RF shielding ~ run-time library
A/B Switch box ~ America On-line AMI BIOS ~ Arithmetic Operation ARP ~ AVI Backbone ~ Bit Image Bit Map ~ Boot Disk Boot Drive ~ Bytes Per Inch C++ ~ Carrier Frequency carrier system ~ certification CGI ~ Chooser extension cipher ~ Clipper Chip clock ~ color color bits ~ communications satellite communications server ~ computer security CON ~ copy copy program ~ cycle time daemon ~ defragmentation demand paging ~ digitize DikuMUD ~ disk disk buffer ~ Document Style Semantics and Specification Language document window ~ dynamic Web page Easter egg ~ erase erase head ~ ezine F2F ~ finger2 firewall ~ font suitcase footer ~ FYI Game Control Adapter ~ GUI HAL ~ hot key1 hot key2 ~ Hz i486DX ~ internal modem internet ~ ISO 9660 ISO/OSI model ~ just-in-time K1 ~ knowledge base L1 cache ~ LU luggable computer ~ LZW compression MAC ~ MILNET mime ~ msec MTBF ~ MYOB named anchor ~ network drive Network File System ~ number crunching object ~ overwrite mode P5 ~ PC/XT keyboard PDA ~ pipeline processing piracy ~ preventive maintenance preview ~ pwd quasi-language ~ QWERTY keyboard R&D ~ registration marks Registry ~ RFI RF shielding ~ run-time library SAA ~ server error server push-pull ~ soft return software ~ style sheet stylus ~ System T1 ~ ToggleKeys token ~ typography UART ~ uupc V.120 ~ view2 viewer ~ VxD w3 ~ WinG WINS ~ WWW X.25 ~ X Windows Yahoo! ~ yotta- Z39.50 standard ~ Zulu time
RF shielding
n. A structure, generally sheet metal or metallic foil, designed to prevent the passage of radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic radiation. RF shielding is intended to keep RF radiation either inside a device or out of a device. Without proper RF shielding, devices that use or emit RF radiation can interfere with each other; for example, running an electric mixer might cause interference on a television. Computers generate RF radiation and, to meet Federal Communications Commission (FCC) standards, must be properly shielded to prevent this RF radiation from leaking out. The metal case of a PC provides most of the needed RF shielding. Devices meeting FCC type A standards are suitable for business use. Devices meeting the more stringent FCC type B standards are suitable for home use. See also radio frequency, RFI.
RGB
n. Acronym for red-green-blue. A model for describing colors that are produced by emitting light, as on a video monitor, rather than by absorbing it, as with ink on paper. The three kinds of cone cells in the eye respond to red, green, and blue light, respectively, so percentages of these additive primary colors can be mixed to get the appearance of any desired color. Adding no color produces black; adding 100 percent of all three colors results in white. See also CMYK, RGB monitor. Compare CMY.
RGB monitor
n. A color monitor that receives its signals for red, green, and blue levels over separate lines. An RGB monitor generally produces sharper and cleaner images than those produced by a composite monitor, which receives levels for all three colors over a single line. See also RGB. Compare composite video display.
Rich Text Format
n. An adaptation of DCA (Document Content Architecture) that is used for transferring formatted text documents between applications, even those applications running on different platforms, such as between IBM and compatibles and Apple Macintoshes. See also DCA. Acronym: RTF.
right click
vb. To make a selection using the button on the right side of a mouse or other pointing device. Doing so in the Windows 95 environment typically brings up a pop-up menu with options applicable to the object over which the cursor is positioned. See also mouse, pointing device.
right justification
n. In typesetting, word processing, and desktop publishing, the process of aligning text evenly along the right margins of a column or page. The left edge of the text is ragged. See also justify (definition 1), rag. Compare full justification, left justification.
right-justify
vb. To align lines of text and other display elements so that the right edges form a smooth line. See also align (definition 1), rag. Compare left-justify.
ring network
n. A local area network in which devices (nodes) are connected in a closed loop, or ring. Messages in a ring network pass around the ring from node to node in one direction. When a node receives a message, it examines the destination address attached to the message. If the address is the same as the node's, the node accepts the message; otherwise, it regenerates the signal and passes the message along to the next node in the ring. Such regeneration allows a ring network to cover larger distances than star and bus networks. The ring can also be designed to bypass any malfunctioning or failed node. Because of the closed loop, however, adding new nodes can be difficult. See also token passing, token ring network. Compare bus network, star network.
RISC
n. Acronym for reduced instruction set computing. A microprocessor design that focuses on rapid and efficient processing of a relatively small set of simple instructions that comprises most of the instructions a computer decodes and executes. RISC architecture optimizes each of these instructions so that it can be carried out very rapidly--usually within a single clock cycle. RISC chips thus execute simple instructions more quickly than general-purpose CISC (complex instruction set computing) microprocessors, which are designed to handle a much wider array of instructions. They are, however, slower than CISC chips at executing complex instructions, which must be broken down into many machine instructions that RISC microprocessors can perform. Families of RISC chips include Sun Microsystems' SPARC, Motorola's 88000, Intel's i860, and the PowerPC developed by Apple, IBM, and Motorola. See also architecture, SPARC. Compare CISC.
rlogin1
n. 1. A protocol used to log in to a networked computer in which the local system automatically supplies the user's login name. See also communications protocol, logon. Compare telnet1. 2. A UNIX command in BSD UNIX that enables a user to log in to a remote computer on a network using the rlogin protocol. See also BSD UNIX.
rlogin2
vb. To connect to a networked computer using the rlogin protocol.
robust
adj. Able to function or to continue functioning well in unexpected situations.
ROFL
Acronym for rolling on the floor, laughing. An expression, used mostly in newsgroups and online conferences, to indicate one's appreciation of a joke or other humorous circumstance. Also called ROTFL.
role-playing game
n. A game that is played online such as a MUD, in which participants take on the identities of characters that interact with each other. Often these games have a fantasy or science fiction setting and have a set of rules that all players need to follow. See also MUD.
rollback
n. A return to a previous stable condition, as when the contents of a hard disk are restored from a backup after a destructive hard disk error.
ROM
n. 1. Acronym for read-only memory. A semiconductor circuit into which code or data is permanently installed by the manufacturing process. The use of this technology is economically viable only if the chips are produced in large quantities; experimental designs or small volumes are best handled using PROM or EPROM. 2. Acronym for read-only memory. Any semiconductor circuit serving as a memory that contains instructions or data that can be read but not modified (whether placed there by manufacturing or by a programming process, as in PROM and EPROM). See also EEPROM, EPROM, PROM.
roman
adj. Having upright rather than slanted characters in a typeface. See also font family. Compare italic.
ROM BIOS
n. Acronym for read-only memory basic input/output system. See BIOS.
root
n. The main or uppermost level in a hierarchically organized set of information. The root is the point from which subsets branch in a logical sequence that moves from a broad focus to narrower perspectives. See also leaf, tree.
root account
n. On UNIX systems, the account having control over the operation of a computer. The system administrator uses this account for system maintenance. Also called superuser. See also system administrator.
root directory
n. The point of entry into the directory tree in a disk-based hierarchical directory structure. Branching from this root are various directories and subdirectories, each of which can contain one or more files and subdirectories of its own. For example, in the MS-DOS operating system the root directory is identified by a name consisting of a single backslash character (\). Beneath the root are other directories, which may contain further directories, and so on.
root name
n. In MS-DOS and Windows, the first part of a filename. In MS-DOS and earlier versions of Windows, the maximum length of the root name was eight characters; in Windows NT and later versions of Windows, the root name may be as long as 255 characters. See also 8.3, extension (definition 1), filename, long filenames.
ROT13 encryption
n. A simple encryption method in which each letter is replaced with the letter of the alphabet 13 letters after the original letter, so that A is replaced by N, and so forth; N, in turn, is replaced by A, and Z is replaced by M. ROT13 encryption is not used to protect messages against unauthorized readers; rather, it is used in newsgroups to encode messages that a user may not want to read, such as sexual jokes or spoilers. Some newsreaders can automatically perform ROT13 encryption and decryption at the touch of a key.
rotate
vb. 1. To turn a model or other graphical image so that it is viewed at a different angle. 2. To move bits in a register to the left or to the right. The bit that moves out of the end position rotates to the newly vacated position at the opposite end of the register. Compare shift.
routable protocol
n. A communications protocol that is used to route data from one network to another by means of a network address and a device address. TCP/IP is an example of a routable protocol.
router
n. An intermediary device on a communications network that expedites message delivery. On a single network linking many computers through a mesh of possible connections, a router receives transmitted messages and forwards them to their correct destinations over the most efficient available route. On an interconnected set of local area networks (LANs) using the same communications protocols, a router serves the somewhat different function of acting as a link between LANs, enabling messages to be sent from one to another. See also bridge, gateway.
routine
n. Any section of code that can be invoked (executed) within a program. A routine usually has a name (identifier) associated with it and is executed by referencing that name. Related terms (which may or may not be exact synonyms, depending on the context) are function, procedure, and subroutine. See also function (definition 3), procedure, subroutine.
row
n. A series of items arranged horizontally within some type of framework--for example, a continuous series of cells running from left to right in a spreadsheet; a horizontal line of pixels on a video screen; or a set of data values aligned horizontally in a table. Compare column.
RPROM
n. Short for reprogrammable PROM. See EPROM.
RS-232-C standard
n. An accepted industry standard for serial communications connections. Adopted by the Electrical Industries Association, this Recommended Standard (RS) defines the specific lines and signal characteristics used by serial communications controllers to standardize the transmission of serial data between devices. The letter C denotes that the current version of the standard is the third in a series. See also CTS, DSR, DTR, RTS, RXD, TXD.
RSA encryption
n. Short for Rivest-Shamir-Adleman encryption. The patented public key encryption algorithm, introduced by Ronald Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman in 1978, on which the PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption program is based. See also PGP, public key encryption.
RTM
Acronym for read the manual. See RTFM.
run
vb. To execute a program.
run time
n. 1. The time period during which a program is running. See also compile time, dynamic allocation, dynamic binding, link time. 2. The amount of time needed to execute a given program.
run-time
adj. Occurring after a program has begun to be executed, such as evaluation of variable expressions and dynamic allocation of memory.
run-time error
n. A software error that occurs while a program is being executed, as detected by a compiler or other supervisory program.
run-time library
n. A file containing one or more prewritten routines to perform specific, commonly used functions. A run-time library, used primarily in high-level languages such as C, saves the programmer from having to rewrite those routines.
A/B Switch box ~ America On-line AMI BIOS ~ Arithmetic Operation ARP ~ AVI Backbone ~ Bit Image Bit Map ~ Boot Disk Boot Drive ~ Bytes Per Inch C++ ~ Carrier Frequency carrier system ~ certification CGI ~ Chooser extension cipher ~ Clipper Chip clock ~ color color bits ~ communications satellite communications server ~ computer security CON ~ copy copy program ~ cycle time daemon ~ defragmentation demand paging ~ digitize DikuMUD ~ disk disk buffer ~ Document Style Semantics and Specification Language document window ~ dynamic Web page Easter egg ~ erase erase head ~ ezine F2F ~ finger2 firewall ~ font suitcase footer ~ FYI Game Control Adapter ~ GUI HAL ~ hot key1 hot key2 ~ Hz i486DX ~ internal modem internet ~ ISO 9660 ISO/OSI model ~ just-in-time K1 ~ knowledge base L1 cache ~ LU luggable computer ~ LZW compression MAC ~ MILNET mime ~ msec MTBF ~ MYOB named anchor ~ network drive Network File System ~ number crunching object ~ overwrite mode P5 ~ PC/XT keyboard PDA ~ pipeline processing piracy ~ preventive maintenance preview ~ pwd quasi-language ~ QWERTY keyboard R&D ~ registration marks Registry ~ RFI RF shielding ~ run-time library SAA ~ server error server push-pull ~ soft return software ~ style sheet stylus ~ System T1 ~ ToggleKeys token ~ typography UART ~ uupc V.120 ~ view2 viewer ~ VxD w3 ~ WinG WINS ~ WWW X.25 ~ X Windows Yahoo! ~ yotta- Z39.50 standard ~ Zulu time