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28-letter words containing i, s, t

  • none the wiser/any the wiser — If you say that someone is none the wiser after an event or an explanation, or that nobody is any the wiser after it, you mean that they have failed to understand it, or are not fully aware of what happened.
  • north-west frontier province — a province in Pakistan, bordering Punjab and Kashmir on the west: a former province of British India. 28,773 sq. mi. (77,516 sq. km). Capital: Peshawar.
  • not have room to swing a cat — to have very little space
  • object persistence framework — (programming)   (OPF) Any system for storing objects so they can be reloaded into a future session. Typically this will use a relational database along with some kind of object relational mapping. Another typical solution would store objects in XML files (a form of serialisation). One of the trickier problems to solve is how to maintain references between objects, e.g. replacing memory pointers with unique names or identifiers. Virtually identical considerations apply to transferring objects, or indeed any kind of data structure, from one process to another via some communications channel, e.g. a TCP/IP connection.
  • object-oriented polymorphism — (programming)   The kind of polymorphism found in object-oriented programming languages where a variable can refer to an object whose class is not known exactly until run time. A method can use a variable of a given class - call other methods on it, pass it as an argument, etc. - without needing to know to which subclass it refers, as long as its actual class is compatible with those uses.
  • online public access catalog — (library)   (OPAC) A computerised system to catalogue and organise materials in a library (the kind that contains books). OPACs have replaced card-based catalogues in many libraries. An OPAC is available to library users (public access).
  • open systems interconnection — (networking)   (OSI-RM, OSI Reference Model, seven layer model) A model of network architecture and a suite of protocols (a protocol stack) to implement it, developed by ISO in 1978 as a framework for international standards in heterogeneous computer network architecture. The OSI architecture is split between seven layers, from lowest to highest: 1 physical layer, 2 data link layer, 3 network layer, 4 transport layer, 5 session layer, 6 presentation layer, 7 application layer. Each layer uses the layer immediately below it and provides a service to the layer above. In some implementations a layer may itself be composed of sub-layers. OSI is the umbrella name for a series of non-proprietary protocols and specifications, comprising, among others, the OSI Reference Model, ASN.1 (Abstract Syntax Notation 1), BER (Basic Encoding Rules), CMIP and CMIS (Common Management Information Protocol and Services), X.400 (Message Handling System, or MHS), X.500 (Directory Service), Z39.50 (search and retrieval protocol used by WAIS), and many others. Apart from its actual application to real protocols, it also serves as a useful teaching model.
  • osborne computer corporation — (company)   The unsucessful computer manufacturer founded by Adam Osborne that produced one of the first laptop computers, the Osborne 1.
  • ousterhout's false dichotomy — Ousterhout's dichotomy
  • packet in plastic grid array — (integrated circuit)   (PPGA) The package used for Intel's Celeron Socket 370 CPU.
  • palestinian autonomous areas — the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in Israel: these areas were granted autonomous status under the control of the Palestinian National Authority following the 1993 peace agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization
  • persistent organic pollutant — a toxin resulting from a manufacturing process, which remains in the environment for many years
  • personal liability insurance — Personal liability insurance protects the insured if they are sued for claims that are covered by the insurance policy.
  • positron emission tomography — the process of producing a PET scan.
  • potassium antimonyl tartrate — a white, water-soluble, sweet and metallic-tasting, poisonous powder or granules, C 4 H 4 KO 7 Sb, used as a mordant for dyeing textiles and leather, and in medicine as an expectorant, for inducing vomiting, and for infections by schistosomes.
  • precious little/precious few — If you say that there is precious little of something, you are emphasizing that there is very little of it, and that it would be better if there were more. Precious few has a similar meaning.
  • probability density function — a function of a continuous variable whose integral over a region gives the probability that a random variable falls within the region.
  • program composition notation — (PCN) A specification language for parallelism between C and Fortran modules. PCN provides a simple language for specifying concurrent algorithms, interfaces to Fortran and C, a portable toolkit that allows applications to be developed on a workstation or small parallel computer and run unchanged on supercomputers and integrated debugging and performance analysis tools. PCN was developed at Argonne National Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology. It has been used to develop a wide variety of applications, in areas such as climate modelling, fluid dynamics, computational biology, chemistry, and circuit simulation. Version 2.0 runs on networks of workstations: Sun-4, NeXT, RS/6000, SGI; multicomputers: iPSC/860, Touchstone DELTA; and shared memory multiprocessors: Symmetry/Dynix. E-mail: Ian Foster <[email protected]>, Steve Tuecke <[email protected]>.
  • quick mail transfer protocol — (communications)   (QMTP) An SMTP replacement that works better over high latency links as it doesn't require as much interaction as SMTP. QMTP listens on port 209 and is used by qmail.
  • raise specification language — (language)   (RSL) (RAISE = Rigorous Approach to Industrial Software Engineering). A wide-spectrum specification and design language developed by ESPRIT Project 315 at CRI A/S, Denmark. Systems may be modular, concurrent and nondeterministic. Specifications may be applicative or imperative, explicit or implicit, abstract or concrete.
  • read the riot act to someone — to warn or reprimand someone severely
  • real time streaming protocol — (multimedia, networking, protocol)   (RTSP) An application layer protocol for controlling delivery of a stream of real-time multimedia content. RTSP allows users to start playing from a certain position. It does not actually deliver the data, but works alongside existing delivery channels such as UDP, TCP, or IP multicast. RTSP was developed by RealNetworks, Netscape Communications, and Columbia University, and is described in RFC 2326, April 1998. RTSP is an IETF proposed standard.
  • real-estate investment trust — an unincorporated trust created for the purpose of investing in real property or to extend credit to those engaged in construction. Abbreviation: REIT.
  • real-time transport protocol — (protocol)   (RTP) An Internet protocol for transmitting real-time data such as audio and video. RTP itself does not guarantee real-time delivery of data, but it does provide mechanisms for the sending and receiving applications to support streaming data. Typically, RTP runs on top of the UDP protocol, although the specification is general enough to support other transport protocols. RTP has received wide industry support. Netscape intends to base its LiveMedia technology on RTP, and Microsoft claims that its NetMeeting product supports RTP.
  • reflexive transitive closure — Two elements, x and y, are related by the reflexive transitive closure, R+, of a relation, R, if they are related by the transitive closure, R*, or they are the same element.
  • regular expression converter — CONVERT
  • religious society of friends — a sect founded by George Fox in England about 1650, opposed to oath-taking and war.
  • revised version of the bible — a recension of the Authorized Version, prepared by British and American scholars, the Old Testament being published in 1885, and the New Testament in 1881.
  • rise/come back from the dead — If you say that someone or something rises or comes back from the dead, you mean that they become active or successful again after being inactive for a while.
  • rocky mountain spotted fever — an infectious disease characterized by high fever, pains in joints, bones, and muscles, and a cutaneous eruption, caused by rickettsii and transmitted by ticks: first reported in the Rocky Mountain area, but now more widely distributed.
  • savings and loan association — a depositor-owned organization that solicits savings to be placed in saving accounts or in share accounts, on which interest or dividends are paid, and from which mortgage loans on homes or real estate are made
  • sb will/can not go far wrong — If you say that someone won't go far wrong or can't go far wrong with a particular thing or course of action, you mean that it is likely to be successful or satisfactory.
  • scanning electron microscope — a device in which the specimen is examined point by point directly in a moving electron beam, and electrons reflected by the specimen are used to form a magnified, three-dimensional image on a television screen. Abbreviation: SEM.
  • scared to death scared stiff — If you are scared to death or scared stiff, you are extremely scared.
  • second axiom of countability — the property satisfied by a topological space in which the neighborhood system of each point has a base consisting of a countable number of neighborhoods (first axiom of countability) or the property satisfied by a topological space that has a base for its topology consisting of a countable number of subsets of the space (second axiom of countability)
  • second law of thermodynamics — any of three principles variously stated in equivalent forms, being the principle that the change of energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the heat transferred minus the work done (first law of thermodynamics) the principle that no cyclic process is possible in which heat is absorbed from a reservoir at a single temperature and converted completely into mechanical work (second law of thermodynamics) and the principle that it is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in a finite number of operations (third law of thermodynamics)
  • secondary sex characteristic — any of a number of manifestations, as development of breasts or beard, muscularity, distribution of fat tissue, and change of pitch in voice, specific to each sex and incipient at puberty but not essential to reproduction.
  • self-regulating organization — one of several British organizations set up in 1986 under the auspices of the Securities and Investment Board to regulate the activities of London investment markets
  • semiconservative replication — replication.
  • service advertising protocol — (networking)   (SAP) A Novell NetWare protocol. SAP follows the spirit of the Xerox Clearinghouse protocol, it permits file, print, and gateway servers to advertise their services and addresses.
  • sexually transmitted disease — any disease characteristically transmitted by sexual contact, as gonorrhea, syphilis, genital herpes, and chlamydia. Abbreviation: STD.
  • shared-appreciation mortgage — a type of mortgage that carries a smaller down payment or lower interest rate than usual in return for the lender's sharing in the appreciation of the property at some future date, as at the time of its sale. Abbreviation: SAM.
  • shut one's eyes to something — If you say that someone shuts their eyes to something, you mean that they deliberately ignore something which they should deal with.
  • sign one's own death warrant — A death warrant is an official document which orders that someone is to be executed as a punishment for a crime.
  • silicon-controlled rectifier — a semiconductor rectifier whose forward current between two electrodes, the anode and cathode, is initiated by means of a signal applied to a third electrode, the gate. The current subsequently becomes independent of the signal. It is a type of thyristor
  • simulation oriented language — (language)   (SOL) An ALGOL extension for discrete simulation by Donald Knuth and McNeley.
  • single sideband transmission — a method of transmitting radio waves in which either the upper or the lower sideband is transmitted, the carrier being either wholly or partially suppressed. This reduces the required bandwidth and improves the signal-to-noise ratio
  • smooth endoplasmic reticulum — a network of tubular membranes within the cytoplasm of the cell, occurring either with a smooth surface (smooth endoplasmic reticulum) or studded with ribosomes (rough endoplasmic reticulum) involved in the transport of materials.
  • software productivity centre — (body)   (SPC) A non-profit organisation based in Vancouver, BC, Canada with the mandate to assist software developers to improve their software engineering process.
  • special power of appointment — authority to appoint persons from a particular class to take an estate or interest in property
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