<jargon, architecture> (Via the technical term {virtual
	memory}, probably from the term "virtual image" in optics)
	1. Common alternative to {logical}; often used to refer to the
	artificial objects (like addressable {virtual memory} larger
	than physical memory) created by a computer system to help the
	system control access to shared resources.

	2. Simulated; performing the functions of something that isn't
	really there.  An imaginative child's doll may be a virtual
	playmate.

	Opposite of {real} or physical.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1994-11-30)

<chat> (Or "chat room", "room", depending on the system in
	question) The basic unit of group discussion in {chat} systems
	like {IRC}.  Once one joins a channel, everything one types is
	read by others on that channel.  Channels can either be named
	with numbers or with strings that begin with a "#" sign and
	can have topic descriptions (which are generally irrelevant to
	the actual subject of discussion).

	Some notable channels are "#initgame", "#hottub" and
	"#report".  At times of international crisis, "#report" has
	hundreds of members, some of whom take turns listening to
	various news services and typing in summaries of the news, or
	in some cases, giving first-hand accounts of the action
	(e.g. Scud missile attacks in Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in
	1991).

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1998-01-25)

<language, tool> A {Unix} tool written in {Tcl} and a {script
	language} for automating the operation of {interactive}
	applications such as {telnet}, {FTP}, {passwd}, {fsck},
	{rlogin}, {tip}, etc..  Expect can feed input to other
	programs and perform {pattern matching} on their output.  It
	is also useful for testing these applications.  By adding
	{Tk}, you can also wrap interactive applications in {X11}
	{GUIs}.

	{Home (http://expect.nist.gov/)}.

	["expect: Scripts for Controlling Interactive Tasks", Don
	Libes, Comp Sys 4(2), U Cal Press Journals, Nov 1991].

	(1997-06-09)