PREVIOUS PAGE Return to ANSDIT
- connectability:
- A capability of a system or device to be attached to other systems or devices without modification.
- connect duration:
- The length of time that a terminal is connected and able to communicate with a computer. Contrast with connect time.
- connected-words recognition:
- Synonym for continuous-speech recognition.
- connection:
- (1) An association established between functional units for data transmission. (2) In programming languages, a technique that enables interaction among modules, particularly procedure-call statements to asynchronous procedures. (3) In OSI architecture, a cooperative relationship established by a given layer between two or more entities of the next higher layer for the purpose of data transfer.
- connectionism:
- An interdisciplinary approach to artificial intelligence where complex computations are carried out by a network of simple processing elements, each of which is connected to a great number of other elements, and which exchange simple messages, and where parallel processing occurs among a great number of such elements. Connectionism is inspired by the operation of biological neural systems such as the human brain. Synonymous with connection science.
- connectionist learning:
- Learning through changes in the connection weights of artificial neurons in a artificial neural network.
- connectionist model:
- A computational model based on connectionism. Connectionist models are, for instance, applied in knowledge representation, pattern recognition, computer vision, natural language understanding, learning, and motion control.
- connectionless-mode transmission:
- The transmission of a single unit of data from a source service access point to one or more destination service access points without establishing a connection. Synonymous with connectionless transmission.
- connectionless transmission:
- Synonym for connectionless-mode transmission.
- connection-mode transmission:
- The transmission of units of data from a source service access point to one or more destination service access points by means of a connection. The connection is established prior to data transfer and released following data transfer. Synonymous with connection-oriented transmission.
- connection-oriented transmission:
- Synonym for connection-mode transmission.
- connection science:
- Synonym for connectionism.
- connection strength:
- Synonym for connection weight.
- connection updates per second (CUPS):
- The number of neural connection updates per second in the learning mode.
- connection weight:
- In artificial neural networks, a coefficient that multiplies an input value of an artificial neuron before it is combined with other input values. Synonymous with connection strength.
- connectivity:
- (1) The capability of a system or device to be attached to a given computer network. (2) A property of a computer network in which it is always possible to connect any two devices. (3) The degree to which elements of a network are connected by direct branches. For example, a fully connected network has a direct branch between any two nodes. (Figure 43 - Network topologies).
- connectivity analysis:
- In computer graphics, image analysis using a technique for segmenting binary images based on pixel adjacency. Connectivity analysis is used for isolating pixel blobs. In a rectangular pixel grid, connectivity is defined as either 4-sided or 8-sided. In a 4-sided connection, analysis is made relative to each of the four neighboring pixels.
- connector:
- A flowchart symbol that represents a break in a flowline and that indicates where the flowline is continued.
- connect time:
- Any part of the time in which a terminal is connected and able to communicate with a computer. Contrast with connect duration.
- consecutive:
- Pertaining to two or more processes in which one event must finish before another begins. Contrast with sequential.
- consistent generalization:
- A concept generalization that includes some or all positive examples of a conceptual class and that excludes all negative examples of that class.
- console:
- Abridged term for operator console.
- constant:
- A quadruple, established by a declaration or an implicit declaration, that consists of an identifier, a set of data attributes, one or more addresses, and only one data value.
- constant function:
- The function that allows a number to be entered and held in a calculator for repeated use.
- constraint:
- An adaptation of a data type that restricts its value or operations.
- constraint-based generalization:
- A concept generalization that satisfies the constraints on concepts used to explain a given fact or event.
- constraint rule:
- A rule that limits a search to a designated portion of the problem space.
- constructive solid geometry:
- Solid modeling in which simple primitives are combined by means of regularized Boolean set operators that are included directly in the representation. (Figure 14 - Constructive solid geometry).
- consultation:
- The online interaction between an expert system or a knowledge-based system and a user seeking assistance.
- contact bounce:
- An unwanted making and breaking of the connection while opening or closing a contact.
- contact input:
- A binary input generated by opening or closing a switch. The switch could be either mechanical or electronic.
- contact interrogation signal:
- A signal whose value indicates whether a contact is open or closed.
- contact protection:
- Protection of a mechanical contact against overcurrent or overvotage.
- contamination:
- In security, the introduction of data of one security classification or security category into data of a lower security classification or different security category.
- content:
- In electronic mail, the part of a message that the message transfer system neither examines nor modifies, except for conversion, during the transmittal of the message. In some types of messages, the content consists of a heading and a body.
- content-addressable memory:
- Synonym for associative storage.
- content-addressable storage:
- Synonym for associative storage.
- content coupling:
- Coupling in which one module refers to or changes the code of another module.
- content hosting:
- Storage and management of databases by a content provider. Synonymous with hosting.
- contention:
- A condition arising when two or more data stations attempt to transmit at the same or overlapping time over the same transmission channel.
- content provider:
- An organization that creates and maintains databases containing information from an information provider. The content provider and the information provider may be the same organization.
- content type:
- The part of the header identifying the syntax and semantics of the overall content; for example: plaintext, ASN.1, SGML.
- contextual analysis:
- The process of identifying an object by known factors governing its appearance in a particular context.
- contiguous-words recognition:
- Recognition of spoken word sequences separated by pauses coming in addition to those of normal speech situations.
- contingency plan:
- A plan for backup procedures, emergency response, and post-disaster recovery. Synonymous with disaster plan, disaster recovery plan.
- contingency procedure:
- A procedure that is an alternative to the normal path of a process if an unusual but anticipated situation occurs.
- continuation test:
- In a loop control, the test in which a TRUE condition indicates that the iteration should continue; the FALSE condition indicates that the iteration should terminate. For example, in Pascal, the loop-control variable for a continuation test is in the "while" clause.
- continuous branching:
- In an interactive medium presentation, a feature allowing a user to modify a program at any point rather than only at specific branching points.
- continuous forms:
- Blank paper or forms fed through a printer continuously. Synonymous with continuous forms paper.
- continuous forms paper:
- Synonym for continuous forms.
- continuous image:
- Deprecated synonym for analog image.
- continuous-speech recognition:
- Recognition of utterances in normal speech situations.
- continuous-tone printer:
- Synonym for dye-sublimation printer.
- contour:
- A set of points having the same value of a given attribute and forming a line that may serve as a boundary of an area. A contour can be displayed as a set of highlighted points.
- contraction:
- A geometrical operation that decreases the size of a object.
- contrast:
- Difference in luminance between light and dark areas of an image. Contrast is usually expressed as a ratio.
- contrast enhancement:
- Any image-processing operation that improves the contrast of an image.
- contrast ratio:
- Ratio between the maximum and minimum luminance values.
- contrast shrinking:
- Image processing that involves multiplying each pixel value by a factor less than one.
- contrast stretching:
- Image processing that involves multiplying each pixel value by a factor greater than one.
- contrast transfer function (CTF):
- A measure of the response of a vision system to a square-wave where its limits are the contrast range. This response may be used to estimate the resolution.
- control area:
- (1) A storage area used by a program to hold control information. (Figure 27 - Frame in data communication).
(2) Synonym for control zone.
- control ball:
- Synonym for trackball.
- control breakpoint:
- Synonym for code breakpoint.
- control bus:
- A bus carrying the signals that regulate system operations.
- control character:
- A character whose purpose is to effect format, to control data transmission, or to perform other control functions. A control character, although it is not a graphic character, may have a graphic representation.
- control coupling:
- Coupling in which one module passes data to another module for the explicit purpose of influencing the operation of the latter module.
- control flow:
- A path the execution sequence may take through a program. An abstraction of all the control flows can be represented by a control flow diagram.
- control flow diagram:
- A diagram that depicts the set of all possible sequences in which operations may be performed during the execution of a system or program. Synonymous with control flow graph.
- control flow graph:
- Synonym for control flow diagram.
- control-flow trace:
- Synonym for execution trace.
- control frame:
- A frame sent by a layer or a sublayer to an entity of the same layer or sublayer in another system but not passed to higher layers or sublayers. For example, a medium access control frame.
- control language:
- Synonym for command language.
- controlled access system (CAS):
- A means of automating physical access control; for example, the use of magnetic-striped badges, smart cards, biometric readers.
- controlled maintenance:
- Maintenance intended to sustain a desired quality of service in order to minimize preventive maintenance and to reduce corrective maintenance.
- control program:
- A program designed to schedule and to supervise the execution of programs in a data processing system.
- control station:
- In basic mode link control, the data station that nominates the master station and supervises polling, selecting, interrogating, and recovery procedures.
- control track:
- A track containing the data on media parameters and format necessary for writing, reading and erasing the remaining tracks on the optical disk.
- control zone:
- A zone of an optical disk that contains control tracks. Synonymous with control area.
- conversational:
- Pertaining to a operating mode of a functional unit in which a user and a functional unit exchange a sequence of related entries and responses in a manner similar to a dialog between two people.
- convert:
- To change the representation of data from one form to another, without changing the information conveyed. For example, code conversion, radix conversion; analog to digital conversion, media conversion.
- convex programming:
- In operations research, a particular case of nonlinear programming in which the function to be maximized or minimized and the constraints are appropriately convex or concave functions of the controllable variables.
- convolve:
- In virtual reality, to filter and intertwine signals and render a three-dimensional perception.
- cookie:
- A record created by a Web server, stored on a user's storage device, and accessed by the Web server in order to facilitate subsequent communication.
- cooperative multitasking:
- A form of multitasking in which it is the responsibility of the currently running task to periodically and voluntarily give up the processor to allow other tasks to run.
- coordinate graphics:
- Computer graphics in which display images are composed entirely of line segments. Synonymous with line graphics.
- copresence:
- Synonym for electronic copresence.
- coprocessor:
- (1) A processor that does additional functions or assists the main processor; for example: a floating-point processor. (2) A processor that extends the functionality of a main processor and performs some special functions faster than the main processor, under control of the main processor.
- copy:
- To read data from a source data medium, leaving the source data unchanged, and to write the same data on a destination data medium that may differ from that of the source. For example, to copy a file from a magnetic tape onto a magnetic disk.
- copy protection:
- The use of special techniques to detect or prevent the unauthorized copying of data, software, or firmware.
- copy recipient:
- A recipient for whom a message is not primarily intended but who is included in the distribution list to be kept informed. The list of copy recipients is frequently labeled with a "cc"; the label is derived from "carbon copy". Synonymous with secondary recipient.
- corner:
- A point representing an abrupt change in the direction of a line or a region about that point.
- coroutine:
- A subprogram that, when called again after an execution, resumes at the location to which its previous execution returned.
- corrective maintenance:
- Maintenance carried out after occurrence of a failure or detection of a fault in order to restore or to return a functional unit to a state in which it can perform a required function.
- correctness proving:
- A formal mathematical demonstration that the semantics of a program is consistent with the specifications of that program.
- correspondence:
- The pairing of points in two images such that each point in a pair of points is the image of the same point in space.
- correspondent entities:
- In OSI, entities in the same layer that have a connection between them at the next lower layer.
- counter:
- A functional unit with a finite number of states each of which represents a number that can be, upon receipt of an appropriate signal, increased or decreased by unity or by a given constant. A counter is usually capable of bringing the represented number to a specified value, for example, zero.
- countermeasure:
- An action, device, procedure, technique, or other measure that is designed to minimize vulnerability.
- country name:
- A standard attribute that identifies a country. The country name is generally the two-letter symbol of the country, according to ISO 3166. (Figure 66 - Examples of O/R addresses).
- coupling:
- Interconnection or interdependence of different modules. Loose coupling implies little or no interconnection or interdependence. Kinds of coupling may be ranked from loose to tight as follows: no coupling, data coupling, control coupling, external coupling, common-environment coupling, content coupling. Contrast with cohesion.
- covert channel:
- A transmission channel that may be used to transfer data in a manner that violates security policy.
- CPU:
- central processing unit.
- CR:
- (1) An abbreviation denoting a credit symbol in the amount field. (2) The carriage-return character.
- CRC:
- cyclic redundancy check.
- credentials:
- Data that are transferred to establish the claimed identity of an entity.
- credit/blame assignment:
- Identification of the decisions or operators responsible for the success or failure of achieving a goal.
- critical section:
- A portion of a task during the execution of which other parts of this or other tasks are prohibited from execution.
- cross-assembler:
- An assembler that uses one computer to assemble a program into an object language of a different computer.
- crossbar associative network (CAN):
- Synonym for Hopfield network.
- cross-compiler:
- A compiler that uses one computer to compile a program into an object language of a different computer.
- crosspost:
- To post to more than one forum.
- cross-sensory substitution:
- The process of converting the signals for one sense into the signals for another sense.
- crosstalk:
- The disturbance caused in a circuit by an unwanted transfer of energy from another circuit.
- CRT:
- A device that presents data in visual form by means of controlled electron beams. CRT is the abbreviation for cathode ray tube.
- CRT display:
- Cathode ray tube display.
- cryogenic storage:
- A storage device that uses the superconductive and magnetic properties of certain materials at very low temperatures.
- cryptanalysis:
- The analysis of a cryptographic system, its inputs or outputs, or both, to derive sensitive information, including plaintext.
- cryptanalytical attack:
- Synonym for analytical attack.
- cryptographic security:
- Synonym for cryptosecurity.
- cryptographic system:
- The documents, devices, equipment, and associated techniques that are used together to provide a means of encryption or decryption. Synonymous with cipher system, cryptosystem.
- cryptography:
- The discipline that embodies the principles, means, and methods for the transformation of data in order to hide their semantic content, prevent their unauthorized use, or prevent their undetected modification.
- cryptology:
- The field of learning dealing with cryptography and cryptanalysis.
- cryptosecurity:
- The use of cryptography for security. Synonymous with cryptographic security.
- cryptosystem:
- Synonym for cryptographic system.
- CSMA:
- carrier sense multiple access.
- CSMA/CA:
- carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance.
- CSMA/CA network:
- A network in which the medium access control protocol requires carrier sense and where a station always starts transmission by sending a jam signal; if there is no collision with jam signals from other stations, it begins sending data; otherwise, it stops transmission and then tries again later.
- CSMA/CD:
- carrier sense multiple access with collision detection.
- CSMA/CD network:
- A bus network in which the medium access control protocol requires carrier sense and in which exception conditions caused by collision are resolved by retransmission.
- CTF:
- contrast transfer function.
- cuberille:
- The representation of space as a regular array of cubes. (Figure 15 - Cuberille of a torus).
- CUG:
- closed user group.
- CUPS:
- connection updates per second.
- current pointer:
- A pointer that is updated, if necessary, at the execution of a data manipulation language statement to identify the location of the current data object of the data manipulation.
- cursor:
- (1) A movable, normally visible reference point that indicates a position of special interest in a display space, such as where the next data will be introduced. More than one cursor may be present. (2) In a relational database, a pointer to a row in a table, used to move within that table. In SQL, a current pointer is called a "cursor."
- curve follower:
- An input unit that reads data represented by a curve.
- curve generator:
- A functional unit that converts an encoded representation of a curve into the graphic representation of the curve for display.
- customize:
- To tailor the elements of an already configured information processing system to meet the desires of a particular user.
- cut and paste:
- A function that enables a user to move graphics or text from a document to the same or a different document through the use of a clipboard. Contrast with block move.
- cut-off:
- Synonym for pruning.
- cutover:
- The transfer of functions of a system to its successor at a given moment.
- cybernetics:
- The branch of learning that brings together theories and studies on communication and control in living organisms and in machines.
- cyberspace:
- A virtual community formed by computers, computer networks, and their users. In cyberspace, people share discussion groups or chat groups and behave socially much like people in a small village who know all their neighbors.
- cyberspace interior:
- Synonym for virtual-world interior.
- cyberspace representation:
- Synonym for virtual reality realization.
- cyberspace room:
- Synonym for virtual-world room.
- cycle:
- Any set of operations that is repeated regularly in the same sequence. The operations may be subject to variations on each repetition.
- cycle stealing:
- The process by which the currently operating device is suspended by a few clock cycles to permit a second device or functional unit to perform an operation; such as suspending the central processing unit to transfer data directly to memory across a bus without going through that central processing unit.
- cycle time:
- The minimum time interval between the starts of successive read/write cycles of a storage device.
- cyclic redundancy check (CRC):
- A redundancy check in which the extra digits or characters are generated by a cyclic algorithm.
- cyclic storage:
- Synonym for circulating storage.
- cylinder:
- On a magnetic disk or in an assembly of disks, the set of all tracks that can be accessed by all the magnetic heads of a comb in a given position.