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)

<software> /sheir'weir/ {Software} that, like {freeware}, can
	be usually obtained ({download}ed) and redistributed for free,
	but most often is under {copyright} and does legally require a
	payment in the {EULA}, at least beyond the {evaluation} period
	or for commercial applications.  This payment, as well as
	fulfilling the {user}'s legal obligations, may buy additional
	support, documentation, or functionality.  Generally, {source
	code} for shareware programs is not available.  Shareware is
	sometimes also {nagware} and/or {crippleware}, which muddles
	the term and is frowned upon in the community.

	See also {careware}, {charityware}, {guiltware},
	{postcardware}, and {-ware}; compare {payware}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(2002-01-30)

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

	(1997-11-23)

1. {General Purpose Language}.

	2. ["A Sample Management Application Program in a Graphical
	Data-driven Programming language", A.L. Davis et al, Digest of
	Papers, Compcon Spring 81, Feb 1981, pp. 162-167].

	3. {Genken Programming Language}.

	4. {General Public License}.

	[{Jargon File}]

<language, programming> (Or "source", or rarely "source
	language") The form in which a computer program is written by
	the programmer.  Source code is written in some formal
	programming language which can be compiled automatically into
	{object code} or {machine code} or executed by an
	{interpreter}.

	(1995-01-05)

<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)

<programming> (Or "remark") Explanatory text embedded in
	program {source} (or less often data) intended to help human
	readers understand it.

	Code completely without comments is often hard to read, but
	too heavily commented code isn't much better, especially if
	the comments are not kept up-to-date with changes to the code.
	Too much commenting may mean that the code is
	over-complicated.  A good rule is to comment everything that
	needs it but write code that doesn't need much of it.

	A particularly irksome form of over-commenting explains
	exactly what each statement does, even when it is obvious to
	any reasonably competant programmer, e.g.

		/* Open the input file */
		infd = open(input_file, O_RDONLY);

	(1998-04-28)