1. <mathematics> A mathematical method where an {empirical
	function} is derived from a set of experimental data.

	2. {regression testing}.

	(1995-03-14)

1. <programming> The prototype for an {object} in an
	{object-oriented language}; analogous to a {derived type} in a
	{procedural language}.  A class may also be considered to be a
	set of objects which share a common structure and behaviour.
	The structure of a class is determined by the {class
	variables} which represent the {state} of an object of that
	class and the behaviour is given by a set of {methods}
	associated with the class.

	Classes are related in a {class hierarchy}.  One class may be
	a specialisation (a "{subclass}") of another (one of its
	"{superclasses}") or it may be composed of other classes or it
	may use other classes in a {client-server} relationship.  A
	class may be an {abstract class} or a {concrete class}.

	See also {signature}.

	2. <programming> See {type class}.

	3. <networking> One of three types of {Internet addresses}
	distinguished by their most significant bits.

	3. <language> A language developed by the {Andrew Project}.
	It was one of the first attempts to add {object-oriented}
	features to {C}.

	(1995-05-01)

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)

<storage> These days, usually used synonymously with {Random
	Access Memory} or {Read-Only Memory}, but in the general sense
	it can be any device that can hold {data} in
	{machine-readable} format.

	(1996-05-25)

1. Corporate power elites distinguished primarily by their
	distance from actual productive work and their chronic failure
	to manage (see also {suit}).  Spoken derisively, as in
	"*Management* decided that ...".

	2. Mythically, a vast bureaucracy responsible for all the
	world's minor irritations.  Hackers' satirical public notices
	are often signed "The Mgt"; this derives from the
	"Illuminatus!" novels.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1995-02-28)

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)

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

	See {octal forty}.

<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)

After-sale handholding; something many software vendors
	promise but few deliver.  To hackers, most support people are
	useless - because by the time a hacker calls support he or she
	will usually know the software and the relevant manuals better
	than the support people (sadly, this is *not* a joke or
	exaggeration).  A hacker's idea of "support" is a tte--tte
	or exchange of {electronic mail} with the software's designer.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1995-02-15)

<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)

<operating system, programming> The process of carrying out
	the {instructions} in a computer program by a computer.

	See also {dry run}.

	(1996-05-13)

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}]

<process> The approach that engineering (and some other)
	disciplines use to specify how to create or do something.  A
	successful design must satisfies a (perhaps informal)
	{functional specification} (do what it was designed to do);
	conforms to the limitations of the target medium (it is
	possible to implement); meets implicit or explicit
	requirements on performance and resource usage (it is
	efficient enough).

	A design may also have to satisfy restrictions on the design
	process itself, such as its length or cost, or the tools
	available for doing the design.

	In the {software life-cycle}, design follows {requirements
	analysis} and is followed by implementation.

	["Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications", 2nd
	ed., Grady Booch].

	(1996-12-08)

<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)