MPE/iX Glossary of Terms and Acronyms (32650-90887)

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Glossary of Terms
account member A person who has been granted access to the system through the use of
a valid user name within an account. Account members are created by the
account manager, who defines the user name and assigns the user
appropriate capabilities and security restrictions.
account structure The account structure provides organization, security, and billing for
the system. It is used to allocate system resources such as central
processor time, online connect time, and file space. The account is the
principal billing entity for the use of system resources.
acknowledge To answer or reply to a polling, an address, or a message.
acoustic modem A data communications device. An acoustic modem has a cradle and
form-fitting rubber cups to hold a telephone handset. The opposite of
direct-connect modem.
ACTIVE state The status of either an input or output spoolfile (defined differently for
each). During input spooling, an ACTIVE file is a spoolfile being created,
indicating that the input spooler is still collecting data from the input
device. An ACTIVE output spoolfile is the only file being output to a
device. For example, when the standard output device is the system
printer the file being printed is ACTIVE.
actual file designator The file name provided by the user. The system then uses the file
name in place of the formal file designator to accomplish some task. The
actual file designator is the file name listed in the directory. See formal
file designator.
address 1. A number identifying an exact location in memory. A process can send
data to, or retrieve data from, this address.
2. A set of values identifying a specific peripheral (I/O) device to the
computer. The exact details on the formation of an address differ
between systems.
address bus The electrical conductors within a computer. They carry addresses from
the CPU to components under CPU control. The 900 Series HP 3000
address bus is 32-bits wide.
advanced terminal processor (ATP) An intelligent hardware interface between
terminals and the HP 3000. The ATP handles character processing and
eliminates CPU interrupts. It supports full-duplex asynchronous modems
and direct memory access of user data.
AdvanceNet See HP AdvanceNet.
algorithm A step-by-step procedure for solving a problem in a finite amount of time.
ALLBASE/SQL A Hewlett-Packard database management system. It provides both
network and relational interfaces.
allocate 1. To locate and reserve disk space for a particular file.
2. To use the ALLOCATE command to update table entries and resolve
pointers necessary for a program to execute. However, the program is
not actually loaded into memory until run time.