1. The art of debugging a blank sheet of paper (or, in these
	days of on-line editing, the art of debugging an empty file).

	2. A pastime similar to banging one's head against a wall, but
	with fewer opportunities for reward.

	3. The most fun you can have with your clothes on (although
	clothes are not mandatory).

	[{Jargon File}]

	(2003-02-12)

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)

<job> (Or "computer programmer", "developer") Someone who
	writes or debugs {computer programs}, for a living or for fun.
	"Analyst/developer" is a common equivalent job title, implying
	the added role of {system analysis}.  The term may be
	qualified according to the type of software - "{application}
	programmer", "{system programmer}", etc.

	(2000-01-24)

1. To wait for an event that will never occur.  "The system is
	hanging because it can't read from the crashed drive".  See
	{wedged}, {hung}.

	2. To wait for some event to occur; to hang around until
	something happens.  "The program displays a menu and then
	hangs until you type a character."  Compare {block}.

	3. To attach a peripheral device, especially in the
	construction "hang off": "We're going to hang another tape
	drive off the file server."  Implies a device attached with
	cables, rather than something that is strictly inside the
	machine's chassis.

What many users feel for computers.

	"I don't really love computers, I just say that to get them
	into bed with me". (Terry Pratchet)

	[What did you expect in a computing dictionary?]

	(1995-05-10)

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)

1. <storage> Integrated Drive Electronics, see {Advanced
	Technology Attachment}.

	2. <programming, tool> {integrated development environment}.

	3. <company> {Interactive Development Environments}.

	(2002-04-14)

<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)

The structure of strings in some language.  A language's
	syntax is described by a {grammar}.  For example, the syntax
	of a binary number could be expressed as

		binary_number = bit [ binary_number ]

		bit = "0" | "1"

	meaning that a binary number is a bit optionally followed by a
	binary number and a bit is a literal zero or one digit.

	The meaning of the language is given by its {semantics}.

	See also {abstract syntax}, {concrete syntax}.

	(1994-10-31)

<language, database, standard> /S Q L/ An industry-standard
	language for creating, updating and, querying {relational
	database management systems}.

	SQL was developed by {IBM} in the 1970s for use in {System R}.
	It is the {de facto standard} as well as being an {ISO} and
	{ANSI} {standard}.  It is often embedded in general purpose
	programming languages.

	The first SQL standard, in 1986, provided basic language
	constructs for defining and manipulating {tables} of data; a
	revision in 1989 added language extensions for {referential
	integrity} and generalised {integrity} {constraints}.  Another
	revision in 1992 provided facilities for {schema} manipulation
	and {data administration}, as well as substantial enhancements
	for data definition and data manipulation.

	Development is currently underway to enhance SQL into a
	computationally complete language for the definition and
	management of {persistent}, complex objects.  This includes:
	generalisation and specialisation hierarchies, {multiple
	inheritance}, user defined {data types}, {triggers} and
	{assertions}, support for {knowledge based systems},
	{recursive query expressions}, and additional data
	administration tools.  It also includes the specification of
	{abstract data types} (ADTs), object identifiers, {methods},
	{inheritance}, {polymorphism}, {encapsulation}, and all of the
	other facilities normally associated with object data
	management.

	The emerging {SQL3} standard is expected to be complete in
	1998.

	According to Allen G. Taylor, SQL does _not_ stand for
	"Structured Query Language".  That, like "SEQUEL" (and its
	pronunciation /see'kw*l/), was just another unofficial name
	for a precursor of SQL.  However, the IBM SQL Reference manual
	for DB2 and Craig Mullins's "DB2 Developer's Guide" say SQL
	_does_ stand for "Structured Query Language".

	{SQL Standards (http://www.jcc.com/sql_stnd.html)}.

	{An SQL parser
	(ftp://ftp.ora.com/published/oreilly/nutshell/lexyacc/)} is
	described in "Lex & Yacc", by Levine, Mason & Brown published
	by O'Reilly.

	{The 1995 SQL Reunion: People, Projects, and Politics
	(http://www.mcjones.org/System_R/SQL_Reunion_95/)}.

	["A Guide to the SQL Standard", C.J. Date, A-W 1987].

	["SQL for Dummies", Allen G. Taylor, IDG Books Worldwide].

	(2005-11-17)

1. To copy {data} (often {program} {code} to be {run}) into
	{memory}, possibly {parsing} it somehow in the process.
	E.g. "{WordPerfect} can't load this {RTF} file - are you sure
	it didn't get corrupted in the {download}?"  Opposite of
	{save}.

	2. The degree to which a computer, {network}, or other
	resource is used, sometimes expressed as a percentage of the
	maximum available.  E.g. "What kind of CPU load does that
	program give?", "The network's constantly running at 100%
	load".  Sometimes used, by extension, to mean "to increase the
	level of use of a resource".  E.g. "Loading a spreadsheet
	really loads the CPU".  See also: {load balancing}.

	3. To {install} a piece of {software} onto a system.
	E.g. "The computer guy is gonna come load Excel on my laptop
	for me".  This usage is widely considered to be incorrect.

	(2002-07-02)

A {code management} system from {DEC}.

	(1994-12-21)

<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)

<operating system> A character string which tells a program to
	perform a specific action.  Most commands take {arguments}
	which either modify the action performed or supply it with
	input.  Commands may be typed by the user or read from a file
	by a {command interpreter}.  It is also common to refer to
	menu items as commands.

	(1997-06-21)