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29-letter words containing a, e, r, i, l, o

  • have a chip on one's shoulder — to be aggressively sensitive about a particular thing or bear a grudge
  • hot swapable routing protocol — (spelling)   Incorrect spelling of incorrect expansion of HSRP - Hot Standby Routing Protocol.
  • incremental constraint solver — A system in which a constraint solver is given constraints one at a time by an inference engine (as is found in Prolog). The solver adds the new constraint to an initially empty set of solved constraints. If the new constraint is consistent with the solved constraints it will be added to the set. If it was inconsistent, the inference engine backtracks. This is the basis of Constraint Logic Programming.
  • individual retirement account — a savings plan that offers tax advantages to an individual depositor to set aside money for retirement. Abbreviation: IRA.
  • integrated systems laboratory — (company)   A joint project of Control Data Corporation and NCR Corporation, established in 1973 and dissolved in 1976. Integrated Systems Laboratory developed Software Writer's Language. Address: Escondidio, California, USA.
  • 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.
  • international system of units — an internationally accepted coherent system of physical units, derived from the MKSA (meter-kilogram-second-ampere) system, using the meter, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole, and candela as the basic units (SI units) respectively of the fundamental quantities of length, mass, time, electric current, temperature, amount of substance, and luminous intensity. Abbreviation: SI.
  • juvenile rheumatoid arthritis — rheumatoid arthritis that begins before puberty, often preceded by such symptoms as fever, patchy rash, and weight loss.
  • lassen volcanic national park — a national park in N California, in the S Cascade Range, including Lassen Peak. 163 sq. mi. (422 sq. km).
  • law of independent assortment — the principle, originated by Gregor Mendel, stating that when two or more characteristics are inherited, individual hereditary factors assort independently during gamete production, giving different traits an equal opportunity of occurring together.
  • like bees to/round a honeypot — If something attracts people like bees to a honeypot or like bees round a honeypot, it attracts people in large numbers.
  • like taking candy from a baby — very easy to accomplish
  • link access protocol balanced — (protocol)   (LAPB) X.25 layer 2 (data link layer) protocol.
  • long day's journey into night — a play (1956) by Eugene O'Neill.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • more trouble than it is worth — If you say that someone or something is more trouble than they are worth, you mean that they cause you a lot of problems or take a lot of time and effort and you do not achieve or gain very much in return.
  • 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.
  • multiple personality disorder — psychiatric illness: split personality
  • 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.
  • non-governmental organization — activism: independent group
  • non-uniform rational b spline — (graphics, mathematics)   (nurbs) A common term in Mechanical CAD. The NURBS has excellent continuity characteristics which make it useful for creating accurate models in 3D geometry generation and computer modelling.
  • 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
  • partial differential equation — a differential equation containing partial derivatives.
  • passive-dependent personality — a personality disorder characterized by a lack of self-confidence and self-reliance and consequent surrender to and dependence on others to take responsibility for major areas of one's life.
  • personalized array translator — (language)   (PAT) A small subset of APL. E-mail: <[email protected]>.
  • presidential medal of freedom — a medal awarded by the president of the U.S. to any citizen who has made an exceptionally meritorious contribution to the security or national interest of the U.S., to world peace, or to cultural or other significant endeavors.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • royal canadian mounted police — Canadian police on horseback
  • run something up the flagpole — to pursue a tentative course of action in order to gauge the reaction it receives
  • 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.
  • shipshape and bristol fashion — in good order; efficiently arranged
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