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`PUBLISHED BY
`Microsoft Press
`
`A Division of Microsoft Corporation
`One Microsoft Way
`Redmond, Washington 98052-6399
`
`Copyright © 1999 by Microsoft Corporation
`
`All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
`or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.
`
`Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
`Microsoft Computer Dictionary. -— 4th ed.
`p. cm.
`Previous eds. published under title: Microsoft Press computer
`dictionary
`ISBN 0-7356-0615-3
`
`2. Microcomputers Dictionaries.
`1. Coirnputers Dictionaries.
`1. Microsoft Press cornputer dictionary.
`QA76.15.M538
`1999
`004203--dc21
`
`99-20168
`C]?
`
`Printediand bound in the United States of America.
`
`456789 MLML 43210
`
`Distributed in Canada by Penguin Books Canada Limited.
`
`A C11’ catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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`Microsoft Press books are available through booksellers and distributors worldwide. For further information
`about international editions, contact your local Microsoft Corporation office or contact Microsoft Press
`International directly at fax (425) 936-7329. Visit our Web site at mspress.microsoft.corn.
`
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`Inc. Kodak is a registered trademark of the Eastman Kodak Company. Intel is a registered trademark and Indeo
`is a trademark of Intel Corporation. Active Desktop, Active Directory, ActiveMo\!ie, Active Platform, ActiveX,
`Authenticode, BackOffice, Directlnput, DirectX, Microsoft, Microsoft Press, MS-DOS, MSN, NetMeeting,
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`Windows NT, and XENIX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
`United States and/or other countries. PANTONE is a registered trademark of Pantone, Inc. Other product and
`company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
`
`The example companies, organizations, products, people, and events depicted herein are fictitious. No associa-
`tion with any real company, organization, product, person, or event is intended or should be inferred.
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`Acquisitions Editor: Christey Balm
`Project Editor: Kim Fryer
`
`

`
` riicklftarne 5 -‘
`
`
`
`NII rt. See National Information Infrastructure.
`nil pointer rt. See null pointer.
`NiMH battery it. See nickel metal hydride battery.
`11ine’s complement rt. A number in the base~l0 (deci-
`mal) system that is the complement of another num-
`ber. It is derived by subtracting each digit of the
`number to be complemented from 1 less than the
`base. For example, the nine’s complement of 64 is
`35—~the number derived by subtracting 6 from 9 and
`4 from 9. See also complement.
`NIS rt. Acronym for Network Information Service.
`See Yellow Pages (definition 1).
`nixpub rt. A list of ISP’s (Internet service providers),
`available in the newsgroups comp.bbs.misc and
`alt.bbs. See also ISP.
`
`devices. 3. In tree structures, a location on the tre
`that can have links to one or more nodes below 11;
`Some authors make a distinction between node
`element, with an’ element being a given data type".
`a node comprising one or more elements as well a
`any supporting data smcmres. See also element 5
`(definition 1), graph, pointer (definition 1), queue
`stack, tree.
`'
`
`noise rt. 1. Any interference that affects the operati
`of a device. 2. Unwanted electrical signals,
`either naturally or by the circuitry,
`grade the quality or performance of a communica-
`tions channel. See also distortion.
`
`nonbreaking space rt. A character that replaces the
`standard space character in order to keep two wordsf
`together on one line rather than allowing a line to
`break between them.
`
`nonconductor rt. See insulator.
`
`noncontiguous data structure it. In programming, a_
`data structure whose elements are not stored contigu
`ously in memory. Data structures such as graphs and
`trees, whose elements are connected by pointers, are_
`noncontiguous data structures. Compare contiguous _
`data structure.
`'
`
`noncledicated server rt. A computer on a network tha
`can function "as both a client and a server; typically, a
`desktop machine on a peer~to—peer network. Com-
`pare dedicated server.
`
`nondestructive readout rt. A reading operation that
`does not destroy the data read, either because the
`storage technology is capable of retaining the data or
`because the reading operation is accompanied by a
`data refresh (update) function. Acronym: NDR,
`NDRO. Compare destructive read.
`
`nonexecutahle statement I11. 1. A program statement
`that cannot be executed because it lies outside the flow _
`of execution through the program. For example, a
`statement immediately following a ret‘um()staternent
`but before the end of the block in C is nonexecutable.
`2. A type definition, variable declaration, preprocessor
`command, comment, or other statement in a program
`that is not translated into executable machine code.
`
`nonimpact printer n. Any printer that makes marks
`on the paper without striking it mechanically. The
`most common types are ink-jet, thermal, and laser
`printers. See also ink-jet printer, laser printer, ther-
`mal printer. Compare impact printer.
`
`ssued to the micro
`cumstances, Such 3
`
`5_npt-ocedural Ian:
`that does not folio‘
`
`facts and relationsl
`cific results. Comp
`onreturn to Zero
`method of encodir
`
`senting binary digi
`negative voltage Vl
`from l""to 0 or vice
`
`"does not return to
`mission of each bl
`bit from the next.
`magnetic surface.
`state represents a
`' represents a 0. Ac.
`
`Enontrivial adj. Bfii
`meaningful. For 6
`procedure to hané
`sent a nontrivial S
`
`_ "nonuniform memt
`tecture designed 1
`Memory, a type 0
`number of shared
`
`single centralized
`NUMA.
`nonvolatile memo‘
`not lose data Wh‘-’
`tended to refer to
`
`memory, bubble l
`RAM, the term is
`disk subsystems ;
`CMOS RAM, co
`NO-OP \no’op\ #1
`
`
`
`=§';j
`'
`
`;_»-
`
`pg
`
`,-,3
`'
`
`g
`
`nickname rt. A name used in the destination field of
`an e-mail editor in place of one or more complete
`network addresses. For example “Fred" might be a
`nickname for fred@bistory.washington.edu. If the
`nickname has been established within the program, a
`user ‘need only type “Fred” instead of the entire ad-
`dress, or perhaps “history faculty” instead of all the
`individual faculty addresses. See also alias (defini-
`tion 2).
`
`NL :1. See newline character.
`
`NLQ :2. See near-letter—quality.
`NLS it. See natural language support.
`NMI rt. See nonmaskable interrupt.
`NMOS or N-MOS \N’mos\ n. Acronym for N-channel
`metal-oxide semiconductor. A semiconductor technol~
`ogy in which the conduction channel in MOSFETS is
`formed by the movement of electrons rather than holes
`(electron “vacancies” created as electrons move from
`atom to atom). Because electrons move faster than
`holes, NMOS is faster than PMOS, although it is more
`difficult and more expensive to fabricate. See also
`MOS, MOSFET, N-type semiconductor. Compare
`CMOS, PMOS.
`
`i
`
`NNTP rt. Acronym for Network News Transfer Proto-
`col. A de facto protocol standard on the Internet used
`to distribute news articles and query news servers.
`NOC rt. See network operation center.
`
`node rt. 1. A junction of some type. 2. In networking,
`a device, such as a client computer, a server, or a
`shared printer, that is connected to the network and
`is capable of communicating with other network
`
`312