<memory management> /kash/ A small fast memory holding
	recently accessed data, designed to speed up subsequent access
	to the same data.  Most often applied to processor-memory
	access but also used for a local copy of data accessible over
	a network etc.

	When data is read from, or written to, {main memory} a copy is
	also saved in the cache, along with the associated main memory
	address.  The cache monitors addresses of subsequent reads to
	see if the required data is already in the cache.  If it is (a
	{cache hit}) then it is returned immediately and the main
	memory read is aborted (or not started).  If the data is not
	cached (a {cache miss}) then it is fetched from main memory
	and also saved in the cache.

	The cache is built from faster memory chips than main memory
	so a cache hit takes much less time to complete than a normal
	memory access.  The cache may be located on the same
	{integrated circuit} as the {CPU}, in order to further reduce
	the access time.  In this case it is often known as {primary
	cache} since there may be a larger, slower {secondary cache}
	outside the CPU chip.

	The most important characteristic of a cache is its {hit rate}
	- the fraction of all memory accesses which are satisfied from
	the cache.  This in turn depends on the cache design but
	mostly on its size relative to the main memory.  The size is
	limited by the cost of fast memory chips.

	The hit rate also depends on the access pattern of the
	particular program being run (the sequence of addresses being
	read and written).  Caches rely on two properties of the
	access patterns of most programs: temporal locality - if
	something is accessed once, it is likely to be accessed again
	soon, and spatial locality - if one memory location is
	accessed then nearby memory locations are also likely to be
	accessed.  In order to exploit spatial locality, caches often
	operate on several words at a time, a "{cache line}" or "cache
	block".  Main memory reads and writes are whole {cache lines}.

	When the processor wants to write to main memory, the data is
	first written to the cache on the assumption that the
	processor will probably read it again soon.  Various different
	policies are used.  In a {write-through} cache, data is
	written to main memory at the same time as it is cached.  In a
	{write-back} cache it is only written to main memory when it
	is forced out of the cache.

	If all accesses were writes then, with a write-through policy,
	every write to the cache would necessitate a main memory
	write, thus slowing the system down to main memory speed.
	However, statistically, most accesses are reads and most of
	these will be satisfied from the cache.  Write-through is
	simpler than write-back because an entry that is to be
	replaced can just be overwritten in the cache as it will
	already have been copied to main memory whereas write-back
	requires the cache to initiate a main memory write of the
	flushed entry followed (for a processor read) by a main memory
	read.  However, write-back is more efficient because an entry
	may be written many times in the cache without a main memory
	access.

	When the cache is full and it is desired to cache another line
	of data then a cache entry is selected to be written back to
	main memory or "flushed".  The new line is then put in its
	place.  Which entry is chosen to be flushed is determined by a
	"{replacement algorithm}".

	Some processors have separate instruction and data caches.
	Both can be active at the same time, allowing an instruction
	fetch to overlap with a data read or write.  This separation
	also avoids the possibility of bad {cache conflict} between
	say the instructions in a loop and some data in an array which
	is accessed by that loop.

	See also {direct mapped cache}, {fully associative cache},
	{sector mapping}, {set associative cache}.

	(1997-06-25)

<programming> An individual {object} of a certain {class}.
	While a class is just the type definition, an actual usage of
	a class is called "instance".  Each instance of a class can
	have different values for its {instance variables}, i.e. its
	{state}.

	(1998-03-06)

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}]

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. <hardware> {monitor}.

	2. <language> A vector of pointers to {activation records}.
	The Nth element points to the activation record containing
	variables declared at {lexical depth} N.  This allows faster
	access to variables from outer {scopes} than the alternative
	of linked activation records (but most variable accesses are
	either local or global or occasionally to the immediately
	enclosing scope).  Displays were used in some {ALGOL}
	implementations.

	(1996-02-22)

<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)