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 maybe reproduced or transmutted in any form
`or by any means without the written permussion of the publisher.
`
`Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
`Microsoft Computer Dictionary.--5th ed_
`p. cm
`ISBN 0-7356-1495-4
`
`1. Computers--Dictionaries.
`
`2. Microcomputers—-Dictionaries.
`
`AQ76.5.M52267
`004°.03—dce21
`
`2002
`
`200219714
`
`Printed and bound in the United States of America.
`
`23456789 QW 765432
`
`Distributed in Canada by HB. Fenn and Company Ltd.
`
`ACIP 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.com.
`
`Active Desktop, Active Directory, ActiveMovie, ActiveStore, ActiveSync, ActiveX, Authenticode,
`BackOffice, BizTalk, ClearType, Direct3D, DirectAnimation, DirectDraw, DirectInput, DirectMusic.,
`DirectPlay, DirectShow, DirectSound, DirectX®, Entourage, FoxPro, FrontPage, Hotmail, IntelliEye,
`IntelliMouse, Intellisense, JScript, MapPoint, Microsoft, Microsoft Press, Mobile Explorer, MS-DO5,
`MSN, Music Central, NetMeeting, Outlook, PhotoDraw, PowerPoint, SharePoint, UltimateTV, Visio,
`Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual FoxPro, Visual InterDev, 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 compames, orgamizations, products, domam names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places,
`and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real company, orgamization, product,
`domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or should be inferred.
`
`Acquisitions Editer: Alex Blanton
`Project Editor: Sandra Haynes
`
`Body Part No. X08-41929
`
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`insider attack
`
`instruction set
`
`Insider attack n. An attack on a network or system car-
`ried out by an individual associated with the hacked sys-
`tem. Insider attacks are typically the work of current or
`former employees of a company or organization who have
`Knowledge of passwords and network vulnerabilities.
`Compare intruder attack.
`
`Ins Key n. See Insert key.
`
`Install vb. To set in place and prepare for operation. Oper-
`aling systems and application programs commonly
`include a disk-based installation, or setup, program that
`does most of the work of preparing the program to work
`with the computer, printer, and other devices. Often such a
`program can check for devices attached to the system,
`request the user to choose fromsets of options, create a
`place for the program on the hard disk, and modify system
`startup files as necessary.
`Installable device driver nm. A device driver that can be
`
`embedded within an operating system, usually in order to
`override an existing, less-functional service.
`
`Installable File System Manager a. In Windows 9x
`and Windows 2000, the part of the file system architecture
`responsible for arbitrating access to the different file sys-
`tem components. Acronym: IFS.
`
`Installation program ni. A program whose function is to
`install another program, either on a storage medium orin
`memory. An installation program, also called a setup pro-
`gram, might be used to guide a user through the often
`complex process of setting up an application for a particu-
`lar combination of machine, printer, and monitor.
`
`Installer «2. A program, provided with the Apple Macin-
`tosh operating system, that allows the user to install sys-
`tem upgrades and make bootable (system) disks.
`
`Instance #. An object, in object-oriented programming,
`in relation to the class to which it belongs. For example, an
`object ntyList that belongs to a class List is an instance of
`the class List. See also class, instance variable, instantiate,
`object (definition 2).
`Instance varlable nv. A variable associated with an
`
`instance of a class (an object). If a class defines a certain
`variable, each instance of the class has its own copy ofthat
`variable. See also class, instance, object (definition 2),
`object-oriented programming.
`Instantlate vb. To create an instance of a class. See also
`
`class, instance, object (definition 2).
`
`Instant messaging n. A service that alerts users when
`friends or colleagues are on line and allows them to com-
`municate with each other in real time through private
`online chat areas. With instant messaging, a user creates a
`list of other users with whom he or she wishes to commu-
`nicate; when a user from his or her list is on line, the ser-
`vice alerts the user and enables immediate contact with the
`
`other user. While instant messaging has primarily been a
`proprietary service offered by Internet service providers
`such as AOL and MSN,businesses are starting to employ
`instant messaging to increase employee efficiency and
`make expertise more readily available to employees.
`
`Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers n.
`See TEEE.
`
`Instruction #. An action statement in any computer lan-
`guage, most often in machine or assemblylanguage. Most
`programs consist of two types of statements: declarations
`and instructions. See also declaration, statement.
`
`Instructlon code n. See operation code.
`
`Instruction counter #. See instruction register.
`
`Instruction cycle nv. The cycle in which a processor
`retrieves an instruction from memory, decodes it, and car-
`ries it out. The time required for an instruction cycle is the
`sum of the instruction (fetch) time and the execution
`(translate and execute) time and is measured by the num-
`ber of clock ticks (pulses of a processor's internal timer)
`consumed.
`
`Instruction mix nv. The assortment of types of instruc-
`tions contained in a program, such as assignment instruc-
`tions, mathematical instructions(floating-point or
`integer), control instructions, and indexing instructions.
`Knowledge of instruction mixes is important to designers
`of CPUs because it tells them which instructions should be
`
`shortened to yield the greatest speed, and to designers of
`benchmarks because it enables them to make the bench-
`marks relevant to real tasks.
`
`Instruction pointer a. See program counter.
`
`Instruction register . A register in a central processing
`unit that holds the address of the next instruction to be
`executed.
`
`Instruction set #. The set of machine instructions that a
`
`processor recognizes and can execute. See alse assembler,
`microcode.
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