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

58 Chapter1
Glossary of Terms
session is ended with the BYE command, or a second HELLO command that
logs the user off the first session and onto another session.
session layer Layer five of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) network model. The
session layer provides the means for cooperative presentation entities to
organize and synchronize their dialog and manage their data exchange.
signal The software interrupt sent to processes, informing them of special
situations or events.
simplex The operation of a channel only in one direction, with no reverse
capability.
single-cycle execution Simple, hard-wired instructions that are efficiently pipelined to
allow RISC architecture to execute an instruction on virtually every
machine cycle.
single file consistency Single file consistency is the preservation of the internal state of
a file. The backup system ensures that a file is in a logically consistent
state before it stores the file.
single-user mode A DBEnvironment startup mode that allows only one DBE session to
be active at a time.
single-user state A condition of the MPE/iX operating system in which the system
console provides the only communication mechanism between the system
and its user.
single-user system A system that can communicate with only one fixed terminal.
slave device A peripheral device not directly connected to the HP 3000. A slave device
does not have its own device controller, but instead is controlled through a
master device.
small computer system interface (SCSI) A SCSI is an interface designed to connect
small computer systems to devices such as disk storage, printers, and
other peripherals.
softcopy The display on a video terminal. The opposite of hardcopy.
soft reset A reset that initializes a variety of terminal functions but does not reset
the memory. Refer to hard reset.
software A set of programs, instructions, rules, and procedures concerned with the
operation of a computer. The opposite of hardware.
software dump facility (SDF) A facility that gives the system operator the capability of
writing all main memory to a serial storage medium. It operates in a
standalone environment (without MPE/iX), and is used following a system
failure or a system halt.
Software Status Bulletin A Hewlett-Packard publication supplying customers with
information on Hewlett-Packard software enhancements.
source code One or more files containing the language used by programmers to write a
program. It must be compiled into machine-readable data (object code)
before it can be executed by the computer.