23-letter words containing c, s, t, o
- friedel-crafts reaction — a reaction for the synthesis of hydrocarbons and ketones by the alkylation or acylation of an aromatic compound in the presence of a catalyst, typically anhydrous aluminum chloride.
- fully associative cache — (memory management) A type of cache in which data from any address can be stored in any cache location. The whole address must be used as the tag (the value that identifies a block of data in the cache). All tags must be compared simultaneously (associatively) with the requested address and if one matches then its associated data is accessed. This requires an associative memory to hold the tags which makes this form of cache more expensive. It does however solve the problem of contention for cache locations (cache conflict) since a block need only be flushed when the whole cache is full and then the block to flush can be selected in a more efficient way. The alternatives are direct mapped cache or set associative cache.
- function point analysis — (programming) (FPA) A standard metric for the relative size and complexity of a software system, originally developed by Alan Albrecht of IBM in the late 1970s. Functon points (FPs) can be used to estimate the relative size and complexity of software in the early stages of development - analysis and design. The size is determined by identifying the components of the system as seen by the end-user: the inputs, outputs, inquiries, interfaces to other systems, and logical internal files. The components are classified as simple, average, or complex. All of these values are then scored and the total is expressed in Unadjusted FPs (UFPs). Complexity factors described by 14 general systems characteristics, such as reusability, performance, and complexity of processing can be used to weight the UFP. Factors are also weighted on a scale of 0 - not present, 1 - minor influence, to 5 - strong influence. The result of these computations is a number that correlates to system size. Although the FP metric doesn't correspond to any actual physical attribute of a software system (such as lines of code or the number of subroutines) it is useful as a relative measure for comparing projects, measuring productivity, and estimating the amount a development effort and time needed for a project. See also International Function Point Users Group.
- functional requirements — (specification) What a system should be able to do, the functions it should perform. This term is used at both the user requirements analysis and software requirements specifications phases in the software life-cycle. An example of a non-functional requirement is an initialisation sequence incorporated into the software that is specific to a given customer.
- ge information services — (networking, company) One of the leading on-line services, started on 1st October 1985, providing subscribers with hundreds of special interest areas, computer hardware and software support, award-winning multi-player games, the most software files in the industry (over 200 000), worldwide news, sports updates, business news, investment strategies, and Internet electronic mail and fax (GE Mail). Interactive conversations (Chat Lines) and bulletin boards (Round Tables) with associated software archives are also provided. GEnie databases (through the ARTIST gateway) allow users to search the full text of thousands of publications, including Dun & Bradstreet Company Profiles; a GEnie NewsStand with more than 900 newspapers, magazines, and newsletters; a Reference Center with information ranging from Agriculture to World History; the latest in medical information from MEDLINE; and patent and trademark registrations. Telephone: +1 (800) 638 9636. TDD: +1 (800) 238 9172. E-mail: <[email protected]>.
- german southwest africa — a former name of Namibia.
- get down to brass tacks — discuss essentials
- get one's wires crossed — to misunderstand
- grand duchess charlotte — Grand Duchess (Charlotte Aldegonde Elise Marie Wilhelmine) 1896–1985, sovereign of Luxembourg 1919–64.
- grant-maintained school — a school funded directly by central government
- greatest common divisor — the largest number that is a common divisor of a given set of numbers. Abbreviation: G.C.D.
- have one's act together — anything done, being done, or to be done; deed; performance: a heroic act.
- have one's work cut out — to have as much work as one can manage
- have tickets on oneself — to be conceited
- heaviside unit function — the function that is zero for any number less than zero and that is 1 for any number greater than or equal to zero.
- heterogeneous catalysis — Heterogeneous catalysis is catalysis in which the catalyst does not take part in the reaction that it increases.
- hexagonal cross-section — If a kelly has a hexagonal cross-section, it has a surface area with six equal sides, when looked at as if has been sliced through.
- hold sb/sth in contempt — If you hold someone or something in contempt, you feel contempt for them.
- homonymous construction — a construction that consists of the same morphemes in the same order as those of another construction, as Flying planes can be dangerous, in which planes in one construction is the object of flying, and in another the subject of can; a terminal string of formatives having two or more structural descriptions.
- if worst comes to worst — bad or ill in the highest, greatest, or most extreme degree: the worst person.
- in sack cloth and ashes — sacking.
- in your stockinged feet — wearing stockings or socks but no shoes
- incontestability clause — a clause in a life-insurance or health-insurance policy stating that the insurer cannot contest the policy after a stated period of time.
- indirect discrimination — discrimination by means of rules, regulations or procedures that may appear to be neutral, but which actually discriminate against certain groups of people.
- industrial psychologist — a person who studies human behaviour and cognitive processes in relation to the working environment
- informatics corporation — (company) Renamed to Sterling Software Corp.
- interference microscope — a microscope that utilizes light interference phenomena to create two superimposed images of an object, making possible the observation of transparent objects without using the staining technique.
- internal reconstruction — the hypothetical reconstruction of an earlier stage of a language or of some part of it, as its phonology, by deductions from irregularities in its present structure, as the reconstruction of a stage in English when certain instances of r were related to s in a systematic way by comparing the pair was:were to other pairs, as lose:forlorn.
- intrinsic semiconductor — an almost pure semiconductor to which no impurities have been added and in which the electron and hole densities are equal at thermal equilibrium
- irish christian brother — Brother of the Christian Schools (def 2).
- joint test action group —
- katmai new instructions — Streaming SIMD Extensions
- kinetic theory of gases — a theory that the particles in a gas move freely and rapidly along straight lines but often collide, resulting in variations in their velocity and direction. Pressure is interpreted as arising from the impacts of these particles with the walls of a container.
- lady chatterley's lover — a novel (1928) by D. H. Lawrence.
- large-scale integration — LSI.
- largemouth (black) bass — a black bass (Micropterus salmoides) found in warm, sluggish waters
- lesser peach tree borer — the larva of a clearwing moth, Synanthedon pictipes, distributed throughout the eastern U.S. and Canada but most prevalent in the South, that burrows into the injured trunks and branches of stone fruit trees.
- lock, stock, and barrel — a device for securing a door, gate, lid, drawer, or the like in position when closed, consisting of a bolt or system of bolts propelled and withdrawn by a mechanism operated by a key, dial, etc.
- lower of cost or market — Lower of cost or market is a method of valuing assets where the asset is valued at either the historical cost or the fair market value, whichever is lower.
- lymphoblastic leukaemia — a severe blood disorder in which abnormal leukocytes are identified as immature forms of lymphocytes
- magnetic resonance scan — MR scan.
- make allowances for sth — If you make allowances for something, you take it into account in your decisions, plans, or actions.
- martha washington chair — a chair of the 18th century having a high upholstered back, a low upholstered seat, and short arms resting on incurvate supports.
- message digest function — one-way hash function
- minimum security prison — A minimum security prison is a prison where there are fewer restrictions on prisoners than in a normal prison.
- mips technologies, inc. — (company) A company which designs, develops, and licenses reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessors and compilers. MIPS Technologies, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Silicon Graphics, Inc. and operates as an independent unit. MIPS is the successor to the processor business of MIPS Computer Systems which was founded in 1984 and merged with Silicon Graphics on 29 June 1992. MIPS Technologies developed the world's first RISC VLSI microprocessors (1985) (or was it the ARM?), the first commercial 64-bit microprocessor (MIPS R4000, 1992), announced MIPS R4300i - the first 64-bit RISC processor designed for interactive consumer applications (April 1995). They announced the MIPS R10000 - the next generation general-purpose MIPS microprocessor and the most powerful processor in the world (October 1994). MIPS' semiconductor company partners participate in the design and development of MIPS processors and software and then produce, market, and support the processors. MIPS itself does not fabricate or sell products. MIPS' semiconductor partners are: Integrated Device Technology, LSI Logic Corporation, NEC Corporation, NKK Corporation, Philips Semiconductors, Siemens AG, and Toshiba Corporation. MIPS' products include: R4000 - 100 MHz; 1.35M transistors, primary i/d cache 8KB/8KB, SPECint92 58.3/ SPECfp92 61.4. R4300i - 133 MHZ, 1.35M transistors; primary i/d cache, 16KB/8KB, SPECint92 80, SPECfp92 60. R4400 - 250 MHz, 2.3M transistors, primary i/d cache 16KB/16KB, SPECint92 175.8, SPECfp92 164.4. R4600 - 133 MHz, 1.9M transistors, primary i/d cache 16KB/16KB, SPECint92 85, SPECfp92 75. R8000/R8010 - 90 MHz, 2.6M, .83M transistors, primary i/d cache, 16KB/16KB, SPECint92 132, SPECfp92 396. R10000 - 200 MHz, 6.7M transistors, primary i/d cache 32KB/32KB, SPECint92 >300, SPECfp92 >600. MIPS' processor chips were used in the DEC 3100 series of workstations.
- multimedia compact disc — (storage) (MMCD) A CD-ROM standard for storing 4.7 GB of data including video. MMCD is being developed by a large numer of computer manufacturers and is expected to be shipped in late 1996 or early 1997. Initially it will be aimed at the consumer market, then perhaps in CD-ROM format for computers, and maybe later on erasble CD.
- national health service — In Britain, the National Health Service is the state system for providing medical care. It is paid for by taxes.
- national safety council — a non profit organization that promotes and ensures health and safety standards
- network solutions, inc. — (company) (NSI) One of the three companies that provide and coordinate InterNIC services for the NSFNet. NSI is responsible for registration. NSI has been bought by, and is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).