From 0dfc3912919dc870fba468d35921c5671c06de24 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Alexander Kirillov Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 17:21:14 +0000 Subject: Moved files in unix-primer and glossary to C subdirs --- glossary/C/glossary.sgml | 1648 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 1648 insertions(+) create mode 100644 glossary/C/glossary.sgml (limited to 'glossary') diff --git a/glossary/C/glossary.sgml b/glossary/C/glossary.sgml new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7175f01 --- /dev/null +++ b/glossary/C/glossary.sgml @@ -0,0 +1,1648 @@ + + + + Alexander + Kirillov + Kirrily Robert + + + Glossary + + + + +A + + + Applet + + An application working inside a small window in a panel. + + + + + + + Application launcher + + + A button in the panel which launches an application or executes + a command when pressed. + + + + + + + ASCII + + American Standard Code for Information Interchange; the + standard describing a collection of characters and codes + (i.e. sequences of zeros and ones, or numbers) assigned to + them. ASCII characters include + Latin letters, common punctuation marks, some special symbols + usually found on the keyboard such as & and $, and some + control symbols, such as the codes used for denoting end of + line and end of file; it does not include accented + symbols. The corresponding codes run from 0 to 127. + + When you see a mention of an ASCII file or + ASCII text somewhere, it usually means a plain + text file which only uses symbols defined in ASCII standard, + with no formatting information such as fonts to be used. + ASCII is defined as a standard of American + National Standards Institute (ANSI); the offical reference is + ANSI X3.4-1986. You can find a reproduction of + it in many places on the Internet, for example, on + CNET Web page. + + + + + + + + + Attachment + + + Any file accompanying an e-mail message in a special format so + that it can be viewed or saved to disk independently of the main + message body. + + + + + + + +B + + + Background + + + To make a program run without any visible output; to put a program + which is already running into the background. + + + On the UNIX command line, the character & + appended to a command will make that command run in the + background. + + + + + + + Binary + + + An executable program, so called because the file containing the + program consists of machine-readable binary digits, i.e. ones and + zeroes. + + + + + + + + Bit + + The minimal possible unit of information, a digit which + can take values 0 or 1. Saying + that the file has length n bits is equivalent to saying that it + can be written as a sequence of n zeros and ones. + + + + + + + Byte + + 8 bits, i.e. a sequence of 8 + zeros and ones.There are 256 + possible such sequences, so one can also say that one byte + represents a number ranging from 0 to 255. + + Byte is the basic building block of filesystem: all files + are composed of bytes. For text files, each byte represents + one symbol (see definition of encoding for more information). + + + + + + + + + +C + + + Cache + + + A short-term storage area in RAM or on the hard disk. Many + programs use caches to store recently-accessed files or other + items. + + + + + + + Character set (charset) + + + A collection of symbols, such as letters of one or several + alphabets, digits, punctuation marks, etc. Commonly used + together with encoding. + + + + + + + + Clipboard + + + The temporary buffer into which text or other data can be + copied, to be used later by pasting into a different location. + Most applications support the clipboard either through native + mouse-based cut and paste functionality of X Window System, or through specialised + menus and other interfaces. + + + + + + Command line options + + + Parameters or arguments given on the UNIX command line after a + program name, which tell the program how to run. For instance, in + the command ls -l the -l is + a command line option telling the ls program to + produce a long listing. + + + + + + Cursor + + + A highlighted or animated icon which indicates the current + position of the mouse on the screen, or the position where + keyboard input will occur in a text window. + + + + + + + + + +D + + + Daemon + + + A background process providing basic system or network services. + + + + + + Desktop + + + The visible screen area, on which windows, icons, and other graphical + items may be placed. + + + + + + + + + Desktop environment + + + Software which provides graphical user interface for users + desktop. In addtition to capabilities provided by a window manager (that is, ability + to move, resize, and hide windows), a desktop environment + usually also includes such elements of GUI as a File Manager + with drag-and-drop capabilities, Panel used for keeping your + favorite applications and applets, and a set of other + utilities. Most popular desktop environments for UNIX + include GNOME, KDE and CDE (soon to be replaced by + GNOME). + + + + + + + Device + + + A piece of hardware with which the system interacts, such as a + hard disk, modem, or mouse. + + + + + + + + + + Directory + + + A branch within UNIX's hierarchical file system; a + folder containing files or other directories + (called subdirectories). + + + + + + + DNS + + + Domain Name Service; converting domain names (such as + www.gnome.org) into IP addresses such as + 209.116.70.70. If you want to use + domain names, your computer must be configured to connect to + one of DNS servers which would do this conversion. + + + + + + + + + +E + + + Electronic mail (e-mail) + + + A way of exchanging messages between users of computers + connected to a network (local or Internet). + + + + + + + + Encoding + + A correspondence between characters of some character set and character codes, + i.e. internal computer presentation of the symbols. In order to + be able to read a text file, you need to know its character set + and encoding. + + In most encodings, each symbol is represented by one + byte, which is equivalent to a + number from 0 to 255; the characters corresponding to codes 0 + to 127 coincide with the ASCII + standard, while the characters with codes higher than 127 vary + between encodings. For Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and similar + character sets, each symbol is represented by 2 bytes. + + The most common encoding is + iso-8859-1; in addition to ASCII + characters, it also contains accented letters covering most of + Western European languages. + + + + + Environment variable + + A global setting, or configuration + parameter, which is available to all applications. Each + environment variable has a name and a value (which usually is a + string of symbols or an integer number). Any application you run + can access any of the environment variables. For example, there + is a standard environment variable HOME, whose + value is the user's home directory (for example, + /home/joe), and any application which wants + to create a file in your home directory uses this variable to + find out what your home directory is. + + To view all currenlty defined environment variables, use + the command printenv (provided that you have + GNU shell utils package installed). To modify a value of + environment variable, use the command + export + NAME= VALUE; + if you are using bash shell or setenv + NAME VALUE; if you are + using csh or tcsh shell. + + + + + + Ethernet + + + A protocol for network communication, developed in the 1980s and + commonly used for Local Area Networks (LANs) and other network + communication. + + + + + + + + + + + +F + + + File + + Any piece of information (text, graphics, executable) put + together and given a name. All the information you have on the + hard drive is arranged as a collection of files. + + + + + + + Filesystem + + A collection of all the files and directories on a system + arranged in a tree-like hierarchy. + + + + + + + + Foreground + + + To run a program so that its output is visible to the user, or to + bring a previously backgrounded program to the foreground. + Programs running in the foreground can display output and receive + input from the user. + + + + + + + + + File Transfer Protocol (FTP) + + A protocol for exchanging files over the Internet or local network. There is a + number of utilities based on this protocol, such as + gFTP; you can also use command + ftp on the command line. In addition, most + file managers and Web browsers have built-in FTP capabilities. + + + + + + Free software + + As defined by Free Software Foundation, free software is + software that comes with permission for anyone to use, copy, and + distribute, either verbatim or with modifications, either gratis + or for a fee. In particular, this means that the source code must + be available. + + + This is very close, but not identical, to the notion of Open Source software. Detailed + discussion of this and related topics can be found on Free + Software Foundation's Web page. + + + + + + + + + + + + +G + + GNOME + + + A free desktop environment for UNIX and + UNIX-like operating systems; one of the two leading desktop + environments for Linux (the other one is KDE). For more information, please + visit GNOME + Web site. + + Officially, GNOME stands for GNU Network Object Model + Environment. The only part of this name that really matters is + GNU, which is there to indicate that GNOME is a part of the + larger GNU project. + + + + + + GNU + + + GNU's Not UNIX; a project to develop a complete UNIX-like + operating system which is free + software. Combination of tools and utilities produced + by GNU project with Linux kernel + is widely known under the name Linux operating + system; more accurately, such a system should be + called GNU/Linux. + + + For more information about GNU project, visit its Web page. + + + + + + GNU General Public License + (GPL) + + A software license developed by the Free Software + Foundation. In short, it allows anyone to use, copy, distribute, + or sell the software, in original or modified form, as long as + you distribute the program's source code along with the + binaries, and you distribute them again under the GPL. A copy of + the GPL is included as an appendix to GNOME User's guide. You + can also view GPL on-line on FSF's Web page. + + GPL plays an extremely important role in the free + software movement; almost all of GNU project software, as well + as Linux kernel, is distributed + under GPL. For a detailed discussion of history, ideas and + philosophy related to GPL and free sofware in general, visit + FSF's Web + page. + + + + + + + + + + GIMP Toolkit (GTK) + + + A collection of tools for creating screen widgets + such as scrollbars, menus, checkbuttons, etc. in + applications. GTK is used by all GNOME applications. + + + + + + + + + + +H + + + + Hot Key + + + Hot-keys are keyboard combinations used to do actions on a + computer instead of using the mouse to do the same action. + Hot-keys can speed up computer usage. Also known under the name + keyboard shortcut or keyboard + accelerator. + + + + + + + + HTML + + + Hypertext Markup Language; the language in which all the + Web pages in the world are written. HTML can also be used for + e-mails, which allows having nicely formatted e-mails, possibly + including images and links. + + More information about HTML can be found on the Web page + of World Wide Web + Consortium, which is the official maintainer of HTML + standard. + + + + + + HTTP + HTTP + + + Hypertext Transfer Protocol; the protocol by which web pages and + other web-accessible resources are delivered. Whenever you are + browsing the Web, your browser uses HTTP to communicate with the + Web server and request a Web page. + + + HTTP is defined in RFC 1945 + (HTTP 1.0) and RFC 2068 + (HTTP 1.1). + + + + + + + + + +I + + + IDE + + + Intergrated Drive Electronics; an interface for connecting + hard drives and other similar devices to your computer. IDE + is an old interface; nowadays, most drives use an enhanced + version of IDE, EIDE. + + + + + + + Icon + + + A small picture used within a graphical user interface to indicate + a program, file, or other part of a computer system. + + + + + + + + Internet + + Unless you spent the last 20 years on a deserted island, + you probably know what Internet is. But just in case: Internet + is the network of millions of computers all around the world, + connected to each other by some hardware means (cables, wires, + phone lines, communication satellites) and communicating with + each other using some standard protocols. Internet makes it + possible for users of these computers to send and receive + electronic mail, browse the World Wide Web, exchange files (using FTP protocol), remotely login into your + computer from other places (using telnet), and more. + + + + + + + IP address + + A unique address assigned to each computer connected to + the Internet or a local + network. Has the form a.b.c.d, where + a,b,c,d are numbers from 0 to 255, subject to a number of rules + and conventions. + + All communication between computers on the Internet is + based on IP addresses; however, on a properly set up network you + can instead use domain names (such as www.gnome.org), which are + automatically transformed to IP addresses using Domain Name Service (DNS). + + + + + + + + + + + +K + + + + + KDE + + + A desktop environment for + UNIX and UNIX-like operating systems; one of two leading + desktop environments for Linux (the other one is GNOME). For more infrmation visit + KDE Web + site. + + + + + + + Kernel + + The core component of an operating system, responsible for + basic operations such as accessing the files, input/output, + managing the processor and memory resources, etc. All other + tools, utilities, and applications use the kernel. + + + + + + + + + +L + + Linux + + A free (as in GNU GPL) UNIX-like operating system, written in + collaboration by hundreds of developers all around the world, + most of them volunteers. One of the most successful and famous + free software projects. + + Strictly speaking, the name Linux only + applies to the kernel of the + operating system. Most of other tools and utilities necessary + for system functioning came from GNU + project, so the operating system should be properly + called GNU/Linux; however, for convenience + reasons most people use the name Linux for the whole operating + system. + + There is a tremendous amount of information about Linux + available on the Internet; good starting points are www.linux.com, + www.linux.org. There is + also a number of good books about Linux available in bookstores; + if you have a Linux system, you probably also have a lot of Linux + documentaion installed on your system. + + + + + + login + + + The process by which a user authenticates herself to a computer + system, usually by typing in a username and password. + + + + + + + + + + + + +M + + + + + Mail Client + + + An application which a user reads and sends + their e-mail with. Also called Mail User Agent (MUA). + + + + + + Manual page (manpage) + + + A documentation resource commonly provided with UNIX programs. + Manual pages typically contain concise technical listings of + available command line options and + other settings which affect the running of the program. Can be + viewed using GNOME Help Browser or by typing man + commandname on the command + line. + + + + + + + Menu + + + A list of possible actions or options available within a program. + + + + + + MIME type + + + A type of the file, describing what kind of + data and in which format this file contains; for example, MIME + type image/jpeg is used for graphic files + in JPEG format. Used by many applications (such as file + manager) to determine what application should be used to open + or edit a given file. This can be configured using + GNOME Control Center. + + The acronym MIME stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail + Extension, since originally it was used to describe types of + files sent in e-mail. + + + + + + Mount + + + A command instructing the operating system to incorporate + contents of a device (such as a + hard drive or a CD-ROM) into the system's link file system. Requires the device + name (e.g. /dev/cdrom) and the mount point, + i.e. the name of the directory under which the contents of the + device will be shown (e.g., + /mnt/cdrom). You must mount any device + before you can access files on it, and unmount it before + physically disconnnecting or removing the drive. For more + information, see Appendix If you are new to + UNIX in GNOME User's Guide or + manual page for mount. + + + + + + + + Mount point + + + + + + Mouse cursor + + + An small icon (usually an arrow) used to indicate the position + of the mouse on the desktop. + + + + + + + + + + +N + + + Nautilus + + + Nautilus is the next generation file + manager for GNOME being written by Eazel. + + + + + + + + +O + + + Open Source + + + Refers to software for which both the executable files and + the source code can be freely redistributed and re-used in + other products. This term was introduced by Open Source + Intiative; it is very close, but not identical to + the notion of free + software used by the Free software Foundation. + + + + + + + + + +P + + + Partition + + + Hard disks and other similar devices can be + divided into parts which, for all practical + purposes, can be used as separate disks; these parts are + called partitions. For example, you can create partitions of + differrent types (e.g., FAT32 used by + Windows and ext2 used by Linux) on the + same disk, format them independently of each other, and so + on. + + + + + + + + + Password + + + A string of typable characters (letters, numbers, punctuation + marks, etc.) used to authenticate a user's + identity. Required for logging in. + + + + + + + Process ID (PID) + + + The ID number by which the system identifies individual processes. + The first process to run on the system has PID 0. + + + + + + + + + Pixel + + + A single element, or dot, on the computer's + screen. A pixel's colour is made up of a mixture of red, green + and blue light. Screen resolution is measured in pixels. + + + + + + + Pointer + + + + + + Point-to-point protocol (PPP) + + + A protocol allowing a computer to connect to a TCP/IP network via a modem. A PPP + connection allows an ordinary home computer connected to a + telephone line to become a part of the Internet + + + + + + Postscript + + A language for desribing printed pages, developed by + Adobe + Corporation. Can be used to describe both graphics and + text, black and white or color. Postscript is the + de-facto standard for quality printing; almost all printing + in UNIX is done by converting the data to be printed to + Postscript before sending it to printer. If your printer does + not have built-in Postscript capabilities, then your system is + probably configured to convert Postscript to something you + printer can print. + + Postscript files can also be saved to disk; they usually + have extension .ps. There is a number of + utilities for viewing Postscript files, such as + gv or + ggv. + + + + + + Process + + A task run by the operating system. UNIX is a + multitasking sytem, so at any given moment there are many + processes running. Usually, each command or application you + start is run as a new process; some applications may run several + processes. In addition, there is also a number of system + processes which run in the background to ensure proper + functioning of the system. + + Each process has a unique ID number + (PID). You can view the list of all the + processes running on your system using GNOME System + monitor (gtop) or + Ktop. See the documentation for these + applications for more information. + + + + + + + + + + + + + +R + + Resolution + + + A measurement indicating the height and width of the visible + screen of a computer in pixels. + Typical resolutions include 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024. + + + + + + Root directory + + + The top level directory of a UNIX file system, containing all + other files and directories. Root directory is denoted by a + single slash (/). + + + + + + + Root (user) + + + The privileged user on a UNIX system; has full control over + the system and all files on it, including those of other + users. Is typically used by system administartor for system + maintenance. + + + + + + + Root window + + + The background of an X11 desktop, in which background images + (wallpaper) or running programs may be displayed. + + + + + + + RPM package + + A file containing in it in a packed form all the files + comprising an application (executable files, documentation, + configuration, etc.), plus some extra information about the + application, such as a brief description and dependency + information. The RPM format makes installing, un-installing, + upgrading, and keeping track of the applications installed on + your system very easy. There is a number of tools available for + working with RPM packages, such as + gnorpm or + Kpackage. For those who prefer the + command line, there is also the rpm command. + See the documentation for these utilities or RPM's Web page for more information. + + + RPM format was developed by Red Hat, Inc; the acronym + RPM stands for RPM Package Manager. + + + + + + + + + +S + + Screen + + + The physical monitor device of a computer, consisting of a cathode + ray tube, liquid crystal display, or similar means of displaying + pixels; the visible picture displayed + on the monitor. + + + + + + Screensaver + + + A program which blanks the screen or displays pretty or + entertaining graphics after a period of inactivity on the + console. Originally intended to prevent burn-in + of images on older cathode-ray tubes, screensavers are now used + primarily for entertainment purposes or to lock an unused + terminal, requiring the user to enter a password to return to the normal + display. + + + + + + Script + + + A program written in an interpreted language, i.e. a language + where the commands are executed one by one as you enter them + (as opposed to compiled languages, in which the whole program + must first be translated into machine codes (compiled) to + create an executable file). By far the most common type of + scripts are shell scripts, which are simply sequences of shell commands. Other popular types of + scripts are javascripts used in Web pages, perl scripts and + Tcl/Tk scripts. + + + + + + + + SCSI + + + Small Computer System Interface; an interface for connecting + various computer components, such as hard drives. Works + faster than the more common IDE + interface, but is more expensive, so it is used mostly on + servers. + + + + + + + + Segmentation fault (segfault) + + + A program crash. More precisely, this is what happens when a + program tries to access resources which do not belong to it; + in such a case, for security reasons the operating system + immediately kills the offending program. Segfaults are + almost always caused by bugs in the program. + + + + + + + + Shell + + + Any of a number of UNIX programs which interpret commands typed + by the user before passing them to the operating system and + provide other features such as command history, aliasing, and + scripting. Examples include bash and + tcsh. Shells are often displayed in a terminal window. + + + + + + + SMTP + + + Simple Mail Transfer Protocol; a protocol used for exchanging + electronic mail messages between machines on a network. + + + + + + + + Spam + + + Useless e-mail. Spam normally comes in forms of + chain-letters and advertisements for websites or services. + + + + + + + Symbolic link (symlink) + + + A file of special type which contains no data but instead, points + to another file or directory. Equivalent + to a shortcut under Windows. + + + + + + System administrator + + + The person responsible for administration and maintenance of a + computer system. + + + + + + + + + + + +T + + Tar archive (tarball) + + + A file created using the tar (Tape ARchive) + program, which conglomerates multiple files, or even a whole + directory tree, into one file for easy storage or transfer. These + archives are often compressed using the gzip + program and given a filename extension of + .tar.gz. + + + + + + TCP/IP + + + Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol; pair of + protocols used for all communication between computers on + the Internet and most local networks. TCP/IP serves as a + basis for higher level protocols (FTP, telnet, SMTP, + …): all information sent from one computer to another + on the Internet, be it an e-mail message or a Web page, is + sent as a collection of TCP/IP packets. + + + + + + + Telnet + + A protocol allowing logging into your computer account + via Internet or local network from another computer; also, the + command using this protocol. For more + information, see manual page for telnet. + + + + + + Terminal + + Originally, a physical device, a monitor capable of + showing text output with a connected keyboard. Nowadays, mostly + used to refer to a window on your screen which emulates one of + these terminals and provides a command line prompt for entering + commands and running text-based applications. + + + + + Theme + + + An integrated collection of graphical elements intended to give + the desktop a certain look and feel. Common theme components + include matching backgrounds, icons, and window decorations. + + The look of GNOME desktop is determined by 2 themes: a + GTK theme, which determines the look of application menus, + toolbars and other widgets, and window manager theme, which + determines window borders, buttons, and window title font. + + + + + + + + + + +U + + + Unicode + + + A character set which strives + to include all symbols in all human alphabets, and all special + symbol used by people. It is a work in progress; the latest + version of Unicode (3.0) includes 49,194 characters and covers + languages ranging from English to Chinese to Cherokee. For + more information, see Unicode + Consortium Web site. + + + + + + + UNIX + + + An operating system originally developed at Bell Labs in the early + 1970s by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie; any of a large number of + operating systems sharing many features with the original UNIX + operating system, such as Sun's Solaris + or IBM's AIX. + + For legal reasons, operating systems such as + FreeBSD and + Linux can not be called UNIX, but + they do share all important features with UNIX systems; thus, + they are commonly called UNIX-like. + + + + + + + USB + + Universal Serial Bus; an interface for connecting + various peripherals, from keyboard to digital cameras, to the + computer. + + + + + + + + User + + + An actual person who uses a computer system, identified by a + unique username, or a virtual + person or role similarly identified by a unique + username. Virtual users may be used to run daemons or other software. + + + + + + Username + + + A string of alphanumeric characters uniquely identifying a user of a computer system. Most usernames + are based on the user's real name, so Mary Smith might have the + username mary or msmith. + + + + + + + + Uniform Resource Locator (URL) + + An address, or location, of + a document. Most common URL types are a Web address (such as + http://www.gnome.org), a file on a + FTP server (e.g., + ftp://ftp.gnome.org/pub), or a file + on your own local system (e.g., + file:/usr/doc/). Formal definition + of URL (which is a subset of more general notion, Uniform + Resource Identifier (URI)) is given in RFC2396, + (beware: as any formal deinition, this one is way too + technical for greater majority of users). + + + + + + + + + +V + + + Virtual desktop + + + Some window managers allow + the user to have several virtual desktops;you + could have application windows open and working on all of + them, even though at every moment, only one of the virtual + desktops is shown on your screen. Similar to having several + physical desks in your office so that you can put your + papers on all of them, even though you can only work at one + desk at a time + + + + + + + + + + +W + + + Widget + + + A single element of a graphical user interface, such as a button, + scrollbar, or text input area. + + + + + + Window + + + The interface element used to display most applications under a + windowing GUI such as X Window + System. Windows typically consist of a main area in + which typing or other work occurs, a title bar (which may + contain buttons to minimize, maximize or close the window), + window-specific menus, and a scroll bar down either side of the + window if required. + + + + + + Window manager + + + A program which extends the capabilities of the X Window System by providing + most of the user-friendly widgets + people expect from a windowing system, such as window borders, + buttons and menus, ways of moving, resizing, and hiding + windows, placing the icons on your desktop, and so on. Examples of + window managers include Sawfish and + Windowmaker. + + + + + + Workspace + + + Same as virtual desktop. + + + + + + + + World Wide Web (WWW) + + + The most visible part of the Internet; the World Wide Web is + formed by all the + Web pages available on the Internet and all the links among + them. + + + + + + + + + + + +X + + + X Window System + + A graphical system commonly used with UNIX operating + systems; also known under the names X11 or simply X. X is + responsible for putting windows, icons, text, and other + graphical elements on your screen. X is always used in + combination with window manager, + which provides higher level functions such as moving, + minimizing, and maximizing windows. + + + + + + X11 + + + + + XFree86 + + A freely redistributable implementation of the + X Window System + that runs on UNIX-like operating systems (and OS/2). For more + information, visit XFree86 Web page. + + + + + + + X server + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + -- cgit