<programming> One of a sequence of copies of a program, each
	incorporating new modifications.  Each version is usually
	identified by a number, commonly of the form X.Y where X is
	the major version number and Y is the release number.
	Typically an increment in X (with Y reset to zero) signifies a
	substantial increase in the function of the program or a
	partial or total re-implementation, whereas Y increases each
	time the progam is changed in any way and re-released.

	Version numbers are useful so that the user can know if the
	program has changed ({bugs} have been fixed or new functions
	added) since he obtained his copy and the programmer can tell
	if a bug report relates to the current version.  It is thus
	always important to state the version when reporting bugs.
	Statements about compatibility between different software
	components should always say which versions they apply to.

	See {change management}.

	(1997-12-07)

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)

<file system> An element of data storage in a {file system}.

	The history of computing is rich in varied kinds of files and
	{file systems}, whether ornate (e.g., {Macintosh file system}
	for a well-known case) or deficient (e.g., many simple
	pre-1980s file systems don't allow {directories}).

	However, the prototypical file has these characteristics:

	* It is a single sequence of bytes (but consider {Macintosh}
	{resource forks}).

	* It has a finite length, unlike, e.g. a {Unix} {device}.

	* It is stored in a {non-volatile storage} medium (but see
	{ramdrive}).

	* It exists (nominally) in a {directory}.

	* It has a name that it can be referred to by in file
	operations, possibly in combination with its {path}.

	Additionally, a file system may associate other information
	with a file, such as {permission} bits or other {file
	attributes}; timestamps for file creation, last revision, and
	last access; revision numbers (a` la VMS), and other kinds of
	{magic}.

	Compare: {document}.

	(1997-04-08)