`
`Microsoft
`
`Cpmputer
`Dictionary
`Fifth Edition
`
`5
`
`INTEL 1218
`
`INTEL 1218
`
`1
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`

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`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
`004’.03—-dc21
`
`2002
`
`200219714
`
`Body Part No. X08—4 l 929
`
`Active Desktop, Active Directory, ActiveMovie, ActiveStore, ActiveSync, ActiveX, Authenticode,
`BackOffice, BizTalk, ClearType, Direct3D, DirectAnimation, DirectDraw, Directlnput, DirectMusic,
`DirectPlay, DirectShow, DirectSound, DirectX, Entourage, FoxPro, FrontPage. Hotmail, IntelliEye,
`IntelliMouse, lntelliSense, JScript, MapPoint, Microsoft, Microsoft Press, Mobile Explorer, MS-DOS,
`MSN, Music Central, NetMeeting, Outlook, PhotoDraw, PowerPoint, SharePoint. UltimateTV, Visio,
`Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual FoxPro, Visual lnterDev, 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.
`
`Printed and bound in the United States of America.
`
`23456789 QWT 765432
`
`Distributed in Canada by HE. Penn and Company Ltd.
`
`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 mspinput@microsqft.com.
`
`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
`
`2
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`oncurrent.
`
`S (definition 2).
`acteristic of a
`that reduces the
`haracters closer
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`lot-matrix print-
`. reduce the
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`ser together,
`igle line. Com—
`
`a variable (for
`r false, or equal
`
`acteristic of an
`)1’1 whether or
`
`clean expres-
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`inch instruction
`le is true or
`1 to low—level
`1dition code.
`
`ipilation or
`sed on certain
`
`)f a program
`tpiled only if-a
`:on time. See
`
`xpression.
`instruction that
`true or false.
`N-iCVCi lan—
`ruction.
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`g-language
`sed on whether
`3, the IF state-
`, IF statement,
`
`low of execu—
`on whether a
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`ally used in
`)nditional
`
`ire set on (i, or
`ous machine
`
`ssembly or
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`machine language situations. Condition codes are hard-
`ware~specific but usually include carry, overflow, zero
`result, and negative result codes. See also conditional
`branch.
`
`conditioning n. The use of special equipment to improve
`the ability of a communications line to transmit data. Con-
`ditioning controls or compensates for signal attenuation,
`noise, and distortion It can be used only on leased lines,
`where the path from sending to receiving computer is
`known in advance.
`
`conductor 11. A substance that conducts electricity well.
`Metals are good conductors, with silver and gold being
`among the best. The most commonly used conductor is
`copper. Compare insulator, semiconductor.
`
`Conference on Data Systems Languages n. See
`CODASYL.
`
`CONFiG.SYS n. A special text file that controls certain
`aspects of operating—system behavior in MS—DOS and
`08/2. Commands in the CONFIGSYS tile enable or dis—
`
`able system features, set limits on resources (for example,
`the maximum number of open files), and extend the oper—
`ating system by loading device drivers that control hard—
`ware speciiic to an individual computer system.
`
`configuration it. 1. In reference to a single microcom—
`puter, the sum of a system’s internal and external compo—
`nents, including memory, disk drives, keyboard, video,
`and generally less critical add«on hardware, such as a
`mouse, modem, or printer. Software (the operating system
`and various device drivers), the user’s choices established
`through configuration files such as the AUTOEXECBAT
`and CONFIGSYS tiles on IBM PCs and compatibles, and
`sometimes hardware (switches and jumpers) are needed to
`“configure the configuration” to work correctly. Although
`system configuration can be Changed, as by adding more
`memory or disk capacity, the basic structure of the sys-
`tem—«its architecturewremains the same. See also
`AUTOEXECBAT, CONFIGSYS. 2. In relation to net—
`works, the entire interconnected set of hardware, or the
`way in which a network is laid out—~the manner in which
`elements are connected.
`
`configuration file It. A file that contains machine—read
`able operating specifications for a piece of hardware or
`software or that contains information on another file or on
`
`a specific user, such as the user’s logon ID.
`
`congestion n. The condition of a network when the cur—
`rent load approaches or exceeds the available resources
`and bandwidth designed to handle that load at a particular
`
`location in the network. Packet loss and delays are associ—
`ated with congestion.
`
`connect charge )1. The amount of money a user must
`pay for connecting to a commercial communications sys—
`tem or service. Some services calculate the connect charge
`as a flat rate per billing period. Others charge a varying
`rate based on the type of service or the amount of informa«
`tion being accessed. Still others base their charges on the
`number of time units used, the time or distance involved
`per connection, the bandwidth of each connected session,
`or some combination of the preceding criteria. See also
`connect time.
`
`connection It. A physical link via wire, radio, fiberoptic
`cable, or other medium between two or more communicae
`tions devices.
`
`connection-based session n. A communications ses- _
`sion that requires a connection to be established between
`hosts prior to an exchange of data.
`
`connectionism n. A model in artificial intelligence that
`advocates using highly parallel, specialized processes that
`compute simultaneously and are massively connected.
`Thus, the connectionist approach would not use a single
`high~speed processor to compute an algorithm, but would
`break out many simple specialized processing elements
`that are highly connected. Neural networks are classic
`examples of connectionism in that each “neuron” in the
`network may be assigned to a single processor. See also
`algorithm, artificial intelligence, neural network.
`
`connectionless adj. In communications, of, pertaining
`to, or characteristic of a method of data transmission that
`does not require a direct connection between two nodes on
`one or more networks. Connectionless communication is
`
`achieved by passing, or routing, data packets. each of
`which contains a source and destination address, through
`the nodes until the destination is reached. See also node
`
`(definition 2). packet (definition 2). Compare connection—
`oriented.
`
`connectionless session n. A communications session
`
`that does not require a connection to be established
`between hosts prior to an exchange of data.
`
`connection-oriented adj. In communications, of, per-
`taining to, or characteristic of a method of data transmis—
`sion that requires a direct connection between two nodes
`on one or more networks. Compare connectionless.
`
`connection pooling n. A resource optimization feature
`of ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) 3 that results in
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