1. {application program}.

	2. {function application}.

<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)

<programming, library> A collection of {subroutines} and
	{functions} stored in one or more files, usually in compiled
	form, for linking with other programs.  Libraries are one of
	the earliest forms of organised {code reuse}.  They are often
	supplied by the {operating system} or {software development
	environment} developer to be used in many different programs.
	The routines in a library may be general purpose or designed
	for some specific function such as three dimensional animated
	graphics.

	Libraries are linked with the user's program to form a
	complete {executable}.  The linking may be {static linking}
	or, in some systems, {dynamic linking}.

	(1998-11-21)

Said of a program or feature that is considered obsolescent
	and in the process of being phased out, usually in favour of a
	specified replacement.  Deprecated features can,
	unfortunately, linger on for many years.  This term appears
	with distressing frequency in standards documents when the
	committees writing the documents realise that large amounts of
	extant (and presumably happily working) code depend on the
	feature(s) that have passed out of favour.

	See also {dusty deck}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1995-04-19)

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)

<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. 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)

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)

<jargon> Different systems (e.g., {programs}, {file formats},
	{protocols}, even {programming languages}) that can work
	together or exchange data are said to be compatible.

	See also {backward compatible}, {forward compatible}.

	(1998-01-15)

<jargon> ({Usenet}, possibly from {DEC}) Slang for a full
	software distribution, as opposed to a {patch} or upgrade.  A
	source software distribution that has been packaged in such a
	way that it can (theoretically) be unpacked and installed
	according to a series of steps using only standard {Unix}
	tools, and entirely documented by some reasonable chain of
	references from the top-level {README file}.  The more general
	term {distribution} may imply that special tools or more
	stringent conditions on the host environment are required.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1994-11-18)

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)

See also {complete graph}, {complete inference system},
	{complete lattice}, {complete metric space}, {complete partial
	ordering}, {complete theory}.

	[1. or 2. or both?]

	(1996-04-24)

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)

1. <tool> A program used primarily to create, manipulate,
	modify, or analyse other programs, such as a compiler or an
	editor or a cross-referencing program.  Opposite: {app},
	{operating system}.

	2. A {Unix} {application program} with a simple, "transparent"
	(typically text-stream) interface designed specifically to be
	used in programmed combination with other tools (see {filter},
	{plumbing}).

	3. <jargon> ({MIT}: general to students there) To work; to
	study (connotes tedium).  The {TMRC} Dictionary defined this
	as "to set one's brain to the grindstone".  See {hack}.

	4. <jargon, person> ({MIT}) A student who studies too much and
	hacks too little.  MIT's student humour magazine rejoices in
	the name "Tool and Die".

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1996-12-12)

In hacker parlance, this word has strong connotations of
	"annoying", or "difficult", or both.  Hackers relish a
	challenge, and enjoy wringing all the irony possible out of
	the ancient Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times".

	[{Jargon File}]

<product> (Note: One unhyphenated word with initial capital;
	contrast {meta data}) A word coined by Jack E. Myers to
	represent current and future lines of products implementing
	the concepts of his {MetaModel}, and also to designate his
	company {The Metadata Company} that would develop and market
	those products.

	A data and publication search performed when Myers coined the
	term, early in the summer of 1969, did not discover any use
	either of the word "metadata" or "meta data".  Myers used the
	term in a 1973 product brochure and it is an Incontestable
	registered U.S. Trademark.

	(1997-04-06)

<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)

<convention, data> A string unique to a time duration of 24
	hours between 2 successive midnights defined by the local time
	zone.  The specific representation of a date will depend on
	which calendar convention is in force; e.g., Gregorian,
	Islamic, Japanese, Chinese, Hebrew etc. as well as local
	ordering conventions such as UK: day/month/year, US:
	month/day/year.

	Inputting and outputting dates on computers is greatly
	complicated by these {localisation} issues which is why they
	tend to operate on dates internally in some unified form such
	as seconds past midnight at the start of the first of January
	1970.

	Many software and hardware representations of dates allow only
	two digits for the year, leading to the {year 2000} problem.

	{Unix manual page}: date(1), ctime(3).

	(1997-07-11)

1. <standard, programming> {Case Integration Services}.

	2. <networking> {Cooperative Information System}.

	3. <business> {Customer Interaction Software},
	{Customer Information Systems}.

	(1999-10-04)

1. <software> A software source tree packaged for
	distribution; but see {kit}.

	2. <messaging> A vague term encompassing {mailing lists} and
	{Usenet} {newsgroups} (but not {BBS} {fora}); any
	topic-oriented message channel with multiple recipients.

	3. <messaging> An information-space domain (usually loosely
	correlated with geography) to which propagation of a {Usenet}
	message is restricted; a much-underused feature.

	[{Jargon File}]

<programming> (Or "released version", "baseline") A version of
	a piece of software which has been made public (as opposed to
	a version that is in development, or otherwise unreleased).

	A release is either a {major release}, a {revision}, or a
	{bugfix}.

	Pre-release versions may be called {alpha test}, or {beta
	test} versions.

	See {change management}.

	(1996-08-04)

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

	(1997-11-23)