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22-letter words containing s, a, l

  • database normalisation — (database)   A series of steps followed to obtain a database design that allows for efficient access and storage of data in a relational database. These steps reduce data redundancy and the chances of data becoming inconsistent. A table in a relational database is said to be in normal form if it satisfies certain constraints. Codd's original work defined three such forms but there are now five generally accepted steps of normalisation. The output of the first step is called First Normal Form (1NF), the output of the second step is Second Normal Form (2NF), etc. First Normal Form eliminates repeating groups by putting each value of a multi-valued attribute into a new row. Second Normal Form eliminates functional dependencies on a partial key by putting the fields in a separate table from those that are dependent on the whole key. Third Normal Form eliminates functional dependencies on non-key fields by putting them in a separate table. At this stage, all non-key fields are dependent on the key, the whole key and nothing but the key. Fourth Normal Form separates independent multi-valued facts stored in one table into separate tables. Fifth Normal Form breaks out data redundancy that is not covered by any of the previous normal forms.
  • decimal classification — a system of classifying books in libraries by the use of numbers with decimals
  • deinstitutionalisation — Alternative spelling of deinstitutionalization.
  • deinstitutionalization — to release (a person with mental or physical disabilities) from a hospital, asylum, home, or other institution with the intention of providing treatment, support, or rehabilitation primarily through community resources under the supervision of health-care professionals or facilities.
  • delayed-action shutter — a camera shutter that opens after an interval set by the photographer
  • denotational semantics — (theory)   A technique for describing the meaning of programs in terms of mathematical functions on programs and program components. Programs are translated into functions about which properties can be proved using the standard mathematical theory of functions, and especially domain theory. Compare axiomatic semantics, operational semantics, standard semantics.
  • descriptive cataloging — the aspect of cataloging concerned with the bibliographic and physical description of a book, recording, or other work, accounting for such items as author or performer, title, edition, and imprint as opposed to subject content.
  • design system language — J. Gaffney, Evans & Sutherland 1976. Interpretive FORTH-like language for 3d graphics databases. Earliest forerunner of both Interpress and PostScript. Mentioned in PostScript Language Reference Manual, Adobe Systems, A-W 1985.
  • developmental disorder — any condition, such as autism or dyslexia, that appears in childhood and is characterized by delay in the development of one or more psychological functions, such as language skill
  • devil's darning needle — dragonfly
  • diachronic linguistics — historical linguistics.
  • digital control system — (systems)   (DCS) A digital computer used for real-time control of a dynamic system, usually in an industrial environment, possibly as part of a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. A DCS samples feedback from the system under control and modifies the control signals in an attempt to achieve some desired behaviour. Analysis of such digital-analogue feedback systems can involve mathematical methods such as difference equations, Laplace transforms, z transfer functions, state space models and state transition matrices.
  • digital standard mumps — (DSM) DEC's version of MUMPS.
  • digital versatile disc — (storage)   (DVD, formerly "Digital Video Disc") An optical storage medium with improved capacity and bandwidth compared with the Compact Disc. DVD, like CD, was initally marketed for entertainment and later for computer users. [When was it first available?] A DVD can hold a full-length film with up to 133 minutes of high quality video, in MPEG-2 format, and audio. The first DVD drives for computers were read-only drives ("DVD-ROM"). These can store 4.7 GBytes - over seven times the storage capacity of CD-ROM. DVD-ROM drives read existing CD-ROMs and music CDs and are compatible with installed sound and video boards. Additionally, the DVD-ROM drive can read DVD films and modern computers can decode them in software in real-time. The DVD video standard was announced in November 1995. Matshusita did much of the early development but Philips made the first DVD player, which appeared in Japan in November 1996. In May 2004, Sony released the first dual-layer drive, which increased the disc capacity to 8.5 GB. Double-sided, dual-layer discs will eventually increase the capacity to 17 GB. Write-once DVD-R ("recordable") drives record a 3.9GB DVD-R disc that can be read on a DVD-ROM drive. Pioneer released the first DVD-R drive on 1997-09-29. By March 1997, Hitachi had released a rewritable DVD-RAM drive (by false analogy with random-access memory). DVD-RAM drives read and write to a 2.6 GB DVD-RAM disc, read and write-once to a 3.9GB DVD-R disc, and read a 4.7 GB or 8.5 GB DVD-ROM. Later, DVD-RAM discs could be read on DVD-R and DVD-ROM drives.
  • disciplinary committee — a committee charged with examining alleged breaches of discipline within an organization, profession, etc and adjudicating on them
  • dishonorable discharge — the discharge of a person from military service for an offense more serious than one for which a bad-conduct discharge is given.
  • disposable soma theory — the theory that ageing is caused by the body having increasingly fewer resources to allocate towards repairing wear and damage to tissues
  • duplex high speed data — (DHSD) A term which describes a full-duplex channel that can carry 64 kilobits per second. This is the kind of service provided by an Inmarsat-B type portable earth station or a leased line (not ISDN).
  • dyadic systems limited — Dyalog Limited
  • earn one's daily bread — to earn one's living
  • east australia current — the part of the South Equatorial Current flowing S along the E coast of Australia.
  • east greenland current — a cold ocean current of low salinity flowing south along the east coast of Greenland.
  • ecclesiastical society — (in Congregational churches) a legal corporation with power to sue and be sued and to administer all of the temporalities of the church.
  • economy-class syndrome — Economy-class syndrome is a serious medical condition caused by blood clots in the legs moving up to the lungs; used especially in connection with long-haul flights.
  • educational psychology — a branch of psychology concerned with developing effective educational techniques and dealing with psychological problems in schools.
  • educational television — television of informational or instructional content.
  • electroencephalographs — Plural form of electroencephalograph.
  • electrophysiologically — In an electrophysiological way.
  • employers' association — a body of employers, usually from the same sector of the economy, associated to further the interests of member companies by conducting negotiations with trade unions, providing advice, making representations to other bodies, etc
  • end transmission block — (character)   (ETB) The mnemonic for ASCII character 23.
  • engineering consultant — a consultant specializing in engineering
  • english cocker spaniel — any of a breed of small spaniel, similar to and the progenitor of the cocker spaniel
  • equal rights amendment — a proposed amendment to the US Constitution enshrining equality between the sexes
  • estimated maximum loss — Estimated maximum loss is the amount of risk that an underwriter estimates the insurer will be able to cover before ceding any surplus to a reinsurer.
  • examining the entrails — The process of grovelling through a core dump or hex image in an attempt to discover the bug that brought a program or system down. The reference is to divination from the entrails of a sacrified animal. Compare runes, incantation, black art, desk check.
  • existential quantifier — quantifier
  • extension language kit — (language)   (Elk) A Scheme interpreter by Oliver Laumann <[email protected]> and Carsten Bormann <[email protected]> of the Technical University of Berlin. Elk was designed to be used as a general extension language. New types and primitive procedures can easily be added. It has first-class environments, dynamic-wind, fluid-let, macros, autoloading and a dump. It provides interfaces to Xlib, Xt and various widget sets; dynamic loading of extensions and object files; almost all artificial limitations removed; generational/incremental garbage collector; Unix system call extensions; Records (structures) and bit strings. Version: 2.2 is mostly R3RS compatible and runs on Unix, Ultrix, VAX, Sun-3, Sun-4, 68000, i386, MIPS, IBM PC RT, RS/6000, HP700, SGI, Sony, MS-DOS (gcc+DJGPP or go32).
  • facsimile transmission — an international system of transmitting a written, printed, or pictorial document over the telephone system by scanning it photoelectrically and reproducing the image after transmission
  • fall prey to something — To fall prey to something bad means to be taken over or affected by it.
  • fallacy of composition — the fallacy of inferring that a property of parts or members of a whole is also a property of the whole (opposed to fallacy of division).
  • federal crop insurance — insurance against the failure of certain crops provided to farmers and producers by the Federal Government
  • federal district court — district court (def 2).
  • federal reserve system — a U.S. federal banking system that is under the control of a central board of governors (Federal Reserve Board) with a central bank (Federal Reserve Bank) in each of 12 districts and that has wide powers in controlling credit and the flow of money as well as in performing other functions, as regulating and supervising its member banks.
  • fetal alcohol syndrome — a pattern of birth defects caused by maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy: considered as one of the fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Abbreviation: FAS.
  • field emission display — (hardware)   (FED) A type of flat panel display in which field emitting cathodes bombard a phosphor coating causing it to emit light. A field emission display is similar to a cathode ray tube but only a few millimeters thick. They use a large array of fine metal tips or carbon nanotubes (which are the most efficient electron emitters known), to emit electrons through a process known as field emission. Many of these are behind each phosphor dot so FEDs do not display dead pixels like LCDs even if 20% of the emitters fail. Sony is researching FED because it is the flat-panel technology that comes closest to matching the picture of a CRT.
  • fifth earl of rosebery — Archibald Philip Primrose [prim-rohz] /ˈprɪmˌroʊz/ (Show IPA), 5th Earl of, 1847–1929, British statesman and author: prime minister 1894–95.
  • file transfer protocol — (FTP) A client-server protocol which allows a user on one computer to transfer files to and from another computer over a TCP/IP network. Also the client program the user executes to transfer files. It is defined in STD 9, RFC 959. See also anonymous FTP, FSP, TFTP.
  • flat-screen television — A flat-screen television is a television with a flat, narrow screen.
  • for a laugh/for laughs — If you do something for a laugh or for laughs, you do it as a joke or for fun.
  • forced place insurance — Forced place insurance is insurance taken out by a bank or creditor on an uninsured debtor's behalf on a property that is being used as collateral.
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