24-letter words containing r, c, n
- decision support systems — (application, tool) (DSS) Software tools to help with decision support.
- definite relative clause — a relative clause with a definite relative pronoun as subordinating word, as that they said in We heard the things that they said.
- dejeuner a la fourchette — a luncheon or light meal, especially one at which eggs, meat, etc., are served.
- delayed control-transfer — (architecture) A technique used on the SPARC processor to reduce the effect of pipeline breaks by executing the instruction after a branch instruction (the "delay instruction" in the "delay slot"). If there is no useful instruction which can be placed in the delay slot then the "annul bit" on the control transfer instruction can be set, preventing execution of the delay instruction (unless the control transfer is conditional and is taken). Annulled branches are indicated in SPARC assembler language by appending ",A" to the operation code. For example, LOOP: ... CMP %L0,10 BLE,A LOOP ADD %L2, %L3, #L4 If the delay instruction is also a control transfer instruction then it gets more complicated. Both control transfer instructions are executed (but not the following instruction) and, assuming they are both taken, control is transferred briefly to the destination of the first and then immediately to the destination of the second.
- destructive distillation — the decomposition of a complex substance, such as wood or coal, by heating it in the absence of air and collecting the volatile products
- destructive interference — the interference of two waves of equal frequency and opposite phase, resulting in their cancellation where the negative displacement of one always coincides with the positive displacement of the other.
- detective superintendent — a police officer who investigates crime and who ranks above a detective chief inspector but below a detective chief superintendent
- detoxification programme — a programme of treatment for alcoholism or drug addiction
- dictionary and thesaurus — a dictionary that includes a separate section listing terms with synonyms and antonyms. An online reference site, such as Reference.com, provides immediate electronic access to several dictionaries and a thesaurus as well as to other reference sources.
- differential association — a theory that criminal and deviant behavior is learned through close and frequent association with criminal or deviant behavior patterns, norms, and values.
- differential coefficient — derivative (def 6).
- digital switched network — (communications) (DSN) The completely digital version of the PSTN.
- diminished seventh chord — a chord often used in an enharmonic modulation and very common in modern music, esp jazz and pop music, consisting of a diminished triad with an added diminished seventh above the root
- diphenylaminechlorarsine — adamsite.
- display screen equipment — Visual Display Unit
- disturbance of the peace — a malicious and willful intrusion on the peace and quiet of a community or neighbourhood
- domestic relations court — in some states, a court with jurisdiction over matters involving relations within the family or household, as between husband and wife or parent and child
- domestic-relations court — court of domestic relations.
- double-crested cormorant — a North American cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, having tufts of black and white feathers on the sides of the head.
- ductal carcinoma in situ — a form of breast cancer originating in the breast itself rather than spreading from another site
- dynamic adaptive routing — Automatic rerouting of traffic based on analysis of current network conditions. This does not include routing decisions based on predefined information.
- ecole normale superieure — (body) (ENS) A higher education and research institution in Paris, France.
- effective number of bits — (hardware) (ENOB) An indication of the quality of an analog to digital converter. The measurement is related to the test frequency and the signal-to-noise ratio.
- effective sound pressure — the square root of the mean of the squares of the sound pressures of a sound wave, measured at a given point over a certain time interval.
- effort adjustment factor — (programming) (EAF) A term used in COCOMO to calculate a cost driver attribute's effect on a project. It is the product of the effort multipliers corresponding to each of the cost drivers for the project.
- electromagnetic spectrum — the complete range of electromagnetic radiation from the longest radio waves (wavelength 105 metres) to the shortest gamma radiation (wavelength 10–13 metre)
- electronic configuration — the arrangement of electrons in the orbitals of an atom or molecule
- electronic point of sale — a computerized system for recording sales in retail shops, using a laser scanner at the cash till to read bar codes on the packages of the items sold
- electronic whiteboarding — audiographic teleconferencing
- emotional roller coaster — a situation or experience that alternates between making you feel excited, exhilarated, or happy and making you feel sad, disappointed, or desperate
- endotracheal anaesthesia — a method of administering gaseous anaesthetics to animals through a tube inserted into the trachea
- entry sequenced data set — (database) (ESDS) An IBM straight sequential flat file (like QSAM) but externally managed via IDCAMS. ESDS is used in VSAM.
- equivalence partitioning — equivalence class partitioning
- evolutionary computation — Computer-based problem solving systems that use computational models of evolutionary processes as the key elements in design and implementation. A number of evolutionary computational models have been proposed, including evolutionary algorithms, genetic algorithms, the evolution strategy, evolutionary programming, and artificial life.
- explicit type conversion — (programming) (Or "cast" in C and elsewhere). A programming construct (syntax) to specify that an expression's value should be converted to a different type. For example, in C, to convert an integer (usually 32 bits) to a char (usually 8 bits) we might write: int i = 42; char *p = &buf; *p = (char) i; The expression "(char)" (called a "cast") converts i's value to char type. Casts (including this one) are often not strictly necessary, due to automatic coercions performed by the compiler, but can be used to make the conversion obvious and to avoid warning messages.
- extra-sensory perception — Extra-sensory perception means knowing without using your ordinary senses such as sight and hearing. Some people believe this is possible. The abbreviation ESP is also used.
- extremely high frequency — a radio frequency between 30 000 and 300 000 megahertz
- failure-directed testing — (programming) (Or "heuristics testing") Software testing based on the knowledge of the types of errors made in the past that are likely for the system under test.
- fcc propylene production — FCC propylene production is the production of propylene from a catalytic cracker.
- federal power commission — FPC.
- federal trade commission — FTC.
- ferdinand lewis alcindor — (Ferdinand) Lew(is, Jr.) original name of Abdul-Jabbar.
- fight or flight reaction — the response of the sympathetic nervous system to a stressful event, preparing the body to fight or flee, associated with the adrenal secretion of epinephrine and characterized by increased heart rate, increased blood flow to the brain and muscles, raised sugar levels, sweaty palms and soles, dilated pupils, and erect hairs.
- fight-or-flight reaction — the response of the sympathetic nervous system to a stressful event, preparing the body to fight or flee, associated with the adrenal secretion of epinephrine and characterized by increased heart rate, increased blood flow to the brain and muscles, raised sugar levels, sweaty palms and soles, dilated pupils, and erect hairs.
- fish protein concentrate — an odorless and tasteless high-protein food additive made from ground fish and suitable for human consumption. Abbreviation: FPC.
- flip chip pin grid array — (hardware, processor) (FC-PGA) The package of certain Intel Celeron and Pentium III processors. FC-PGA processors fit into Socket 370 motherboard sockets. The Flip Chip Pin Grid Array is similar to PPGA, except that the silicon core is facing up and the heat slug is exposed. FC-PGA packaging is used by Pentium III processors, and Celeron 566 processors onward. Earlier Celeron processors used PPGA packaging. Celeron processors are also available in Slot 1 SEPP packaging and Pentium III processors in Slot 1 SECC2 packaging. Adapters are available to allow a PPGA Celeron to plug into a Slot 1 connector.
- floating-point specratio — SPECfp92
- fluoxetine hydrochloride — a white crystalline compound, C 17 H 18 F 3 NO⋅HCl: inhibits the uptake of serotonin and is used chiefly as an antidepressant.
- footloose and fancy-free — If you describe someone as footloose and fancy-free, you mean that they are not married or in a similar relationship, and you therefore consider them to have very few responsibilities or commitments.
- forward error correction — (algorithm) (FEC) A class of methods for controling errors in a one-way communication system. FEC sends extra information along with the data, which can be used by the receiver to check and correct the data. A CPU writing data to RAM is a kind of one-way communication - see error correcting memory and error checking and correction.