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29-letter words containing a, n, t, i, p

  • length between perpendiculars — the length of a hull between the forward and after perpendicular. Compare perpendicular (def 11).
  • 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.
  • link access protocol balanced — (protocol)   (LAPB) X.25 layer 2 (data link layer) protocol.
  • 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.
  • make a pitch/make one's pitch — If someone makes a pitch for something, they try to persuade people to do or buy it.
  • 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.
  • metadata information partners — The Metadata Company
  • methylenedioxymethamphetamine — The psychoactive drug MDMA or Ecstasy, an amphetamine that produces entactogenic, psychedelic, and stimulant effects.
  • monobasic potassium phosphate — potassium diphosphate. See under potassium phosphate.
  • mordovian autonomous republic — an autonomous republic in the Russian Federation in Europe. 9843 sq. mi. (25,493 sq. km). Capital: Saransk.
  • 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-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.
  • not with a bang but a whimper — If you say that something happens not with a bang but a whimper, you mean that it is less effective or exciting than was expected or intended.
  • 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.
  • operations support technician — (job)   A person who analyses and supports computer operations by controlling production applications, monitoring system resources and response time and providing first-line support for operational problems.
  • opportunity management system — (business)   (OMS) A system that stores sales opportunities and related information. Each sales lead can be tracked with information such as source, type, worth, status, likelihood of closure etc. An OMS can perform other related tasks such as prioritising sales calls and generating analyses that assist the fine-tuning of marketing strategies. See also Customer Relationship Management.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • put someone through his paces — to test the ability of someone
  • put the cat among the pigeons — to introduce some violently disturbing new element
  • 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.
  • resource reservation protocol — (protocol)   (RSVP) A protocol that supports quality of service.
  • respiratory distress syndrome — Also called hyaline membrane disease. an acute lung disease of the newborn, occurring primarily in premature babies and babies born to ill mothers, characterized by rapid breathing, flaring of the nostrils, inelastic lungs, edema of the extremities, and in some cases the formation of a hyaline membrane on the lungs caused by a lack of surfactant in the immature lung tissue. Abbreviation: RDS.
  • 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.
  • serotonin receptor antagonist — A serotonin receptor antagonist is a drug that inhibits the action of serotonin receptors.
  • shipshape and bristol fashion — in good order; efficiently arranged
  • 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.
  • software description database — (networking)   Archie's database of names and short descriptions of many of the software packages, documents (like RFCs and educational material), and data files that are available via the Internet.
  • stop sth (dead) in its tracks — If someone or something stops a process or activity in its tracks, or if it stops dead in its tracks, they prevent the process or activity from continuing.
  • suppressed carrier modulation — an amplitude-modulated wave in which only the sidebands are transmitted, the carrier being removed
  • thinking machines corporation — (company)   The company that introduced the Connection Machine parallel computer ca 1984. Four of the world's ten most powerful supercomputers are Connection Machines. Thinking Machines is the leader in scalable computing, with software and applications running on parallel systems ranging from 16 to 1024 processors. In developing the Connection Machine system, Thinking Machines also did pioneering work in parallel software. The 1993 technical applications market for massively parallel systems was approximately $310 million, of which Thinking Machines Corporation held a 29 percent share. Thinking Machines planned to become a software provider by 1996, by which time the parallel computing market was expected to have grown to $2 billion. Thinking Machines Corporation has 200 employees and offices worldwide. Address: 245 First Street, Cambridge, MA 02142-1264, USA. Telephone: +1 (617) 234 1000. Fax: +1 (617) 234 4444.
  • thyrotropin-releasing hormone — a small peptide hormone, produced by the hypothalamus, that controls the release of thyrotropin by the pituitary. Abbreviation: TRH.
  • to be mentioned in dispatches — If a soldier is mentioned in dispatches, he or she is considered to have been extremely brave in a battle, and is recommended for a medal.
  • to get sb in the party spirit — to make someone feel like going to a party
  • to invade sb's personal space — to come too close to somebody, so that they feel uncomfortable
  • training opportunities scheme — a former government scheme offering vocational training to unemployed people
  • transmission control protocol — (networking, protocol)   (TCP) The most common transport layer protocol used on Ethernet and the Internet. It was developed by DARPA. TCP is the connection-oriented protocol built on top of Internet Protocol (IP) and is nearly always seen in the combination TCP/IP (TCP over IP). It adds reliable communication and flow-control and provides full-duplex, process-to-process connections. TCP is defined in STD 7 and RFC 793.
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