Industry Terminology
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Access Provider – The company that provides Internet access and, in some cases, an online account on their computer system.
ACL – Access Control List.
Active Window – The top or front window in a multiple window environment.
A/D Converter – A device used to convert analog data to digital data. Analog data is continuously variable, while digital data contains discrete steps.
Address – Number or bit pattern that uniquely identifies a location in library memory. Every location has a distinct address.
ADSL – Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line. A technology for wideband transmissions over a single twisted copper pair which allows a telephone line to handle high-speed data such as VCR-quality interactive television and video transmissions.
Aggregation Techniques – The essence of B-to-B. B-to-C aggregates buyers. B-to-B aggregates both buyers and sellers. The more effective you are at aggregation, the more likely the hub is to reach critical mass. Aggregation techniques are the basis for B-to-B design.
AIT - Advanced Intelligent Tape. A Sony-developed 8-millimeter technology that includes a 16-kb EEP-ROM chip in the cassette that indexes file locations, enabling faster access to data. Uses advanced metal evaporated media.
AIX – Advanced Interactive Executive – IBM’s version of Unix.
Align - To make things line up, either vertically or horizontally.
Analog – Continuously variable signals or data.
Anonymous FTP – Sites on the Internet that allows anyone to connect and transfer files from their public directories. They form the backbone of the transfer for Internet users.
ANSI - American National Standards Institute, a United States based organization which develops standards and defines interfaces for telecommunications amongst other things.
Applet – A dynamic and interactive program that can run inside a World Wide Web page displayed by a Java-capable browser.
API – Applications Program Interface. A set of programming functions and routines that provide access between protocol layers, such as between an application and network services.
ARP – Address Resolution Protocol. Used to dynamically discover the low-level physical network hardware address that corresponds to the high level IP address for a given host. ARP is limited to physical network systems that support broadcast packets that can be heard by all hosts on the network.
Array – A group of storage devices controlled in such a way as to provide higher data transfer rates, higher availability, or both. The array is treated as a single volume by the operating system.
ASC – - Additional Sense Codes. Further categorizes the error.
ASCII – American (National) Standard Code for Information Interchange. A seven-bit binary code standardized by ANSI for use by personal computers and some mainframes to represent alphanumeric and graphical characters.
ASCQ - Additional Sense Code Qualifiers. Returns more information about the error.
ASP (Application Service Provider) - ASPs strive to reduce a company's burden by installing, managing and maintaining software for their customers. The software is usually leased on a per seat basis.
ASPI - Advanced SCSI Programming Interface a standard way for application programs to access SCSI hardware. See SCSI.
Associate – Linking a document with the program that created it so that both can be opened with a single command.
ATL – Automated Tape Library. A tape cartridge storage device that includes a mechanism for unattended mounting and demounting of cartridges. ATLs can improve productivity, reduce costly tape-mount and pick-volume errors and provide a real-time tape-volume tracking system.
ATM – Asynchronous Transfer Mode. LAN/WAN technology using 53-byte fixed size cell relay transport technology, running at speeds of 150 Mbps and up. Particularly suited to sending video and audio information, as well as text.
AV – Audio-Visual.
Availability – The probability that a system is available at a given instant. In the context of a server, this function expresses the expected percentage of time a system is available to respond to client requests.