22-letter words containing a, e, r, o, c
- component architecture — (programming) A notion in object-oriented programming where "components" of a program are completely generic. Instead of having a specialised set of methods and fields they have generic methods through which the component can advertise the functionality it supports to the system into which it is loaded. This enables completely dynamic loading of objects. JavaBeans is an example of a component architecture. See also design pattern.
- compound annual return — the total return available from an investment, deposit, etc, when the interest earned is used to augment the capital
- compuserve corporation — (company) The parent organisation of CompuServe Information Service, CompuServe Network Services and CompuServe Remote Computing Services. CompuServe was owned by H.R. Block but is now (1999) owned by America On-Line.
- computational geometry — (mathematics) The study of algorithms for combinatorial, topological, and metric problems concerning sets of points, typically in Euclidean space. Representative areas of research include geometric search, convexity, proximity, intersection, and linear programming.
- computational learning — grammatical inference
- concentration gradient — the gradual difference in concentration of a dissolved substance in a solution between a region of high density and one of lower density.
- concurrent massey hope — (language, functional programming) An extension of Massey Hope, by Peter Burgess, Robert Pointon, and Nigel Perry <[email protected]> of Massey University, NZ, that provides multithreading and typed inter-thread communication. It uses C for intermediate code rather than assembly language.
- congressional district — (in the US) an electoral division of a state, entitled to send one member to the US House of Representatives
- conservation of charge — the principle that the total charge of any isolated system is constant and independent of changes that take place within the system
- conservation of energy — the principle that the total energy of any isolated system is constant and independent of any changes occurring within the system
- conservation of matter — the principle that matter is neither created nor destroyed during any physical or chemical change
- conservation of parity — the principle that the parity of the total wave function describing a system of elementary particles is conserved. In fact it is not conserved in weak interactions
- conservative extension — a formal theory that includes among its theorems all the theorems of a given theory
- constructive dismissal — If an employee claims constructive dismissal, they begin a legal action against their employer in which they claim that they were forced to leave their job because of the behaviour of their employer.
- consummatory behaviour — any behaviour that leads directly to the satisfaction of an innate drive, e.g. eating or drinking
- contextual advertising — a form of targeted advertising used on websites or other media, such as content displayed in mobile browsers
- contingent beneficiary — a person who becomes the beneficiary if the primary beneficiary dies or is otherwise disqualified.
- continuous welded rail — a long, continuous rail formed by welding many short rails.
- contract of employment — a written agreement between an employer and an employee, that, taken together with the rights of each under statute and common law, determines the employment relations between them
- contradiction in terms — a term, phrase, or phenomenon containing self-contradictory parts
- conversational quality — (in public speaking) a manner of utterance that resembles the spontaneity and informality of relaxed personal conversation.
- convertible loan stock — a stock or bond that can be converted into a stated number of shares at a particular date
- coronary heart disease — any heart disorder caused by disease of the coronary arteries
- coronary insufficiency — inadequate circulation of blood through the coronary arteries, characterized by attacks of angina pectoris
- corporate headquarters — the main offices of a corporation, from where it runs its business
- corporate manslaughter — the death of someone caused by an act of corporate negligence
- corrupt practices acts — laws limiting contributions to and expenditures in election campaigns, making illegal certain methods of influencing voters, etc.
- cosmological principle — the theory that the universe is uniform, homogenous, and isotropic, and therefore appears the same from any position
- cotton-wool generation — the children and teenagers of the early 21st century, viewed as having been overprotected while growing up
- counterinterpretations — Plural form of counterinterpretation.
- counterrevolutionaries — Plural form of counterrevolutionary.
- course author language — (language) (CAL) The CAI language for the IBM 360.
- criminal investigation — an investigation by the police into a crime
- cross the great divide — to die
- curly-coated retriever — a strongly built variety of retriever with a tightly curled black or liver-coloured coat
- curvature of the spine — a condition in which the spine is abnormally curved
- cycle of reincarnation — A term coined by Ivan Sutherland ca. 1970 to refer to a well-known effect whereby function in a computing system family is migrated out to special-purpose peripheral hardware for speed, then the peripheral evolves toward more computing power as it does its job, then somebody notices that it is inefficient to support two asymmetrical processors in the architecture and folds the function back into the main CPU, at which point the cycle begins again. Several iterations of this cycle have been observed in graphics-processor (blitter) design, and at least one or two in communications and floating-point processors. Also known as "the Wheel of Life", "the Wheel of Samsara" and other variations of the basic Hindu/Buddhist theological idea.
- cyclic redundancy code — cyclic redundancy check
- cylindrical coordinate — Usually, cylindrical coordinates. a member of a system of coordinates for locating a point in space by its polar coordinates and its perpendicular distance to the polar plane.
- dalton's atomic theory — the theory that matter consists of indivisible particles called atoms and that atoms of a given element are all identical and can neither be created nor destroyed. Compounds are formed by combination of atoms in simple ratios to give compound atoms (molecules). The theory was the basis of modern chemistry
- decompartmentalization — the act of decompartmentalizing
- delayed-action shutter — a camera shutter that opens after an interval set by the photographer
- department of commerce — the department of the U.S. federal government that promotes and administers domestic and foreign commerce. Abbreviation: DOC.
- descriptive cataloging — the aspect of cataloging concerned with the bibliographic and physical description of a book, recording, or other work, accounting for such items as author or performer, title, edition, and imprint as opposed to subject content.
- dicyclopentadienyliron — ferrocene (def 1).
- digital control system — (systems) (DCS) A digital computer used for real-time control of a dynamic system, usually in an industrial environment, possibly as part of a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. A DCS samples feedback from the system under control and modifies the control signals in an attempt to achieve some desired behaviour. Analysis of such digital-analogue feedback systems can involve mathematical methods such as difference equations, Laplace transforms, z transfer functions, state space models and state transition matrices.
- digital video recorder — See DVR.
- dilation and curettage — a surgical method for the removal of diseased tissue or an early embryo from the lining of the uterus by means of scraping.
- directional derivative — the limit, as a function of several variables moving along a given line from one specified point to another on the line, of the difference in the functional values at the two points divided by the distance between the points.
- directional microphone — a microphone that has a greater sensitivity to sounds coming from a particular area in front of it: used to eliminate unwanted sounds.