1. {application program}.

	2. {function application}.

<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)

<database, programming> (JDBC) Part of the {Java Development
	Kit} which defines an {application programming interface} for
	{Java} for standard {SQL} access to {databases} from Java
	{programs}.

	{Home
	(http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.1/docs/guide/jdbc/index.html)}.

	{FAQ (http://www.yoyoweb.com/Javanese/JDBC/FAQ.html)}.

	See also {Open Database Connectivity}.

	(1997-09-04)

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)

<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. <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)

<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)

<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. 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)

<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> A constant made available to a process, by
	inclusion in the executable text.  Most modern systems do not
	allow texts to modify themselves during execution, so literals
	are indeed constant; their value is written at compile-time
	and is read-only at run time.

	In contrast, values placed in variables or files and accessed
	by the process via a symbolic name, can be changed during
	execution.  This may be an asset.  For example, messages can
	be given in a choice of languages by placing the translation
	in a file.

	Literals are used when such modification is not desired.  The
	name of the file mentioned above (not its content), or a
	physical constant such as 3.14159, might be coded as a
	literal.  Literals can be accessed quickly, a potential
	advantage of their use.

	(1996-01-23)

In {object-oriented programming} sending a message to an
	{object} (to invoke a {method}) is equivalent to calling a
	{procedure} in traditional programming languages, except that
	the actual code executed may only be selected at run time
	depending on the {class} of the object.  Thus, in response to
	the message "drawSelf", the method code invoked would be
	different if the target object were a circle or a square.

	(1995-02-16)

Using code developed for one {application program} in another
	application.  Traditionally achieved using program libraries.
	{Object-oriented programming} offers reusability of code via
	its techniques of {inheritance} and {genericity}.  {Class}
	libraries with {intelligent browsers} and {application
	generators} are under development to help in this process.
	{Polymorphic} {functional languages} also support reusability
	while retaining the benefits of {strong typing}.

	See also {DRAGOON}, {National Software Reuse Directory},
	{RLF}.

1. <application, algorithm> To arrange a collection of items
	in some specified order.  The items - {records} in a file or
	data structures in memory - consist of one or more {fields} or
	members.  One of these fields is designated as the "sort key"
	which means the records will be ordered according to the value
	of that field.  Sometimes a sequence of key fields is
	specified such that if all earlier keys are equal then the
	later keys will be compared.  Within each field some ordering
	is imposed, e.g. ascending or descending numerical, {lexical
	ordering}, or date.

	Sorting is the subject of a great deal of study since it is a
	common operation which can consume a lot of computer time.
	There are many well-known sorting {algorithms} with different
	time and space behaviour and programming {complexity}.

	Examples are {quicksort}, {insertion sort}, {bubble sort},
	{heap sort}, and {tree sort}.  These employ many different
	data structures to store sorted data, such as {arrays},
	{linked lists}, and {binary trees}.

	2. <tool> The {Unix} utility program for sorting lines of
	files.

	{Unix manual page}: sort(1).

	(1997-02-12)

1. <logic> A {finite} sequence of {well-formed formulas}, F1,
	F2, ... Fn, where each Fi either is an {axiom}, or follows by
	some rule of inference from some of the previous F's, and Fn
	is the statement being proved.

	See also {proof theory}.

	2. A left-associative {natural language} {parser} by Craig
	R. Latta <latta@xcf.berkeley.edu>.  Ported to {Decstation
	3100}, {Sun-4}.

	{(ftp://scam.berkeley.edu/pub/src/local/proof/)}.

	E-mail: <proof@xcf.berkeley.edu>.  Mailing list:
	proof-requestf@xcf.berkeley.edu (Subject: add me).

	(1994-11-29)

1. <operating system, software> The sequence of states of an
	executing {program}.  A process consists of the program {code}
	(which may be shared with other processes which are executing
	the same program), private data, and the state of the
	{processor}, particularly the values in its {registers}.  It
	may have other associated resources such as a {process
	identifier}, open files, {CPU time} limits, {shared memory},
	{child processes}, and {signal handlers}.

	One process may, on some {platforms}, consist of many
	{threads}.  A {multitasking} {operating system} can run
	multiple processes {concurrently} or in {parallel}, and allows
	a process to spawn "child" processes.

	(2001-06-16)

	2. <business> The sequence of activities, people, and systems
	involved in carrying out some business or achieving some
	desired result.  E.g. software development process, project
	management process, configuration management process.

	(2001-06-16)

A language proposed by Cii {Honeywell-Bull} to meet the DoD
	{Ironman} requirements which led to {Ada}.  This language won
	in 1979.

	["On the GREEN Language Submitted to the DoD", E.W. Dijkstra,
	SIGPLAN Notices 13(10):16-21 (Oct 1978)].

	(1994-12-02)

1. <database> One or more large structured sets of persistent
	data, usually associated with software to update and {query}
	the data.  A simple database might be a single file containing
	many {records}, each of which contains the same set of
	{fields} where each field is a certain fixed width.

	A database is one component of a {database management system}.

	See also {ANSI/SPARC Architecture}, {atomic}, {blob}, {data
	definition language}, {deductive database}, {distributed
	database}, {fourth generation language}, {functional
	database}, {object-oriented database}, {relational database}.

	{Carol E. Brown's tutorial
	(http://accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/aies/www.bus.orst.edu/faculty/brownc/lectures/db_tutor/db_tutor.htm)}.

	2. <hypertext> A collection of {nodes} managed and stored in
	one place and all accessible via the same {server}.  {Links}
	outside this are "external", and those inside are "internal".

	On the {World-Wide Web} this is called a {website}.

	3. All the facts and rules comprising a {logic programming}
	program.

	(2005-11-17)

<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)

1. Not simulated.  Often used as a specific antonym to
	{virtual} in any of its jargon senses.

	2. <mathematics> {real number}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1997-03-12)

1. <architecture> {cache hit}.

	2. <World-Wide Web> A request to a {web server} from a {web
	browser} or other {client} (e.g. a {robot}).

	The number of hits on a server may be important for
	determining advertising revenue.

	In the course of loading a single {web page}, a browser may
	hit a web server many times e.g. to retrieve the page itself
	and each {image} on the page.  In contrast, caching by
	browsers and {web proxies} reduces the number of hits on the
	server because some requests are satisfied from the cache.

	3. <jargon> To press and release a key on the keyboard.  Some
	prefer the less aggressive "tap".

	(2000-02-20)

1. <programming> {switch statement}.

	2. <software> {command line option}.

	3. <networking> {packet switch}, {circuit switch}.

	(1999-01-14)

1. To cause to be {broken} (in any sense).  "Your latest patch
	to the editor broke the paragraph commands."

	2. (Of a program) To stop temporarily, so that it may
	debugged.  The place where it stops is a "{breakpoint}".

	3. To send an {EIA-232} break (two character widths of line
	high) over a {serial line}.

	4. [Unix] To strike whatever key currently causes the tty
	driver to send SIGINT to the current process.  Normally,
	break, delete or {control-C} does this.

	5. "break break" may be said to interrupt a conversation (this
	is an example of verb doubling).  This usage comes from radio
	communications, which in turn probably came from landline
	telegraph/teleprinter usage, as badly abused in the Citizen's
	Band craze a few years ago.

	6. {pipeline break}.

	7. {break statement}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(2004-03-24)

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)

<chat> away from keyboard.