IEEE Standard Computer Dictionary
`A Compilation of IEEE Standard Computer
`Glossaries
`
`610
`
`Sponsor
`Standards Coordinating Committee
`of the
`IEEE Computer Society
`
`Abstract: IEEE Standard Computer Dictionary: A Compilation of IEEE Standard Computer
`Glossaries, identifies terms currently in use in the computer field. Standard definitions for those
`terms are established.
`Keywords: Glossary; terminology; definitions; dictionary.
`
`Library of Congress Catalog Number 90-086306
`
`ISBN 1-55937-079-3
`
`Copyright © 1990 by
`The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
`345 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017, USA
`No part of this document may be reproduced in any form,
`in an electronic retrieval system or otherwise,
`without the prior written permission of the publisher.
`
`Ex. 2006
`Page 1 of 4
`
`

`

`COMPILATION OF IEEE STANDARD COMPUTER GLOSSARIES
`
`tolerance discipline. I n common usage,
`the terms "error" and "bug" are used to
`express t h i s meaning. See also: data-
`sensitive fault; program sensitive fault;
`equivalent faults; fault masking; intermit-
`tent fault.
`[
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`fault dictionary. A list of faults in a system or
`component, and the tests that have been
`designed to detect them.
`[ 6 1 0 . 1 2 1
`fault masking. A condition in which one fault
`prevents the detection of another. [610.121
`fault secure. Pertaining to a system or compo-
`nent in which no failures are produced from
`a prescribed set of faults. See also: fault
`tolerance; fail safe; fail soft. [ 6 1 0 . 1 2 ]
`fault seeding. See: error seeding. [ 6 1 0 . 1 2 ]
`fault tolerance. (1) The ability of a system or
`component to continue normal operation
`despite the presence of hardware or software
`faults. See also: error tolerance; fail safe;
`fail soft; fault secure; robustness. [610.121
`(2) The number o f faults a system o r
`component can withstand before normal
`operation is impaired.
`[ 6 1 0 . 1 2 1
`(3) Pertaining to the study of errors, faults,
`and failures, and of methods for enabling
`systems to continue normal operation in the
`presence of faults. See also: recovery (2);
`redundancy; restart. [ 6 1 0 . 1 2 a ]
`fault tolerant. Pertaining to a system or com-
`ponent that is able to continue normal opera-
`tion despite the presence of faults. [610.121
`fax. Abbreviation for facsimile. [ 6 1 0 . 2 a ]
`IVA. Acronym for functional configuration
`audit.
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`FCFS. Acronym for first-come, first-served.
`See: first-in, first-out.
`[ 6 1 0 . 5 ]
`FE. Acronym for format effector char-
`acter.
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`feasibility. The degree to which the require-
`ments, design, or plans for a system or
`component can b e implemented under
`existing constraints.
`[ 6 1 0 . 1 2 1
`
`feature. (1) In pattern recognition, an attribute
`of a pattern that may contribute to pattern
`classification; for example, size, texture, or
`shape.
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`(2) See: software feature. [ 6 1 0 . 1 2 8 ]
`feature extraction. A step in pattern recog-
`nition, i n which measurements or obser-
`vations are processed to find attributes that
`can be used to assign patterns to pattern
`classes.
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`feature space. In pattern recognition, a set of
`all possible n-tuples (xi, x2, x n ) that can
`be used to represent n features of a pattern.
`See also: measurement space. [ 6 1 0 . 4 ]
`feedback. That portion of the output of a control
`system used as input for another phase of the
`system, particularly f o r self-correcting,
`self-regulating, or control purposes, as in
`closed-loop control.
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`feedback control. See: closed-loop control.
`[610.21
`F E F O . Acronym for first-ended, f i r s t -
`out
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`fetch. To locate and load computer instruc-
`tions or data from storage. See also: move;
`store.
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`FF. Acronym for form feed character. [610.5]
`Fibonacci n u m b e r. A n integer i n the
`Fibonacci series.
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`Fibonacci search. A dichotomizing search in
`which, at each step in the search, the set of
`items is partitioned in accordance with the
`Fibonacci series. For example, a set of 8
`items is partitioned to 5 and 3, the subset of 5
`is partitioned to 3 and 2, and so on. I f the
`number of items in the original set is other
`than a Fibonacci number, the next higher
`Fibonacci number is used to partition the set.
`Contrast with: binary search; interpolation
`search.
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`Fibonacci s e r i e s . A series o f integers
`formulated by the Italian mathematician
`Leonardo Fibonacci, in which each integer
`is equal to the sum of the two preceding
`
`87
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`Ex. 2006
`Page 2 of 4
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`

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`IEEE STANDARD COMPUTER DICTIONARY
`
`list sorting. A sorting technique in which the
`items to be sorted form a linked list and the
`links between the items i n the list are
`manipulated in such a way that, in the final
`list, the items form a linked list in sorted
`order. See also: address table sorting; key
`sorting.
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`list structure. (1) A list, each item of which is
`either a single data item or a list structure
`itself.
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`(2) A data structure that contains one or
`more lists. Syn: compound list. L 6 1 0 . 5 1
`literal. (1) Composed of characters, as in a
`literal variable name used t o contain a
`customer's name.
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`(2) I n a source program, a n explicit
`representation of the value of an item; for
`example, the word FAIL in the instruction:
`If x = 0 then p r i n t "FAIL". See a l s o :
`immediate data; figurative constant[610.12]
`load. (1) To read machine code into main
`memory in preparation for execution and,
`in some cases, to perform address adjust-
`ment and linking o f modules. See also:
`loader.
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`(2) To copy computer instructions or data
`from external storage to internal storage or
`from internal storage to registers. Contrast
`with: store (2). See also: fetch; move. [610.12]
`(3) To insert data values into a database that
`previously contained no data. Syn: populate.
`See also: download; upload. [ 6 1 0 . 5 ]
`load-and-go. An operating technique in which
`there are no stops between the loading
`and execution phases o f a computer pro-
`gram.
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`loaded origin. The address of the initial
`storage location of a computer program at the
`time t h e program i s loaded i n t o main
`memory. Contrast with: assembled origin.
`See also: offset (1); starting address. [610.121
`loader. (1) A computer program that reads
`machine code i n t o m a i n memory i n
`preparation for execution and, i n some
`cases, adjusts the addresses and links the
`modules. Types include absolute loader,
`linking loader, relocating loader. See also:
`bootstrap; linkage editor. [ 6 1 0 . 1 2 ]
`
`(2) Any program that reads programs or
`data into main memory.
`[ 6 1 0 . 1 2 ]
`loading factor. (1) The maximum amount of
`usable space i n a physical block after
`accounting for block overhead. [ 6 1 0 . 5 ]
`(2) The ratio of the number of stored entities
`in a file to the maximum number of entries
`that can be stored in a unit of data medium.
`[610.5]
`load map. A computer-generated list that
`identifies t h e location o r size o f all o r
`selected parts of memory-resident code or
`data.
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`load m o d u l e . A computer program o r
`subprogram in a form suitable for loading
`into m a i n storage f o r execution b y a
`computer; usually the output of a linkage
`editor. See also: object module. [ 6 1 0 . 1 2 ]
`local compaction. I n microprogramming,
`compaction in which microoperations are
`not moved beyond the boundaries of the
`single entry, single exit sequential blocks
`in which they occur. Contrast with: global
`compaction.
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`local data. Data that can be accessed by only
`one module or set of nested modules in a
`computer program. Contrast with: global
`data.
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`local variable. A variable that can be accessed
`by only one module or set of nested modules
`in a computer program. Contrast w i t h :
`global variable.
`[ 6 1 0 _ 1 2 ]
`lock. (1) To exclude users from updating data
`that i s being updated b y another user.
`Note: Depending on the implementation,
`locking may occur on a field, record or an
`entire file. See also: deadlock; exclusive
`lock.
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`(2) To exclude users from accessing data.
`Syn: field-locking; file-locking; record-
`locking.
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`locking. In code extension characters, having
`the characteristic that a change in interpre-
`tation applies to all coded representations
`following, or to all coded representations of
`a given class, until the next appropriate code
`
`122
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`Ex. 2006
`Page 3 of 4
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`

`

`IEEE STANDARD COMPUTER DICTIONARY
`
`storage allocation. An element of computer
`resource allocation, consisting of assigning
`storage areas to specific jobs and perform-
`ing related procedures, such as transfer of
`data between main and auxiliary storage, to
`support the assignments made. See also:
`buffer; contiguous allocation; cyclic search;
`memory compaction; overlay; paging; vir-
`tual storage.
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`storage breakpoint. See: data breakpoint.
`[610.12]
`storage capacity. The maximum number of
`items that can be held in a given storage
`device; usually measured in words or bytes.
`See also: channel capacity; m e m o r y
`capacity.
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`storage efficiency. The degree to which a
`system or component performs its desig-
`nated functions with minimum consump-
`tion of available storage. See also: execution
`efficiency.
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`storage location. An area in a storage device
`that can be explicitly and uniquely specified
`by means of an address.
`[ 6 1 0 . 5 ]
`storage schema. In a CODASYL database,
`statements expressed i n d a t a storage
`definition language that describe storage
`areas, stored records, and any associated
`indices and access paths supporting the
`records and sets defined by a given schema.
`See also: CODASYL database. [ 6 1 0 . 5 ]
`storage stack See: stack
`[ 6 1 0 . 5 ]
`storage structure. (1) The manner in which
`data structures are represented in storage.
`[610.51
`(2) The configuration of a database resident
`on computer storage devices after mapping
`the data elements of the logical structure of
`the database onto their respective physical
`counterparts. Note: The relationships and
`associations that provide the physical means
`for accessing the information stored in the
`database are preserved.
`[ 6 1 0 . 5 ]
`store. (1) To place or retain data in a storage
`device.
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`(2) To copy computer instructions or data
`from a register to internal storage or from
`
`internal storage to external storage. Con-
`trast with: load (2); retrieve. See also: fetch;
`move.
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`stored paragraph. See: boilerplate text. [610.2]
`stored record. See: internal record. [ 6 1 0 . 5 ]
`straight binary. See: binary. [ 6 1 0 . 1 1
`straight insertion sort. See: insertion sort.
`[610.5]
`straight-line code. A sequence of computer
`instructions in which there are no loops.
`[610.12]
`straight-line coding. A programming tech-
`nique in which loops are avoided by stating
`explicitly and in full all of the instructions
`that would be involved in the execution of
`each loop. See also: unwind. [ 6 1 0 . 1 2 ]
`straight line sort. See: linear sort. [ 6 1 0 . 5 ]
`straight radix sort. A radix sort in which
`items are sorted repeatedly on successive
`digits within the numeric representation of
`the sort key, starting with the least signifi-
`cant digit.
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`straight selection sort. See: selection sort.
`[610.5]
`straight two-way merge sort. A variation of the
`natural two-way merge sort in which the set
`to be sorted is repeatedly divided into two
`ordered subsets of length 2 to the power of k,
`where k is the number of passes made so far.
`Contrast with: natural two-way merge sort.
`[610.5]
`stratified language. A language that cannot be
`used as its own metalanguage. Examples
`include FORTRAN, COBOL. Contrast with:
`unstratified language.
`[ 6 1 0 . 1 2 ]
`stress testing. Testing conducted to evaluate a
`system or component at or beyond the limits
`of its specified requirements. See also:
`boundary value.
`[ 6 1 0 . 1 2 ]
`string. (1) A sequence of bits, characters, or
`other entities; for example, the bit string
`
`192
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`Ex. 2006
`Page 4 of 4
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