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)

<networking> /root/ The sequence of {hosts}, {routers},
	{bridges}, {gateways}, and other devices that network traffic
	takes, or could take, from its source to its destination.  As
	a verb, to determine the link down which to send a {packet},
	that will minimise its total journey time according to some
	{routeing algorithm}.

	You can find the route from your computer to another using the
	program {traceroute} on {Unix} or tracert on {Microsoft
	Windows}.

	(2001-05-26)

<World-Wide Web, database, tool> {Allaire Corporation}'s
	commercial {database} application development tool that allows
	{databases} to have a {World-Wide Web} {interface}, so a
	database can be queried and updated using a {web browser}.

	The ColdFusion Server application runs on the {web server} and
	has access to a {database}.  ColdFusion files on the web
	server are {HTML} pages with additional ColdFusion commands to
	{query} or {update} the database, written in {CFML}.  When the
	page is requested by the user, the {web server} passes the
	page to the Cold Fusion application, which executes the {CFML}
	commands, places the results of the {CFML} commands in the
	{HTML} file, and returns the page to the {web server}.  The
	page returned to the {web server} is now an ordinary {HTML}
	file, and it is sent to the user.

	Examples of ColdFusion applications include order entry, event
	registration, catalogue search, directories, calendars, and
	interactive training.  ColdFusion applications are robust
	because all database interactions are encapsulated in a single
	industrial-strength {CGI} script.  The formatting and
	presentation can be modified and revised at any time (as
	opposed to having to edit and recompile {source code}).

	ColdFusion Server can connect with any database that supports
	{ODBC} or {OLE DB} or one that has a native database driver.
	Native database drivers are available for {Oracle} and
	{Sybase} databases.

	ColdFusion is available for {Windows}, {Solaris}, and {HP-UX}.
	A {development environment} for creating ColdFusion files,
	called ColdFusion Studio, is also available for {Windows}.

	Current version: MX(6), as of 2003-07-11.

	The {filename extension} for ColdFusion files is .cfm

	{Home (http://www.coldfusion.com/)}.

	(2003-07-27)

<data, data processing, jargon> /day't*/ (Or "raw data")
	Numbers, {characters}, {images}, or other method of recording,
	in a form which can be assessed by a human or (especially)
	input into a {computer}, stored and {processed} there, or
	transmitted on some {digital channel}.  Computers nearly
	always represent data in {binary}.

	Data on its own has no meaning, only when interpreted by some
	kind of {data processing system} does it take on meaning and
	become {information}.

	People or computers can find patterns in data to perceive
	information, and information can be used to enhance
	{knowledge}.  Since knowledge is prerequisite to wisdom, we
	always want more data and information.  But, as modern
	societies verge on {information overload}, we especially need
	better ways to find patterns.

	1234567.89 is data.

	"Your bank balance has jumped 8087% to $1234567.89" is
	information.

	"Nobody owes me that much money" is knowledge.

	"I'd better talk to the bank before I spend it, because of
	what has happened to other people" is wisdom.

	(1999-04-30)

<networking> (LAN) A data communications network which is
	geographically limited (typically to a 1 km radius) allowing
	easy interconnection of terminals, {microprocessors} and
	computers within adjacent buildings.  {Ethernet} and {FDDI}
	are examples of standard LANs.

	Because the network is known to cover only a small area,
	optimisations can be made in the network signal protocols that
	permit data rates up to 100Mb/s.

	See also {token ring}, {wide area network}, {metropolitan area
	network}..

	{Usenet} newsgroup: {news:comp.dcom.lans.misc}.

	(1995-03-13)

1. <networking> {e-mail address}.

	2. <networking> {Internet address}.

	3. <networking> {MAC address}.

	4. <storage, programming> An unsigned integer used to select
	one fundamental element of storage, usually known as a {word}
	from a computer's {main memory} or other storage device.  The
	{CPU} outputs addresses on its {address bus} which may be
	connected to an {address decoder}, {cache controller}, {memory
	management unit}, and other devices.

	While from a hardware point of view an address is indeed an
	integer most {strongly typed} programming languages disallow
	mixing integers and addresses, and indeed addresses of
	different data types.  This is a fine example for {syntactic
	salt}: the compiler could work without it but makes writing
	bad programs more difficult.

	(1997-07-01)

<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)

<networking, programming> Work performed (or offered) by a
	{server}.  This may mean simply serving simple requests for
	data to be sent or stored (as with {file servers}, {gopher} or
	{http} servers, {e-mail} servers, {finger} servers, {SQL}
	servers, etc.); or it may be more complex work, such as that
	of {irc} servers, print servers, {X Windows} servers, or
	process servers.

	E.g. "Access to the finger {service} is restricted to the
	local {subnet}, for security reasons".

	(1997-09-11)

1. The {supervisor} program or {operating system} on a
	computer.

	2. The entire computer system, including input/output devices,
	the {supervisor} program or {operating system} and possibly
	other {software}.

	3. Any large program.

	4. Any method or {algorithm}.

	[{Jargon File}]

<standard, database> (ODBC) A {standard} for accessing
	different {database} systems.  There are interfaces for
	{Visual Basic}, {Visual C++}, {SQL} and the ODBC driver pack
	contains drivers for the {Access}, {Paradox}, {dBase}, Text,
	{Excel} and {Btrieve} databases.

	An application can submit statements to ODBC using the ODBC
	flavor of SQL.  ODBC then translates these to whatever flavor
	the database understands.

	ODBC 1.0 was released in September 1992.

	ODBC is based on {Call-Level Interface} and was defined by the
	{SQL Access Group}.  {Microsoft} was one member of the group
	and was the first company to release a commercial product
	based on its work (under {Microsoft Windows}) but ODBC is not
	a Microsoft standard (as many people believe).

	ODBC drivers and development tools are available now for
	{Microsoft Windows}, {Unix}, {OS/2}, and {Macintosh}.

	[On-line document?]

	["Unix Review", Aug 1995].

	(1996-05-27)

<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)