<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)

<games> "The time you enjoy wasting is not time wasted." --
	{Bertrand Russell}.

	Here are some games-related pages on the {Web}: {Imperial
	Nomic (http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/achmed/fascist/)},
	{Thoth's games and recreations page
	(http://www.cis.ufl.edu/~thoth/library/recreation.html)},
	{Games Domain (http://wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk/GamesDomain)},
	{Zarf's	List of Games on the Web
	(http://www.leftfoot.com/games.html)},
	{Dave's list of pointers to games resources
	(http://wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk/~djh/index.html)},
	{Collaborative Fiction
	(http://asylum.cid.com/fiction/fiction.html)}.

	See also {3DO}, {ADL}, {ADVENT}, {ADVSYS}, {alpha/beta
	pruning}, {Amiga}, {CHIP-8}, {Core Wars}, {DROOL}, {empire},
	{I see no X here.}, {Infocom}, {Inglish}, {initgame}, {life},
	{minimax}, {moria}, {mudhead}, {multi-user Dimension},
	{nethack}, {ogg}, {plugh}, {rogue}, {SPACEWAR}, {virtual
	reality}, {wizard mode}, {wumpus}, {xyzzy}, {ZIL}, {zorkmid}.

	See also {game theory}.

	(1996-03-03)

<World-Wide Web, open source> The {open source} {web
	browser}, designed for standards-compliance, performance, and
	portability, whose development is coordinated by the {Mozilla
	Foundation}.

	The Mozilla project started in March 1998 when {Netscape
	Communications Corporation} released the {source code} of
	{Netscape Communicator}.  The now abandoned version based on
	that code is referred to as "Mozilla Classic".  Since then,
	much has been rewritten, including the layout engine, the
	networking library, and the front-end.

	Mozilla 1.0 was finally released on 2002-06-05.  Much of the
	code was used to build {Firefox}.

	Although a lot of Mozilla code is under the original Netscape
	Public License, some parts of the code are under the Mozilla
	Public License or dual MPL/GPL.

	"Mozilla" was the original project code name for {Netscape
	Navigator} and, according to some of the documentation, the
	correct pronunciation of "Netscape".

	[Derived from "{Mosaic} killer/Godzilla"?]

	(2005-01-26)

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

	(1997-11-23)

<operating system> ("Linus Unix") /li'nuks/ (but see below)
	An implementation of the {Unix} {kernel} originally written
	from scratch with no proprietary code.

	The kernel runs on {Intel} and {Alpha} hardware in the general
	release, with {SPARC}, {PowerPC}, {MIPS}, {ARM}, {Amiga},
	{Atari}, and {SGI} in active development.  The SPARC, PowerPC,
	ARM, {PowerMAC} - {OSF}, and 68k ports all support {shells},
	{X} and {networking}.  The Intel and SPARC versions have
	reliable {symmetric multiprocessing}.

	Work on the kernel is coordinated by Linus Torvalds, who holds
	the copyright on a large part of it.  The rest of the
	copyright is held by a large number of other contributors (or
	their employers).  Regardless of the copyright ownerships, the
	kernel as a whole is available under the {GNU} {General Public
	License}.  The GNU project supports Linux as its kernel until
	the research {Hurd} kernel is completed.

	This kernel would be no use without {application programs}.
	The GNU project has provided large numbers of quality tools,
	and together with other {public domain} software it is a rich
	Unix environment.  A compilation of the Linux kernel and these
	tools is known as a Linux distribution.  Compatibility modules
	and/or {emulators} exist for dozens of other computing
	environments.

	The kernel version numbers are significant: the odd numbered
	series (e.g. 1.3.xx) is the development (or beta) kernel which
	evolves very quickly.  Stable (or release) kernels have even
	major version numbers (e.g. 1.2.xx).

	There is a lot of commercial support for and use of Linux,
	both by hardware companies such as {Digital}, {IBM}, and
	{Apple} and numerous smaller network and integration
	specialists.  There are many commercially supported
	distributions which are generally entirely under the GPL.  At
	least one distribution vendor guarantees {Posix} compliance.
	Linux is particularly popular for {Internet Service
	Providers}, and there are ports to both parallel
	supercomputers and {embedded} {microcontrollers}.  {Debian} is
	one popular {open source} distribution.

	The pronunciation of "Linux" has been a matter of much debate.
	Many, including Torvalds, insist on the short I pronunciation
	/li'nuks/ because "Linus" has an /ee/ sound in Swedish
	(Linus's family is part of Finland's 6% ethnic-Swedish
	minority) and Linus considers English short /i/ to be closer
	to /ee/ than English long /i:/ dipthong.  This is consistent
	with the short I in words like "linen".  This doesn't stop
	others demanding a long I /li:'nuks/ following the english
	pronunciation of "Linus" and "minus".  Others say /li'niks/
	following {Minix}, which Torvalds was working on before Linux.

	{More on pronunciation
	(http://www.foldoc.org/pub/linux-pronunciation)}.

	{LinuxHQ (http://www.linuxhq.com/)}.  {slashdot
	(http://slashdot.org/)}.  {freshmeat (http://freshmeat.net/)}.
	{Woven Goods (http://www.fokus.gmd.de/linux/)}.  {Linux
	Gazette (http://www.ssc.com/lg)}.

	{funet Linux Archive (ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/Linux)}, {US
	mirror (ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/)}, {UK Mirror
	(ftp://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/Linux/)}.

	(2000-06-09)

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

	See also {dry run}.

	(1996-05-13)

<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. See {multithreading}.

	2. See {threaded code}.

	3. {topic thread}.

	[{Jargon File}]

1. <programming> An area of memory used for {dynamic memory
	allocation} where blocks of memory are allocated and freed in
	an arbitrary order and the pattern of allocation and size of
	blocks is not known until {run time}.  Typically, a program
	has one heap which it may use for several different purposes.

	Heap is required by languages in which functions can return
	arbitrary data structures or functions with {free variables}
	(see {closure}).  In {C} functions {malloc} and {free} provide
	access to the heap.

	Contrast {stack}.  See also {dangling pointer}.

	2. <programming> A data structure with its elements partially
	ordered (sorted) such that finding either the minimum or the
	maximum (but not both) of the elements is computationally
	inexpensive (independent of the number of elements), while
	both adding a new item and finding each subsequent
	smallest/largest element can be done in O(log n) time, where n
	is the number of elements.

	Formally, a heap is a {binary tree} with a key in each {node},
	such that all the {leaves} of the tree are on two adjacent
	levels; all leaves on the lowest level occur to the left and
	all levels, except possibly the lowest, are filled; and the
	key in the {root} is at least as large as the keys in its
	children (if any), and the left and right subtrees (if they
	exist) are again heaps.

	Note that the last condition assumes that the goal is finding
	the minimum quickly.

	Heaps are often implemented as one-dimensional {arrays}.
	Still assuming that the goal is finding the minimum quickly
	the {invariant} is

	   heap[i] <= heap[2*i] and heap[i] <= heap[2*i+1] for all i,

	where heap[i] denotes the i-th element, heap[1] being the
	first.  Heaps can be used to implement {priority queues} or in
	{sort} algorithms.

	(1996-02-26)

1. Not operating.  "The up escalator is down" is considered a
	humorous thing to say, and "The elevator is down" always
	means "The elevator isn't working" and never refers to what
	floor the elevator is on.  With respect to computers, this
	term has passed into the mainstream; the extension to other
	kinds of machine is still hackish.

	2. "go down" To stop functioning; usually said of the
	{system}.  The message from the {console} that every hacker
	hates to hear from the operator is "System going down in 5
	minutes".

	3. "take down", "bring down" To deactivate purposely, usually
	for repair work or {PM}.  "I'm taking the system down to work
	on that bug in the tape drive."  Occasionally one hears the
	word "down" by itself used as a verb in this sense.

	See {crash}; opposite: {up}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1994-12-07)

1. To prepare to read or write a file.  This usually involves
	checking whether the file already exists and that the user has
	the necessary authorisation to read or write it.  The result
	of a successful open is usually some kind of {capability}
	(e.g. a {Unix} {file descriptor}) - a token that the user
	passes back to the system in order to access the file without
	further checks and finally to close the file.

	2. Abbreviation for "open (or left) parenthesis" - used when
	necessary to eliminate oral ambiguity.  To read aloud the LISP
	form (DEFUN FOO (X) (PLUS X 1)) one might say: "Open defun
	foo, open eks close, open, plus eks one, close close."

	3. Non-proprietary.  An open {standard} is one which can be
	used without payment.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1995-01-31)

<jargon> 1. A piece of {hardware} that encapsulates some
	function but can't be used without some kind of {front end}.
	Today we have, especially, "{print engine}": the guts of a
	{laser printer}.

	2. An analogous piece of software; notionally, one that does a
	lot of noisy {crunching}, such as a "database engine", or
	"{search engine}".

	The hackish senses of "engine" are actually close to its
	original, pre-Industrial-Revolution sense of a skill, clever
	device, or instrument (the word is cognate to "ingenuity").
	This sense had not been completely eclipsed by the modern
	connotation of power-transducing machinery in {Charles
	Babbage}'s time, which explains why he named the
	stored-program computer that he designed in 1844 the
	"{Analytical Engine}".

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1996-05-31)

1. <programming> An {address}, from the point of view of a
	programming language.  A pointer may be typed, with its {type}
	indicating the type of data to which it points.

	The terms "pointer" and "reference" are generally
	interchangable although particular programming languages often
	differentiate these two in subtle ways.  For example, {Perl}
	always calls them references, never pointers.  Conversely, in
	C, "pointer" is used, although "a reference" is often used to
	denote the concept that a pointer implements.

	{Anthony Hoare} once said:

	Pointers are like jumps, leading wildly from one part of the
	data structure to another.  Their introduction into high-level
	languages has been a step backward from which we may never
	recover.

	[C.A.R.Hoare "Hints on Programming Language Design", 1973,
	Prentice-Hall collection of essays and papers by Tony Hoare].

	2. <operating system> (Or "mouse pointer") An {icon}, usually
	a small arrow, that moves on the screen in response to
	movement of a {pointing device}, typically a {mouse}.  The
	pointer shows the user which object on the screen will be
	selected etc. when a mouse button is clicked.

	(1999-07-07)

1. {application program}.

	2. {function application}.

<object-oriented> In {object-oriented programming}, an
	instance of the data structure and behaviour defined by the
	object's {class}.  Each object has its own values for the
	{instance variables} of its class and can respond to the
	{methods} defined by its class.

	For example, an object of the "Point" class might have
	instance variables "x" and "y" and might respond to the "plot"
	method by drawing a dot on the screen at those coordinates.

	(2004-01-26)

1. <storage> {DRAM refresh}.

	2. <hardware> {screen refresh}.

	(1998-10-19)

1. The operator's station of a {mainframe}.  In times past,
	this was a privileged location that conveyed godlike powers to
	anyone with fingers on its keys.  Under {Unix} and other
	modern {time-sharing} {operating systems}, such privileges are
	guarded by passwords instead, and the console is just the
	{tty} the system was booted from.  Some of the mystique
	remains, however, and it is traditional for {sysadmins} to
	post urgent messages to all users from the console (on Unix,
	/dev/console).

	2. On {microcomputer} {Unix} boxes, the main screen and
	keyboard (as opposed to character-only terminals talking to a
	{serial port}).  Typically only the console can do real
	graphics or run {X}.  See also {CTY}.

	[{Jargon File}]

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)

<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)

<chat, messaging> Any system that allows any number of
	logged-in users to have a typed, real-time, on-line
	conversation via a {network}.

	The medium of {chat} is descended from {talk}, but the terms
	(and the media) have been distinct since at least the early
	1990s.  {talk} is prototypically for a small number of people,
	generally with no provision for {channels}.  In {chat}
	systems, however, there are many {channels} in which any
	number of people can talk; and users may send private
	(one-to-one) messages.

	Some early chat systems (in use 1998) include {IRC}, {ICQ} and
	{Palace}.  More recent alternatives include {MSN Messenger}
	and {Google Talk}.

	Chat systems have given rise to a distinctive style combining
	the immediacy of talking with all the precision (and
	verbosity) that written language entails.  It is difficult to
	communicate inflection, though conventions have arisen to help
	with this.

	The conventions of chat systems include special items of
	jargon, generally abbreviations meant to save typing, which
	are not used orally.  E.g. {BCNU}, {BBL}, {BTW}, {CUL},
	{FWIW}, {FYA}, {FYI}, {IMHO}, {OT}, {OTT}, {TNX}, {WRT},
	{WTF}, {WTH}, {<g>}, {<gr&d>}, {BBL}, {HHOK}, {NHOH}, {ROTFL},
	{AFK}, {b4}, {TTFN}, {TTYL}, {OIC}, {re}.

	Much of the chat style is identical to (and probably derived
	from) {Morse code} jargon used by ham-radio amateurs since the
	1920s, and there is, not surprisingly, some overlap with {TDD}
	jargon.  Most of the jargon was in use in {talk} systems.
	Many of these expressions are also common in {Usenet} {news}
	and {electronic mail} and some have seeped into popular
	culture, as with {emoticons}.

	The {MUD} community uses a mixture of {emoticons}, a few of
	the more natural of the old-style {talk mode} abbreviations,
	and some of the "social" list above.  In general, though,
	MUDders express a preference for typing things out in full
	rather than using abbreviations; this may be due to the
	relative youth of the MUD cultures, which tend to include many
	touch typists.  Abbreviations specific to MUDs include:
	{FOAD}, ppl (people), THX (thanks), UOK? (are you OK?).

	Some {BIFF}isms (notably the variant spelling "d00d") and
	aspects of {ASCIIbonics} appear to be passing into wider use
	among some subgroups of MUDders and are already pandemic on
	{chat} systems in general.

	See also {hakspek}.

	{Suck article "Screaming in a Vacuum"
	(http://www.suck.com/daily/96/10/23/)}.

	(2006-05-31)

1. <networking> A {bang path} or explicitly routed {Internet
	address}; a node-by-node specification of a link between two
	machines.

	2. <file system> {pathname}.

	3. <operating system>  The list of directories the kernel
	(under {Unix}) or the command interpreter (under {MS-DOS})
	searches for {executables}.  It is stored as part of the
	{environment} in both operating systems.

	Other, similar constructs abound under Unix; the {C}
	{preprocessor}, for example, uses such a search path to locate
	"#include" files.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1996-11-21)

<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)