Microsoft
`
`
`
`Cpmputer
`Dictionary
`Fifth Edition [
`
`i i[} F
`
`}
`
`3 § 3i
`
`
`
`

`
`
`
`Q.
`
`%.
`
`Ha
`
`PUBLISHED BY
`Microsoft Press
`
`A Division of Microsoft Corporation
`One Microsoft Way
`Redmond, Washington 98052-6399
`
`Copyright © 2002 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.--5th ed.
`p. ; cm.
`ISBN 0-7356-1495-4
`
`l. Computers--Dictionaries.
`
`2. Microcomputers-«Dictionaries.
`
`AQ76.5. M52267
`OO4'.O3--dc2l
`
`2002
`
`200219714 '
`
`Printed and bound in the United States of America.
`
`123456789 QWT 765432
`
`Distributed in Canada by Penguin Books Canada Limited.
`
`A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
`
`Microsoft Press books are available through booksellers and distributors worldwide. For further informa-
`tion 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 www.microsoft.com/mspress.
`Send comments to mspinpur@microsoft.c0m.
`
`Active Desktop, Active Directory, ActiveMovie, ActiveStore, ActiveSync, ActiveX, Authenticode,
`BackOffice, BizTall<, Clear’Iype, Direct3D, DirectAnirnation, DirectDraw, Directlnput, DirectMusic,
`DirectPlay, DiIectSh0W, Directsound, DirectX, Entourage, FoxPro, FrontPage, Hotmaii, Intelliflye,
`Intel1iMouse, IntelliSense, IScript, MapPoint, Microsoft, Microsoft Press, Mobile Explorer, MS-DOS,
`MSN, Music Central, NetlV.£ee(:ing, Outlook, PhotoDraw, PowerPoint, SharePoint, UltimateTV, Visio,
`Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual FoxPro, Visual I11terDev, Visual J++, Visual SourceSafe, Visual Studio,
`Win32, Win32s, Windows, Windows Media, Windows NT, Xbox are either registered trademarks or
`trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and
`company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
`
`The example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places,
`and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real company, organization, product,
`domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or should be inferred.
`
`Acquisitions Editor: Alex Blanton
`Project Editor: Sandra Haynes
`
`Body Part No. X08-41929
`
`
`
`

`
`in I Encapsulated Postscript '
`
`_
`
`-1
`
`programming, to keep the implementation details of a class
`a separate file whose contents do not need to be known by
`a programmer using that class. See also object—oriented
`programming, TCP/IP.
`
`Encapsulated Postscript 11. See EPS.
`
`encapsulated type n. See abstract data type.‘
`
`encapsulation n. 1. In object—oriented programming, the
`packaging of attributes (properties) and functionality
`(methods or behaviors) to create an object that is essen-
`tially a “black box”—one whose internal structure remains
`private and whose services can b.e accessed by other
`objects only through messages passed via a clearly defined
`interface (the programming equivalent of a mailbox or tele»
`phone line). Encapsulation ensures that the object provid-
`ing service can prevent other objects from manipulating its
`data or procedures directly, and it enables the object
`requesting service to ignore the details of how that service
`is provided. See also information hiding. 2. In terms of the
`Year 2000 problem, a method of dealing with dates that
`entails shifting either program logic (data encapsulation) or
`input (program encapsulation) backward into the past, to a
`parallel year that allows the system to avoid Year 2000
`complications. Encapsulation thus allows processing to
`take place in a “time warp” created by shifting to an earlier
`time before processing and—for accuracy—s‘nifting output
`forward by the same number of years to reflect the actual
`date. See data encapsulation, program encapsulation.
`
`encipher vb. See encrypt.
`
`encode vb. 1. See encrypt. 2. In programming, to put
`something into code, which frequently involves changing
`the form——for example, changing a decimal number to
`binary—coded form. Seegalso binary-coded decimal,
`EBCDIC.
`
`encoder n. 1. In general, any hardware or software that
`encodes inforrnation—that is, converts the information to.
`
`a particular form or format. For example, the Windows
`Media Encoder converts audio and video to a form that
`
`can be streamed to clients over a network. 2. In reference
`
`to MP3 digital audio in particular, technology that con-
`verts a WAV audio file into an MP3 file. An MP3 encoder
`
`compresses a sound file to a much smaller size, about
`-- one—twelfth as large as the original, without a perceptible
`drop in quality. Also called: MP3 encoder. See also MP3,
`WAV. Compare rip, ripper.
`-
`
`_m_“[,
`
`"Endkey _
`
`encoding a. 1. See Huffman coding. 2. A method of deal-
`ing with computers with Year 2000 problems that entails
`storing a four—digit year in date fields designed to hold
`only two digits in a program or system. This can be
`accomplished by using the bits associated with the date
`field more efficiently—for example, by converting the
`date field from ASCII to binary or from decimal _to hexa-
`decimal, both of which allow storage of larger values.
`
`encrypt vb. To encode (scramble) information in such a
`way that it is unreadable to all but those individuals pos-
`sessing the key to the code. Encrypted information is
`known as cipher text. Also called: encipher,_encode.
`
`encryption n. The process of encoding data to prevent
`unauthorized access, especially during transmission.
`Encryption is usually based on one or more keys, or codes,
`that are essential for decoding, or returning the data to
`readable form. The U.S. National Bureau of Standards
`
`.
`
`created a complex encryption standard, Data Encryption
`Standard (DES), which is based on a 56-bit variable that
`provides for more than 70 quadrillion unique keys to
`encrypt documents. See also DES.
`
`encryption key :2. A sequence of data that is used to
`encrypt other data and that, consequently, must be used for
`the data’s decryption. See alsodecryption, encryption.
`
`end-around carry n. A special type of end-around shift
`operation on a binary value that treats the carry bit as an
`extra bit; that is, the carry bit is moved from one end of the p
`value to the other. See also carry, end—around shift, shift.
`
`end-around shift n. An operation performed on a binary
`value in which a bit is shifted out of one end and into the
`
`other end. For example, a right—er1d shift on the value
`00101001 yields 10010100. See‘ also shift.
`
`en dash rt. A punctuation mark (—) used to show ranges
`of dates and numbers, as in l990~92, and in compound
`adjectives where one part is hyphenated or consists of two
`words, as in pre—Civil War. The en dash is named after a
`typographical unit of measure, the en space, which is half '
`the width of an em space. See also em space. Compare em _
`dash, hyphen.
`
`'
`
`End key a. A cursor—control key that moves the cursor to
`a certain position, usually to the end of a line, the end of a
`screen, or the end of a file, depending on the program. See _
`the illustration.