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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 Caraloging-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. Computers Dictionaries.
`I. M_icrosofI'. Press computer dictionary.
`QA76.15.M538
`1999
`O04‘.[J3--dc21
`
`99-20168
`CIP
`
`Printed and bound in the United States of America.
`
`3456789 MLl'v'[L. 43210
`
`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 information
`about international editions. contact your local Microsoft Corporation office or contact Microsoft Press
`International directly at fax (425) 9363.829. ‘Visit our Web site at mspress.microsoft,con1.
`
`Macintosh, Power Macintosh, Quick'1‘ime. and TrueType fonts are registered trademarks of Apple Computer,
`Inc. Kodak is a registered trademark of the Eastman Kodak Company. Intel is a registered trademark and [mice
`is a trademark of lntel Corporation. Active Desktop, Active Directory, ActiveMovie, Active Platform, Activex,
`Authenticode. Backflffice, Directlnput, DirectX, Microsoft, Microsoft Press, MS—DOS, MSN, NetMeeting,
`Netshow, Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual J++, WebTV, WebT'V Network, Win32, Win32s, Windows,
`Windows NT, and XENIX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
`United States andfor 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.
`
`Acquisitions Editor: Christey Bahn
`Project Editor: Kim Fryer
`
`0002
`
`

`
`DA :1. See desk accessory.
`
`DAC \dak\ rt. See digital-to-analog converter.
`
`daemon n. A program associated with UNIX systems
`that performs a housekeeping or maintenance utility
`function without being called by the user. A daemon
`sits in the background and is activated only when
`needed, for example, to correct an error from which
`another program cannot recover.
`
`daisy chain‘ n. A set of devices connected in series. In
`order to eliminate conflicting requests to use the chan-
`nel (bus) to which all the devices are connected, each
`device is given a different priority. SCSI (Small Com-
`puter System Interface) and the newer USB (Univer-
`sal Serial Bus] both Support daisy chained devices.
`See also SCSI, USE.
`
`daisy chain‘ vb. To connect a series of devices, one to
`another, like daisies in a chain of flowers.
`
`daisy wheel is. A print element consisting of a set of
`formed characters with each character mounted on a
`separate type bar, all radiating from a center hub.
`See also daisy-wheel printer. thimble, thirnble
`printer.
`
`daisy-wheel printer in. A printer that uses a daisy-
`wheel type element. Daisy-wheel output is crisp and
`slightly imprinted, with fully formed characters resem-
`bling typewriter quality. Daisy-wheel printers were
`standard for high-quality printing until being super-
`seded by laser printers. See also daisy wheel, thimble,
`thimbie printer.
`
`damping n. A technique for preventing overshoot (ex-
`ceeding the desired limit) in the response of a circuit
`or device.
`
`D-AMIPS rt. Acronym for Digital Advanced Mobile
`Phone Service. The digital form of the analog AMPS
`cellular phone service. D—AMI-‘S, sometimes spelled
`DAMPS, differs from AMPS in being digital and in
`tripling the number of available channels by using
`time division multiple access {TDMA] to divide each
`of the 30 AMPS channels into three separate channels.
`See also AMPS, FDMA, TDMA.
`
`DAP \dap\ rt. See Directory Access Protocol.
`dark fiber :2. Unused capacity in fiber-optic communi-
`cations.
`
`Darlington circuit rt An amplifier circuit made of two
`transistors, often mounted in the same housing. The
`collectors of the two transistors are connected, and the
`emitter of the first is connected to the base of the sec-
`ond. Darlington circuits provide high-gain amplifica-
`tion. Also called Darlington pair.
`
`Darlington pair 1'1. See Darlington circuit.
`DARPA \dar’po\ it. See Defense Advanced Research
`Projects Agency.
`
`DARPANET \dar’po-net‘\ :2. Short for Defense Ad-
`vanced Rescarch Projects Agency Network. See
`ARPANET.
`
`DAS :1. See dual attachment station.
`
`DASD \daz'de\ n. Acronym for direct access storage
`device. A data storage device by which information
`can be accessed directly, instead of by passing sequen-
`tially through all storage areas. For example, a disk
`drive is a DASD, but a tape unit is not, because, with
`a tape unit, the data is stored as a linear sequence. See
`also direct access. Compare sequential access.
`
`.1131 n. A generic File extension for a data file.
`DAT \dat\ rt. See digital audio tape, dynamic address
`translation.
`
`data :1. Plural of the Latin datum, meaning an item of
`information. In practice, data is often used for the
`singular as well as the plural form of the noun. Cam-
`pare information.
`data acquisition n. The process of obtaining data from
`another source, usually one outside a specific system.
`
`data aggregate n. A collection of data records. It usu— _
`ally includes a description of the placement of the
`data blocks and their relation to the entire set.
`
`data attribute :1. Structural information about data that
`describes its context and meaning.
`
`-
`
`data bank rt. Any substantial collection of data.
`
`0003
`
`

`
`RAMDAC
`
`raster graphics
`
`RAMDAC \ram’dak\ n. Acronym for random access
`memory digital-to—analog converter. A chip built into
`some VGA and SVGA video adapters that translates
`the digital representation of a pixel into the analog
`information needed by the monitor to display it. The
`presence of a RAMDAC chip generally enhances
`overall video performance. See also SVGA, VGA.
`RAM disk n. Short for random access memory disk.
`A simulated disk drive whose data is actually stored
`in RAM memory. A special program allows the oper-
`ating system to read from and write to the simulated
`device as if it were a disk drive. RAM disks are ex-
`tremely fast, but they require that system memory be
`given up for their use. Also, RAM disks usually use
`volatile memory, so the data stored on them disap-
`pears when power is turned off. Many portables offer
`RAM disks that use battery-backed CMOS RAM to
`avoid this problem. See also CMOS RAM. Compare
`disk cache.
`
`RAM refresh n. See refresh (definition 2).
`
`RAM resident adj. See memory-resident.
`
`RAM-resident program n. See terminate-and-stay-
`resident program.
`
`random adj. Specifically, a reference to an arbitrary
`or unpredictable situation or event. The term is also
`given an extended, pejorative or semi-pejorative
`meaning, however, in which it is used in the sense of
`non—speczfic, arbitrary, incoherent. poorly organized,
`loser, and so on.
`
`random access n. The ability of a computer to find
`and go directly to a particular storage location with-
`out having to search sequentially from the beginning
`location. The human equivalent of random access
`would be the ability to find a desired address in an
`address book without having to proceed sequentially
`through all the addresses. A computer’s semiconduc-
`tor memory (both RAM and ROM) provides random
`access. Certain types of files stored on disk under
`some operating systems also allow random access.
`Such files are best used for data in which each record
`has no intrinsic relationship to what comes physi-
`cally before or after it, as in a client list or an inven-
`tory. Also called direct access. See also RAM. ROM.
`Compare indexed sequential access method, sequen-
`tial access.
`
`random access memory rz. See RAM.
`
`random noise n. A signal in which there is no rela-
`tionship between amplitude and time and in which
`
`many frequencies occur randomly, without pattern or
`predictability.
`random number generation n. Production of an un-
`predictable sequence of numbers in which no number
`is any more likely to occur at a given time or place in
`the sequence than any other. Truly random number
`generation is generally viewed as impossible. The
`process used in computers would be more properly
`called “pseudorandom number generation."
`range n. 1. A block of cells selected for similar treat-
`ment in a spreadsheet. A range of cells can extend
`across a row, down a column, or over a combination
`of the two, but all cells in the range must be contigu-
`ous, sharing at least one common border. Ranges
`allow the user to affect many cells with a single com-
`mand—for example, to format them similarly, enter
`the same data into all of them, give them a name in
`common and treat them as a unit, or select and incor-
`porate them into a formula. 2. In more general usage.
`the spread between specified low and high values.
`Range checking is an important method of validating
`data entered into an application.
`range check n. In programming, a limit check of both
`the upper and lower limits of a value, thus determin-
`ing whether the value lies within an acceptable
`range. See also limit check.
`RARP n. Acronym for Reverse Address Resolution
`Protocol. A TCP/IP protocol for determining the IP
`address (or logical address) of a node on a local area
`network connected to the Internet, when only the
`hardware address (or physical address) is known.
`While RARP refers only to finding the IP address and
`ARP technically refers to the opposite procedure, ARP
`is commonly used for both senses. See also ARP.
`RAS \raz\ n. See remote access server. Remote Access
`Service.
`
`raster n. A rectangular pattern of lines; on a video
`display, the horizontal scan lines from which the
`term raster scan is derived.
`
`raster display n. A video monitor (typically a CRT)
`that displays an image on the screen as a series of
`horizontal scan lines from top to bottom. Each scan
`line consists of pixels that can be illuminated and
`colored individually. Television screens and most
`computer monitors are raster displays. See also CRT,
`pixel. Compare vector display.
`raster graphics n. A method of generating graphics
`that treats an image as a collection of small, indepen-
`
`0004
`
`

`
`_ seed -
`
`selfvorganizlng 'r'n_a'p _-
`
`seed )3. A starting value used in generating a sequence
`of random or pseudorandont numbers. See also ran-
`dom number generation.
`seek it. The process of moving the readfwrite head in
`a disk drive to the proper site, typically for a read or
`write operation.
`seek time n. The time required to move a disk drive’s
`read/write head to a specific location on a disk. See
`also access time (definition 2).
`
`segment :1. A section of a program that, when com-
`piled, occupies a contiguous address space and that is
`usually position independent; that is, it can be loaded
`anywhere in memory. With Intel-based microcomput-
`ers, a native-mode segment is a logical reference to a
`64-—KB contiguous portion of RAM in which the iudi~
`vidual bytes are accessed by means of an offset value.
`Collectively, the segment:ol"fset values reference a
`single physical location in RAM. See also overlay‘
`(definition 1), real mode, segmentation.
`
`segments tion it. The act of breaking up a program
`into several sections, or segments. See also segment.
`
`segmented addressing architecture n. A memory-
`access technique typified by Intel 80x86 processors.
`Memory is divided into 64—KB segments in this at-
`chitecture for addressing locations under the 16-bit
`address scheme; 32-bit schemes can address memory
`in segments as large as 4 GB. Also called segmented
`instruction addressing, segmented memory architec-
`ture. Compare linear addressing architecture.
`
`segmented address space :1. An address space that is
`logically divided into chunks called segments. To
`address a given location, a program must specify
`both a segment and an offset within that segment.
`(The offset is :1 valtte that references a specific point
`within the segment, based on the beginning of the
`segment.) Because segments may overlap, addresses
`are not unique; there are many logical ways to access
`a given physical location. The Intel 80x86 real-mode
`architecture is segmented; most other microprocessor
`architectures are flat. See also segment. Compare flat
`address space.
`segmented instruction addressing it. See segmented
`addressing architecture.
`segmented memory architecture it. See segmented
`addressing architecture.
`select vb. 1. In general computer use. to specify a
`block of data or text on screen by highlighting it or
`
`otherwise marking it with the intent of performing
`some operation on it. 2. In database management, to
`choose records according to a specified set of crite-
`ria. See also sort. 3. In information processing, to
`choose from a number of options or alternatives,
`such as subroutines or inputloutput channels.
`selected cell
`it. See active cell.
`
`selection n. 1. In applications, the highlighted portion
`of an on—screen document. 2.. In communications, the
`initial contact made between a computer and a remote
`station receiving a message. 3. In programming. a con-
`ditional branch. See also conditional branch.
`
`selective calling n. The capability of a station on a
`communications line to designate the station that is
`to receive a transmission.
`
`selector channel it. An inputloutput data transfer line
`used by one high-speed device at a time.
`selector pen rt. See light pen.
`self—adapting aclj. The ability of systems, devices, or
`processes to adjust their operational behavior to envi-
`ronmental conditions.
`
`self-checking digit :1. A digit, appended to a number
`during its encoding, whose function is to confinn
`the accuracy of the encoding. See also checksum,
`parity hit.
`self-clocking it. A process in which timing signals are
`inserted into a data stream rather than being provided
`by an external source, such as in phase encoding.
`self-documenting code rt. Program source code that,
`through its use of a high—level language and descrip-
`tive identiiiers, can be understood by other program-
`mers without the nced for additional comments.
`
`self-extracting archive it. See self-extracting file.
`
`self—extracting file it. An executable program file that
`contains one or more compressed text or data files.
`When a user runs the program, it uncompresses the
`contpressed files and stores them on the user's hard
`drive. See the illustration.
`
`self-modifying code :1. Program code, usually object
`code generated by a compiler or assembler, that
`modifies itself during instmction by writing new op-
`eration codcs, addresses. or data values over existing
`instructions. See also pure procedure.
`self-monitoring analysis and reporting technology
`system it. See SMART system.
`self-organizing map it. See SOM (definition 2).
`
`401
`
`0005