<electronics> The quantity of {charge} per unit time, measured
	in Amperes (Amps, A).  By historical convention, the sign of
	current is positive for currents flowing from positive to
	negative {potential}, but experience indicates that electrons
	are negatively charged and flow in the opposite direction.

	(1995-10-05)

<programming> (API, or "application programming interface")
	The interface (calling conventions) by which an {application
	program} accesses {operating system} and other services.  An
	API is defined at {source code} level and provides a level of
	{abstraction} between the application and the {kernel} (or
	other privileged utilities) to ensure the {portability} of the
	code.

	An API can also provide an interface between a {high level
	language} and lower level utilities and services which were
	written without consideration for the {calling conventions}
	supported by compiled languages.  In this case, the API's main
	task may be the translation of parameter lists from one format
	to another and the interpretation of {call-by-value} and
	{call-by-reference} arguments in one or both directions.

	(1995-02-15)

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)

<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. <unit, text> (Sometimes abbreviated "pt") The unit of
	length used in {typography} to specify text character height,
	{rule} width, and other small measurements.

	There are six slightly different definitions: {Truchet point},
	{Didot point}, {ATA point}, {TeX point}, {Postscript point},
	and {IN point}.

	In Europe, the most commonly used is Didot and in the US, the
	formerly standard ATA point has essentially been replaced by
	the PostScript point due to the demise of traditional
	typesetting systems and rise of desktop computer based systems
	running software such as {QuarkXPress}, {Adobe InDesign} and
	{Adobe Pagemaker}.

	There are 20 {twips} in a point and 12 points in a {pica}
	(known as a "Cicero" in the Didot system).

	{Different point systems
	(http://www.vakcer.com/oberon/dtp/fonts/point.htm)}.

	(2004-12-23)

	2. <hardware> To move a {pointing device} so that the
	on-screen pointer is positioned over a certain object on the
	screen such as a {button} in a {graphical user interface}.  In
	most {window systems} it is then necessary to {click} a
	(physical) button on the pointing device to activate or select
	the object.  In some systems, just pointing to an object is
	known as "mouse-over" {event} which may cause some help text
	(called a "tool tip" in {Windows}) to be displayed.

	(2001-05-21)

<programming> Code which is combined with another piece of
	{code} to determine how that code is executed.  The wrapper
	acts as an interface between its caller and the wrapped code.
	This may be done for compatibility, e.g. if the wrapped code
	is in a different programming language or uses different
	calling conventions, or for security, e.g. to prevent the
	calling program from executing certain functions.  The
	implication is that the wrapped code can only be accessed via
	the wrapper.

	(1998-12-15)