
	computer or other system.  The term is used to distinguish
	these fixed parts of a system from the more changable
	{software} or {data} components which it executes, stores, or
	carries.

	Computer hardware typically consists chiefly of electronic
	devices ({CPU}, {memory}, {display}) with some
	electromechanical parts (keyboard, {printer}, {disk drives},
	{tape drives}, loudspeakers) for input, output, and storage,
	though completely non-electronic (mechanical,
	electromechanical, hydraulic, biological) computers have also
	been conceived of and built.

	See also {firmware}, {wetware}.

	(1997-01-23)

<language, text> An {SGML}, {HTML}, or {XML} {token}
	representing the beginning (start tag: "<p ...>") or end (end
	tag: "</p>") of an {element}.  In normal SGML {syntax} (and
	always in {XML}), a tag starts with a "<" and ends with an
	">".

	In {HTML} jargon, the term "tag" is often used for an
	"{element}".

	(2001-01-31)

<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)

<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)

1. <database, information science> A user's (or {agent}'s)
	request for information, generally as a formal request to a
	{database} or {search engine}.

	{SQL} is the most common {database query language}.

	2. <character> {question mark}.

	(1997-04-09)

<data> A data structure holding many values, possibly of
	different types, which is usually accessed sequentially,
	working from the head to the end of the tail - an "ordered
	list".  This contrasts with a (one-dimensional) {array}, any
	element of which can be accessed equally quickly.

	Lists are often stored using a cell and pointer arrangement
	where each value is stored in a cell along with an associated
	pointer to the next cell.  A special pointer, e.g. zero, marks
	the end of the list.  This is known as a (singly) "linked
	list".  A doubly linked list has pointers from each cell to
	both next and previous cells.

	An unordered list is a {set}.

	(1998-11-12)

1. <messaging> (From Hormel's Spiced Ham, via the Monty Python
	"Spam" song) To post irrelevant or inappropriate messages to
	one or more {Usenet} {newsgroups}, {mailing lists}, or other
	messaging system in deliberate or accidental violation of
	{netiquette}.

	It is possible to spam a newsgroup with one well- (or ill-)
	planned message, e.g. asking "What do you think of abortion?"
	on soc.women.  This can be done by {cross-post}ing, e.g. any
	message which is crossposted to alt.rush-limbaugh and
	alt.politics.homosexuality will almost inevitably spam both
	groups.  (Compare {troll} and {flame bait}).

	Posting a message to a significant proportion of all
	newsgroups is a sure way to spam Usenet and become an object
	of almost universal hatred.  Canter and Siegel spammed the net
	with their Green card post.

	If you see an article which you think is a deliberate spam, DO
	NOT post a {follow-up} - doing so will only contribute to the
	general annoyance.  Send a polite message to the poster by
	private e-mail and CC it to "postmaster" at the same address.
	Bear in mind that the posting's origin might have been forged
	or the apparent sender's account might have been used by
	someone else without his permission.

	The word was coined as the winning entry in a 1937 competition
	to choose a name for Hormel Foods Corporation's "spiced meat"
	(now officially known as "SPAM luncheon meat").  Correspondant
	Bob White claims the modern use of the term predates Monty
	Python by at least ten years.  He cites an editor for the
	Dallas Times Herald describing Public Relations as "throwing a
	can of spam into an electric fan just to see if any of it
	would stick to the unwary passersby."

	{Usenet} newsgroup: {news:news.admin.net-abuse}.

	See also {netiquette}.

	2. (A narrowing of sense 1, above) To indiscriminately send
	large amounts of unsolicited {e-mail} meant to promote a
	product or service.  Spam in this sense is sort of like the
	electronic equivalent of junk mail sent to "Occupant".

	In the 1990s, with the rise in commercial awareness of the
	net, there are actually scumbags who offer spamming as a
	"service" to companies wishing to advertise on the net.  They
	do this by mailing to collections of {e-mail} addresses,
	Usenet news, or mailing lists.  Such practises have caused
	outrage and aggressive reaction by many net users against the
	individuals concerned.

	3. (Apparently a generalisation of sense 2, above) To abuse
	any network service or tool by for promotional purposes.

	"AltaVista is an {index}, not a promotional tool.  Attempts to
	fill it with promotional material lower the value of the index
	for everyone.  [...] We will disallow {URL} submissions from
	those who spam the index.  In extreme cases, we will exclude
	all their pages from the index." -- {Altavista}.

	4. <jargon, programming> To crash a program by overrunning a
	fixed-size {buffer} with excessively large input data.

	See also {buffer overflow}, {overrun screw}, {smash the stack}.

	5. <chat, games> (A narrowing of sense 1, above) To flood any
	{chat} forum or {Internet game} with purposefully annoying
	text or macros.  Compare {Scrolling}.

	(2003-09-21)