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29-letter words containing a, c, e, l, r, t

  • individual retirement account — a savings plan that offers tax advantages to an individual depositor to set aside money for retirement. Abbreviation: IRA.
  • interface definition language — (IDL) 1. An OSF standard for defining RPC stubs. 2. Part of an effort by Project DOE at SunSoft, Inc. to integrate distributed object technology into the Solaris operating system. IDL provides the standard interface between objects, and is the base mechanism for object interaction. The Object Management Group's CORBA 1.1 (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) specifies the interface between objects. IDL (Interface Definition Language) is the base mechanism for object interaction. The SunSoft OMG IDL CFE (Compiler Front End) version 1.2 provides a complete framework for building CORBA 1.1-compliant preprocessors for OMG IDL. To use it you write a back-end. A complete compiler of IDL would translate IDL into client side and server side routines for remote communication in the same manner as Sun's current RPCL compiler. The IDL compiler front end allows integration of new back ends which can translate IDL to various programming languages. Several companies including Sunsoft are building back ends to the CFE which translate IDL into target languages, e.g. Pascal or C++, in the context of planned CORBA-compliant products. IDL requires C++ 2.1. Not to be confused with any of the other IDLs. E-mail: <[email protected]>. Telephone: Mache Creeger, SunSoft, Inc. +1 (415) 336 5884.
  • international code of signals — a system of maritime signals adopted by many of the maritime nations of the world, using flag, semaphore, and Morse codes in which letters or letter combinations are given arbitrary designations readily understood without requiring translation.
  • kernel user interface package — (tool)   (KUIP) The human interface to Physics Analysis Workbench (PAW).
  • lassen volcanic national park — a national park in N California, in the S Cascade Range, including Lassen Peak. 163 sq. mi. (422 sq. km).
  • length between perpendiculars — the length of a hull between the forward and after perpendicular. Compare perpendicular (def 11).
  • like taking candy from a baby — very easy to accomplish
  • link access protocol balanced — (protocol)   (LAPB) X.25 layer 2 (data link layer) protocol.
  • longitudinal redundancy check — (storage, communications)   (LRC, Block Redundancy Check) An error checking method that generates a longitudinal parity byte from a specified string or block of bytes on a longitudinal track. The longitudinal parity byte is created by placing individual bytes of a string in a two-dimensional array and performing a Vertical Redundancy Check vertically and horizontally on the array, creating an extra byte. This is an improvement over the VRC because it will catch two errors in the individual characters of the string, beyond the odd errors.
  • lotus development corporation — (company)   A software company who produced Lotus 1-2-3, the Symphony spreadsheet and Lotus Notes for the IBM PC. Disliked by the League for Programming Freedom on account of their lawsuits. Quarterly sales $224M, profits $10M (Aug 1994). Telephone: +1 (617) 225 1284.
  • man that corrupted hadleyburg — a short story (1900) by Mark Twain.
  • mark-sweep garbage collection — Each cell has a bit reserved for marking which is clear initially. During garbage collection all active cells are traced from the root and marked. Then all cells are examined. Unmarked cells are freed.
  • mecklenburg-western pomerania — a state in NE Germany. 8842 sq. mi. (22,900 sq. km). Capital: Schwerin.
  • microelectromechanical system — (hardware)   (MEMS) The integration of mechanical structures (moving parts) with microelectronics. MEMS devices are "custom" designed for a purpose which requires a mechanical action to be controlled by a computer. Applications include sensors, medical devices, process controls. See also nanotechnology.
  • modified frequency modulation — (storage)   (MFM, Modified FM, or sometimes "Multiple Frequency Modulation") A modification to the original frequency modulation scheme for encoding data on magnetic disks. MFM allows more than 1 symbol per flux transition (up to 3), giving greater density of data. It is used with a data rate of between 250-500 kbit/s on industry standard 3.5" and 5.25" low and high density diskettes, and up to 5 Mbit/s on ST-506 hard disks. Except for 1.44 MB floppy disks, this encoding is obsolete. Other data encoding schemes include GCR, FM, RLL. See also: PRML.
  • mordovian autonomous republic — an autonomous republic in the Russian Federation in Europe. 9843 sq. mi. (25,493 sq. km). Capital: Saransk.
  • multics relational data store — (database)   (MRDS) The first commercial relational database, implemented as part of Multics by Jim Weeldreyer and Oris Friesen of Honeywell Phoenix in about 1977. MRDS included a report writer called LINUS written by Jim Falksen.
  • multimedia messaging services — (messaging)   (MMS) A feature of some mobile telephones that allows them to send messages including text, sound, images and video.
  • multiprotocol label switching — (networking)   (MPLS) A packet switching protocol developed by the IETF. Initially developed to improve switching speed, other benefits are now seen as being more important. MPLS adds a 32-bit label to each packet to improve network efficiency and to enable routers to direct packets along predefined routes in accordance with the required quality of service. The label is added when the packet enters the MPLS network, and is based on an analysis of the packet header. The label contains information on the route along which the packet may travel, and the forwarding equivalence class (FEC) of the packet. Packets with the same FEC are routed through the network in the same way. Routers make forwarding decisions based purely on the contents of the label. This simplifies the work done by the router, leading to an increase in speed. At each router, the label is replaced with a new label, which tells the next router how to forward the packet. The label is removed when the packet leaves the MPLS network. Modern ASIC-based routers can look up routes fast enough to make the speed increase less important. However, MPLS still has some benefits. The use of FECs allows QoS levels to be guaranteed, and MPLS allows IP tunnels to be created through a network, so that VPNs can be implemented without encryption.
  • nuclear regulatory commission — an independent agency, created in 1975, that licenses and regulates the nonmilitary use of nuclear energy. Abbreviation: NRC.
  • object compatibility standard — (OCS) An 88open standard for compilers and linkers.
  • on-line analytical processing — (database)   (OLAP) A category of database software which provides an interface such that users can transform or limit raw data according to user-defined or pre-defined functions, and quickly and interactively examine the results in various dimensions of the data. OLAP primarily involves aggregating large amounts of diverse data. OLAP can involve millions of data items with complex relationships. Its objective is to analyze these relationships and look for patterns, trends, and exceptions. The term was originally coined by Dr. Codd in 1993 with 12 "rules". Since then, the OLAP Council, many vendors, and Dr. Codd himself have added new requirements and confusion. Richard Creeth and Nigel Pendse define OLAP as fast analysis of shared multidimensional information. Their definition requires the system to respond to users within about five seconds. It should support logical and statistical processing of results without the user having to program in a 4GL. It should implement all the security requirements for confidentiality and concurrent update locking. The system must provide a multidimensional conceptual view of the data, including full support for multiple hierarchies. Other aspects to consider include data duplication, RAM and disk space requirements, performance, and integration with data warehouses. Various bodies have attempted to come up with standards for OLAP, including The OLAP Council and the Analytical Solutions Forum (ASF), however, the Microsoft OLE DB for OLAP API is the most widely adopted and has become the de facto standard.
  • optical character recognition — the process or technology of reading data in printed form by a device (optical character reader) that scans and identifies characters. Abbreviation: OCR.
  • optimal flexible architecture — (database)   (OFA) Recommendations for logical and physical allocation of database files to disks. The OFA principles can be summarised as: isolate redo, rollback, temp, data and index files as much as possible. OFA can be combined with SAME (Stripe And Mirror Everything).
  • ordinary national certificate — a further education qualification in the United Kingdom, equivalent to two A Levels
  • professional graphics adapter — (graphics, specification)   (PGA) A computer video display standard produced by IBM for early CAD applications. It had a resolution of 640x400 pixels.
  • programmable logic controller — (hardware)   (PLC) A device used to automate monitoring and control of industrial plant. Can be used stand-alone or in conjunction with a SCADA or other system.
  • quantum-dot cellular automata — (electronics, computing)   (QCA) Quantum logic circuits created by orientating pairs of quantum cells so that their relative positions determine their affect on each other. This is functionally analogous but structurally different from how individual gates in integrated circuits are combined to create logical and memory circuitry. The advantages of quantum-dot cellular automata over conventional circuitry are extremely small size/high density, low power requirements, and potentially high processing speeds. Disadvantages (in 2000) are difficulty of fabrication and low yield. See also: quantum cell wire.
  • rapid application development — (programming)   (RAD) A loose term for any software life-cycle designed to give faster development and better results and to take maximum advantage of recent advances in development software. RAD is associated with a wide range of approaches to software development: from hacking away in a GUI builder with little in the way of analysis and design to complete methodologies expanding on an information engineering framework. Some of the current RAD techniques are: CASE tools, iterative life-cycles, prototyping, workshops, SWAT teams, timebox development, and Re-use of applications, templates and code.
  • real-time structured analysis — (programming)   (RTSA) Any version of structured analysis capable of modelling real-time aspects of software.
  • receivables collection period — A receivables collection period is a measure of cash flow that is calculated by dividing average receivables by credit sales per day.
  • recommended dietary allowance — the amount of an essential nutrient, as a vitamin or mineral, that has been established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences as adequate to meet the average daily nutritional needs of most healthy persons according to age group and sex. Abbreviation: RDA.
  • resource reservation protocol — (protocol)   (RSVP) A protocol that supports quality of service.
  • roll out the red carpet (for) — to welcome and entertain in a grand and impressive style
  • royal canadian mounted police — Canadian police on horseback
  • saint andrews static language — St Andrews Static Language
  • scanning tunneling microscope — a device that uses a moving needle and the tunnel effect to generate a maplike image of the atomic surface structure of matter, thereby achieving even greater magnification than the scanning electron microscope.
  • secure file transfer protocol — SSH File Transfer Protocol
  • serial line internet protocol — (communications, protocol)   (SLIP) Software allowing the Internet Protocol (IP), normally used on Ethernet, to be used over a serial line, e.g. an EIA-232 serial port connected to a modem. It is defined in RFC 1055. SLIP modifies a standard Internet datagram by appending a special SLIP END character to it, which allows datagrams to be distinguished as separate. SLIP requires a port configuration of 8 data bits, no parity, and EIA or hardware flow control. SLIP does not provide error detection, being reliant on other high-layer protocols for this. Over a particularly error-prone dial-up link therefore, SLIP on its own would not be satisfactory. A SLIP connection needs to have its IP address configuration set each time before it is established whereas Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) can determine it automatically once it has started. See also SLiRP.
  • shell-and-tube heat exchanger — A shell-and-tube heat exchanger is a type of heat exchanger that consists of a cylinder carrying one fluid, with some smaller cylinders inside it carrying another fluid.
  • simple mail transfer protocol — (messaging)   (SMTP) A protocol defined in STD 10, RFC 821, used to transfer electronic mail between computers, usually over Ethernet. It is a server to server protocol, so other protocols are used to access the messages. The SMTP dialog usually happens in the background under the control of the message transfer agent, e.g. sendmail but it is possible to interact with an SMTP server using telnet to connect to the normal SMTP port, 25. E.g. telnet mhs-relay.ac.uk 25 You should normally start by identifying the local host: HELO wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk You can then issue commands to verify an address or expand an alias: VRFY [email protected] VRFY postmaster or expand a mailing list: EXPN c-help You can even send a message: MAIL From:<[email protected]> RCPT To:<[email protected]> DATA What is the point? . QUIT This is useful if you want to find out exactly what is happening to your message at a certain point. See also Post Office Protocol, RFC 822, sendmail.
  • simple object access protocol — (protocol)   (SOAP) A minimal set of conventions for invoking code using XML over HTTP.
  • single edge contact cartridge — (hardware)   (SEC, SECC) The cased daughterboard housing Intel's Pentium II, Pentium III, and Xeon microprocessors. A SECC fits into a Slot 1 or Slot 2 connector.
  • suppressed carrier modulation — an amplitude-modulated wave in which only the sidebands are transmitted, the carrier being removed
  • surgical specialist registrar — a hospital doctor senior to a house officer but junior to a consultant, specializing in surgery
  • symbolic automatic integrator — (mathematics, tool)   (SAINT) A symbolic mathematics program written in Lisp by J. Slagle at MIT in 1961.
  • synchronous digital hierarchy — (communications, standard)   (SDH) An international digital telecommunications network hierarchy which standardises transmission around the bit rate of 51.84 megabits per second, which is also called STS-1. Multiples of this bit rate comprise higher bit rate streams. Thus STS-3 is 3 times STS-1, STS-12 is 12 times STS-1, and so on. STS-3 is the lowest bit rate expected to carry ATM traffic, and is also referred to as STM-1 (Synchronous Transport Module-Level 1). The SDH specifies how payload data is framed and transported synchronously across optical fibre transmission links without requiring all the links and nodes to have the same synchronized clock for data transmission and recovery (i.e. both the clock frequency and phase are allowed to have variations, or be plesiochronous). SDH offers several advantages over the current multiplexing technology, which is known as Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy. Where PDH lacks built-in facilities for automatic management and routing, and locks users into proprietary methods, SDH can improve network reliability and performance, offers much greater flexibility and lower operating and maintenance costs, and provides for a faster provision of new services. Under SDH, incoming traffic is synchronized and enhanced with network management bits before being multiplexed into the STM-1 fixed rate frame. The fundamental clock frequency around which the SDH or SONET framing is done is 8 KHz or 125 microseconds. SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) is the American version of SDH.
  • take a person to the cleaners — to rob or defraud a person of all of his or her money
  • the five heads of predicables — five Aristotelian classes of predicates namely genus, species, difference, property, and relation
  • the royal shakespeare company — a British theatre company based mainly in Stratford-upon-Avon
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