for preformated text, 
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 for headings. Most systems will ignore the case of tags and attributes but lower case should be used for compatibility with XHTML. The web Consortium (W3C) is the international standards body for HTML. See also weblint.  
 implicit function theorem — a theorem that gives conditions under which a function written in implicit form can be written in explicit form. 
 
 improved mercury autocode — (language)   (IMP) A version of Autocode used to program the Edinburgh Multi Access System (EMAS), one of the first operating systems written in a high-level language, apparently predating Unix. Luis Damas' Prolog interpreter in IMP for EMAS led to C-Prolog. 
 
 infinite impulse response — (electronics, DSP)   A type of digital signal filter, in which every sample of output is the weighted sum of past and current samples of input, using all past samples, but the weights of past samples are an inverse function of the sample age, approaching zero for old samples. 
 
 instrumental conditioning — conditioning (def 1). 
 
 intercommunication system — a communication system within a building, ship, airplane, local area, etc., with a loudspeaker or receiver for listening and a microphone for speaking at each of two or more points. 
 
 intermittent claudication — pain and cramp in the calf muscles, aggravated by walking and caused by an insufficient supply of blood 
 
 java run-time environment — (language)   (JRE) The part of the Java Development Kit required to run Java programs. The JRE consists of the Java Virtual Machine, the Java platform core classes and supporting files. It does not include the compiler, debugger or other tools present in the JDK. The JRE is the smallest set of executables and files that constitute the standard Java platform. 
 
 jean-maurice-Émile baudot — (person)   (1845-1903) The inventor of the Baudot code. Baudot joined the French Post & Telegraph Administration in 1869 as a telegraph operator. In his own time he developed a code for sending several messages at once. In 1874 Baudot patented his first printing telegraph where signals were translated onto paper tape. The Baudot code was adopted first in France and then by other nations for  and  transmissions. The unit of transmission speed, baud, is named after him. 
 
 khakass autonomous region — an autonomous region in the Russian Federation, in S Siberia. 19,161 sq. mi. (49,627 sq. km). Capital: Abakan. 
 
 leaf distribution limited — A UK connectivity software supplier which also provides SERVELAN, a country-wide Internet access service. E-mail: <[email protected]>. Address: 7 Elmwood, Chineham Business Park, Crockford Lane, BASINGSTOKE RG24 0WG. Telephone: +44 (1256) 707 777. Fax: +44 (1256) 707 555. 
 
 make bricks without straw — a block of clay hardened by drying in the sun or burning in a kiln, and used for building, paving, etc.: traditionally, in the U.S., a rectangle 2.25 × 3.75 × 8 inches (5.7 × 9.5 × 20.3 cm), red, brown, or yellow in color. 
 
 make one's blood run cold — the fluid that circulates in the principal vascular system of human beings and other vertebrates, in humans consisting of plasma in which the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are suspended. 
 
 marcus aurelius antoninus — Marcus Aurelius, Marcus Aurelius. 
 
 marcus-valerius-martialis — (Marcus Valerius Martialis) a.d. 43?–104? Roman epigrammatist, born in Spain. 
 
 memorandum of association — a document giving details such as the company's name, the purpose of the company, and the address of its registered office that is legally required when incorporating a company in certain countries such as the UK 
 
 metal oxide semiconductor — a three-layer sandwich of a metal, an insulator (usually an oxide of the substrate), and a semiconductor substrate, used in integrated circuits. Abbreviation: MOS. 
 
 mount kenya national park — a national park in Kenya, located in the regions of Mount Kenya that are above 3200 m (10 500 ft); now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park covers 1420 sq km (548 sq miles) 
 
 multi-scene control board — preset board. 
 
 multiple mirror telescope — a reflecting telescope on Mount Hopkins, in Arizona, that features six computer-linked mirrors set on a single mount. Abbreviation: MMT. 
 
 murders in the rue morgue — a short story (1841) by Edgar Allan Poe. 
 
 my favourite toy language — (jargon, language)   (MFTL) Describes a talk on a programming language design that is heavy on syntax (with lots of BNF), sometimes even talks about semantics (e.g. type systems), but rarely, if ever, has any content (see content-free). More broadly applied to talks - even when the topic is not a programming language --- in which the subject matter is gone into in unnecessary and meticulous detail at the sacrifice of any conceptual content. "Well, it was a typical MFTL talk". 2. A language about which the developers are passionate (often to the point of prosyletic zeal) but no one else cares about. Applied to the language by those outside the originating group. "He cornered me about type resolution in his MFTL." The first great goal in the mind of the designer of an MFTL is usually to write a compiler for it, then bootstrap the design away from contamination by lesser languages by writing a compiler for it in itself. Thus, the standard put-down question at an MFTL talk is "Has it been used for anything besides its own compiler?". On the other hand, a language that *cannot* be used to write its own compiler is beneath contempt. See break-even point, toolsmith. 
 
 national insurance number — a number allocated to UK citizens so that they can pay national insurance 
 
 national unity government — a government formed by a coalition of parties, esp in time of national emergency 
 
 network computing devices — (company)   (NCD) Producer of X terminals, PC-Xware and Z-Mail. 
 
 non-algorithmic procedure — heuristic 
 
 non-uniform memory access — (architecture)   (NUMA) A memory architecture, used in multiprocessors, where the access time depends on the memory location. A processor can access its own local memory faster than non-local memory (memory which is local to another processor or shared between processors). 
 
 normal equivalent deviate — a value x such that the integral of a normal curve over all those values of the independent variable less than x is equal to the given probability. 
 
 on the spur of the moment — a U -shaped device that slips over and straps to the heel of a boot and has a blunt, pointed, or roweled projection at the back for use by a mounted rider to urge a horse forward. 
 
 over-the-counter medicine — An over-the-counter medicine is a medicine that may be sold without a doctor's prescription. 
 
 peripheral nervous system — the portion of the nervous system lying outside the brain and spinal cord. 
 
 permanent virtual circuit — (networking)   (PVC, or in ATM terminology, "Permanent Virtual Connection") A virtual circuit that is permanently established, saving the time associated with circuit establishment and tear-down. 
 
 personalized number plate — a car registration plate that has the owner's initials or name on it 
 
 pharmacotherapeutic group — Drugs and agents are categorized into pharmacotherapeutic groups based on which diseases they are designed to treat. 
 
 poacher turned gamekeeper — someone whose occupation or behaviour is the opposite of what it previously was, such as a burglar who now advises on home security 
 
 potassium sodium tartrate — a colorless or white, water-soluble solid, KNaC 4 H 4 O 6 ⋅4H 2 O, used in silvering mirrors, in the manufacture of Seidlitz powders and baking powder, and in medicine as a laxative. 
 
 property damage insurance — insurance against losses arising from damage to the property of others, as in a motor-vehicle accident. 
 
 put sth out of its misery — If you put an animal out of its misery, you kill it because it is sick or injured and cannot be cured or healed. 
 
 put/set sb's mind at rest — To put someone's mind at rest or set their mind at rest means to tell them something that stops them worrying. 
 
 qualified majority voting — a voting system, used by the EU Council of Ministers, enabling certain resolutions to be passed without unanimity 
 
 rate monotonic scheduling — (algorithm)   A means of scheduling the time allocated to periodic hard-deadline real-time users of a resource. The users are assigned priorities such that a shorter fixed period between deadlines is associated with a higher priority. Rate monotonic scheduling provides a low-overhead, reasonably resource-efficient means of guaranteeing that all users will meet their deadlines provided that certain analytical equations are satisfied during the system design. It avoids the design complexity of time-line scheduling and the overhead of dynamic approaches such as earliest-deadline scheduling. 
 
 rotational quantum number — the quantum number that distinguishes the angular momentum states associated with the rotational motion of a molecule. 
 
 ruby-throated hummingbird — a small hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, the only hummingbird of eastern North America, having metallic-green upper plumage and a bright red throat in the male. 
 
 ruffle someone's feathers — one of the horny structures forming the principal covering of birds, consisting typically of a hard, tubular portion attached to the body and tapering into a thinner, stemlike portion bearing a series of slender, barbed processes that interlock to form a flat structure on each side. 
 
 run-time type information — (compiler)   (RTTI) Facilities included in C++ compilers to allow the type of an object to be determined at run time. This facility, found in good C++ compilers and some other high level languages, adds type information to memory resident objects (i.e. type name or unique type-id). This allows the run-time system to determine if an object is of a specific type, for example, to ensure that a cast of an object is valid. 
 
 saint pierre and miquelon — two small groups of islands off the S coast of Newfoundland: an overseas territory of France; important base for fishing. 3 sq. mi. (240 sq. km). Capital: St. Pierre. 
 
 sequential parlog machine — (SPM) The virtual machine (and its machine code) for the Parlog logic programming language. 
 
 single document interface — (programming)   (SDI) A limitation applying to an application program that only shows a single windows giving a view of one document at a time. The opposite is Multiple Document Interface (MDI). 
 
 sulphate-resisting cement — a type of Portland cement that resists normal concentrations of sulphates: used in concrete for flues and underwater work