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OA
- Refer to office
automation.
Object
- Any item upon which
a user can effect change. In object-oriented programming, an object is a
distinct entity that has all the necessary contents and tools for
changing its own data. Alternately, in graphics, an object is a distinct
entity that has all the necessary contents and tools for changing its own
data. Alternately, in graphics, an object is any distinct item, such as a
block.
Object
code - Contents of a
program translated from a program's source code by a compiler. Object
code is usually closed to or the same as the machine code that the
computer can execute; if the object code isn't the same as the machine
code, it must be translated before it can be used.
Object
computer - The
computer on the receiving end of a communications attempt such as a fax
or modem transmission.
Object
file - File containing
object code.
Object
Linking and Embedding (OLE) - Method
of sharing information between applications. Objects can be either linked
to or embedded in documents. When an object is linked to a document, the
document contains a referral to the object, not the actual object itself.
When an object is embedded in a document, the document contains a copy of
the original object. Changes to a linked object will appear in the
referral, while changes to one copy of an embedded only appear on that
copy of the object.
Object
module - The version
of a source-code file that has been translated into object code, also
referred to as an object file. Usually, this is a collection of routines,
and will be linked to other object modules.
Object-oriented
- A systems or
language that is based on the use of objects. This phase is used as an
adjective describing such things as graphics, interfaces, and programming
languages.
Object-oriented
graphics - Graphics
that are based on elements such as lines, arcs, and other shapes. Object-
oriented graphics are created using a mathematical set of instructions.
Object-oriented
interface - User
interface in which symbols are used to identify individual system parts
and a mouse or other input device is used for navigation. For example, in
an object oriented interface, a piece of paper may represent a file, and
a folder may represent a directory.
Object-oriented
programming (OOP) - Programming
in which data structures are combined with the operations that can be
applied to create objects this enables programmers to create new objects
based on existing ones; as a result each program is a collection of these
objects. This, in turn, makes modifying a program easier.
Object-oriented
programming - Programming
language in which program elements are designed as objects rather than
procedures. This modules are independent enough that you can copy them
from one program into another, adding new features if necessary. C++ is
an example of an object-oriented programming language.
Oblique
- Method for altering
a font to make it appear italic, if a program doesn't contain italic
version of the typeface.
Obliquing
angle - Angle that
indicates how far a letter or set of letters is slanted.
OCR
- Refer to Optical
Character Recognition.
Octal
- The base 8 number
system, which uses the digits 0 through 7. Binary numbers can be
converted into octal by dividing them into groups of three bits can form
eight different combinations. For example the binary number 010 is the
same as the octal number 2.
Octet
- Set of eight.
Specifically, in computing, an octal is a byte, consisting of eight bits.
Octothrope
- The correct term
used for the symbol above the 3 on the keyboard which is the # symbol.
Odd
header - Header that
is printed only on the odd-numbered pages of a document.
Odd
parity -Refer to parity.
OEM
- Refer to Original
Equipment Manufacture.
Off-hook
- Condition of a
telephone line when the dial tone is present. A line must be taken
off-hook before a call can be placed.
Office
automation (OA) - Incorporates
the use of all high-tech office equipment developed in recent years. This
equipment, from computers to electric pencil sharpeners, was designed to
make the work environment more efficient.
Offline
- Broken contact
between a computer and its connected devices. A device is offline, for
example when it is disconnected.
Off-line
storage -Storage not
currently accessible to the computer, such as files on a diskette that's
not in the diskette drive.
Offset
- Number indicating
how far from a starting point an item is located, usually in bytes. For
example, an offset might tell a processor how many bytes into a segment
of memory it will find a specific piece of data.
Offset
printing - Method of
printing by pressing paper against ink-coated, etched plates, similar to
old printing presses. In large quantities, offset printing is much more
cost-efficient than printing with laser printers and other methods.
Off-the-shelf
- Prepackaged software
or hardware.
Ohm
- Unit of resistance.A
resistance level of one ohm means that one ampere of electric current
will pass through the circuit when a voltage of one volt is applied. The
measurement is named for George Simon ohm, a German physicist who lived
from 1787 to 1854.
OLE
- Refer to Object
Linking and Embedding.
On-board
- Located on a circuit
board; sometimes meaning specifically located on the motherboard. For
example, memory chips on the motherboard and referred to as on-board
memory.
On-board
modem - Modem on an
expansion board.
One-pass
compiler - Compiler
that can produce object code by reading through the source code only one
time. Some programming languages have a syntax such that there are no
one-pass compilers for them.
On-hook
- Telephone line
condition in which a call can be received, and in which there is no dial
tone.
Online
- State in which the
computer can interact with the device or program. Online also is used to
mean interacting with the Internet or commercial online services.
Online
help - Help available
from an operating system or program at the request of a user.
Online
service - Commercial
service that provides access to such online features as electronic mail,
news services, such as AOL.
Online
state - Being
connected. When a modem is transmitting or receiving information it is
considered to be an online state.
OOP
- Refer to
Object-Oriented programming.
OOPL
- Refer to
Object-Oriented Programming Language.
Opaque
- Not transparent.
Also, hardware or software that performs only limited processing, passing
along the data it hasn't processed.
Op
Code - Refer to
operation code.
Open
- Accessible. In terms
of computing, it can mean that an open file or program is one that
currently can be used. Also can mean that an open shop or an open
architecture is open available to the public or to specified group.
Open
architecture - A
device, such as a computer, about which the manufacturer releases
specifications to let other manufactures develop compatible products.
Open
Data-Link Interface (ODI) - Specifications
of Novell that provide a standard way of accessing networks.
OpenDoc
- Standard that lets
multiple programs work on a single document. Similar to Microsoft Corp.'s
OLE, several companies including Apple Computers, IBM, and Lotus
Development Corp., developed this standard.
Open
file - File that's
ready to be worked with. For example, a word processing file must be
opened before text can be added or deleted.
Open
shop - Place where
average users can work on and program computers.
Open
Software Foundation (OSF) - Group
dedicated to creating new operating systems based on Unix. The group was
founded in 1988 by Apollo, Bull, Digital Equipment Corp.,
Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Nixdorf, and Siemens.
Open
System - In
communications, a network designed to incorporate devices from any
manufacture, as long as the device can use the same communications
protocol and facilities. Alternately, when applied to specific hardware
or software, open systems is one that accepts add-on's from third party
suppliers.
Open
System Interconnection (OSI) - Network
model in which peer-to-peer communications are divided into seven layers.
Each layer performs a specific task or tasks, and builds upon the
preceding layer until the communications is complete. Here are the
purposes of the sever layers:
1-Physical
functions (electrical, mechanical, and timing)
2-Data
Link Connections.
3-Routing
Information through the network.
4-Transfer
information between endpoints on the network.
5-Manage
a session between two applications.
6-Presentation
(data formatting and display)
7-Application
/ user interaction.
Operand
- The focus of an
operation. In mathematics, the operands are numbers or variables, such as
2 or X. In computing instructions, operands are where data is stored,
such as Track 1, Sector 7. Also in programming languages, the part of an
instruction that is data needed for the instruction to be carried out.
Operating
environment - The
environment in which programs are run. This is different from an
operating system, which is itself a program. For example, Windows 3.1 is
an operating environment, and runs under the MS-DOS operating system,
while Windows NT is its own operating system and doesn't require DOS.
Operating
system (OS) - Software
that controls a computer and its peripherals. Early operating systems,
such as DOS and Unix, left a great deal on the operation to the user, but
later OSes, such as OS/2 and Windows handle many of a computers basic
functions.
Operation
code (OP code) - The
part of a machine language instruction that tells a computer what to do.
Operation
research - Using
scientific techniques to study successful endeavors such as management
and government in an attempt to understand what makes them work well.
Operator
- Symbol that denotes
an action to take place, such as a "+" to mean addition.
Boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT) are used to verify or disprove
truth. There are also concatenation operators, which join elements
together. For example, the symbol "&" often is used as a
concatenation operator to connect text or phrases, such as in database
search.
Operator
associatively - The
order of precedence of operators in an expression. Normally, association
is left-to-right. Associatively will affect the outcome of the
expression. For example, in the expression 9-6+2, where addition and
subtraction have equal precedence, with left-to-right associatively, you
would first subtract 6 from 9, with a sum of 3 then add 2, for the final
of 5.
Operator
precedence - Which
operator comes first. For example, multiplication generally has a higher
precedence than addition.
Optical
Character Recognition (OCR) - The
process in which the images of letters, entered into a computer with a
scanner, are translated into characters that can be worked from in the
computer as text, not an image. OCR is far from perfect, but is fast
method of digitizing typed pages of text. Some computer fax applications
also use OCR to transform incoming faxes from graphics files to word
processing documents.
Optical
communications - Transmitting
and receiving voice, data, pictures, or sound using light. This
technology includes optical fibers and lasers.
Optical
disc - Refer to
compact disc.
Optical
fiber - A glass or
plastic wire used to carry signals in the form of light. Due to the
speed, capacity, and clarity of these signals, communications companies
are increasingly replacing traditional cables, such as copper, with
optical fibers.
Optical
mouse - Mouse that
uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs, devices that emit light when a current
is passed through them) and a special Mousepad to detect motion instead
of the traditional trackball method. These mice can be somewhat more
accurate because unlike mechanical mouse, they don't contain mechanical
moving parts that can wear out and collect dirt.
Optical
reader - Device,
usually part of a scanner, that "reads" typed or printed words
or symbols from an outside source as an image and then renders it into
digital information understandable to the computer. See also Optical
Character Recognition (OCR).
Optical
scanner - Input device
that allows a user to take an image or text and render it as a digital
image. This image then can be converted into a graphics file or
text-based file using optical character recognition (OCR) software. After
such text has been translated using OCR software, it can be edited, just
like text that has been typed into the computer.
Optimize
- To improve
performance. In computing there are many ways to optimize the performance
of your system.
Option
- Refer to switch.
Optional
hyphen - Refer to
hyphen.
Optoelectronics
- The combined fields
of study dealing with light and electricity. A branch of electronics that
studies the properties and behavior of light. This field deals with
devices that generate, sense transmit, and modulate light.
Optomechanical
mouse - Hybrid mouse
that has attributes of both optical and mechanical mice. Movement of the
mouse results in internal changes in light from the LED, which registers
as movement. The optical characteristics of the mouse lend it to fewer
mechanical failures associated with the mechanical mouse. And the
mechanical characteristics free the user from the special pad necessary
for the use of an optical mouse.
Ordinal
number - Sequential
number, such as 30th.
Orientation
- Refer to landscape
mode, portrait mode.
Origin
- Point in a
coordinate system where the axes meet. The coordinate value of the origin
point is (0,0,0).
Original
Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) - Company
that produces fully manufactured computers and adds hardware, software,
and its name to the product. The OEM then sells the system as its own as
well as supports that product.
OR
operator - Boolean
operator that adds two values together. If either of the values being
combined is a one (or True), the result of the combination is the value 1
(or True).
Orphan
- One line of a
paragraph separated from the rest of the paragraph. This occurs when the
first line of the paragraph is the last line of the column or a page.
Orphans are aesthetically displeasing for readers, and therefore should
be avoided.
OS
- Refer to Operating
System.
OS/2
- Originally developed
jointly by Microsoft Corp. and IBM to operate with Intel Corp.'s
microprocessors, Operating System / 2 (OS/2) first was a 16-bit operating
system that was designed to work with 286 processors. In 1992, a new
32-bit version was released to operate with 386 PCs and newer and became
solely an IBM product. In 1994, IBM released a version it called OS / 2
Warp that included Internet access. Microsoft was working on a 3.0
version of OS/2 but it became Windows NT, instead. OS/2 is a graphical
interface, like Windows, but also can be run through command-line
entries, such as DOS. In fact, many OS/2 and DOS commands are the same.
The operating system also lets users multitask, which means more than one
program can run at a time. OS/2 never became as popular as the other
Microsoft operating systems because it was poorly implemented, and
software developers never created a substantial number of programs to run
primarily under OS/2. Although some computer experts say latter versions
of OS/2 are superior to Windows, Windows and the number of products
created for it still today dominate the market.
Oscillation
- To swing back and
forth, such as the waving arm of a metronome. The electronical meaning is
a complete cycle of alteration.
Oscilloscope
- Refer to Cathode-ray
oscilloscope.
OSF
- Refer to Open
Software Foundation.
OSI
- Refer to Open System
Interconnection.
Outline
Font - A type of font
in which the outline of each character is defined by mathematical values.
This type of font can be scaled to any size.
Output
- Information that
comes out of a computer after processing. Output can be displayed on a
screen, sent to a printer or other computer, or stored on a disk.
Output
area - Refer to output
buffer.
Output
buffer - Place in
memory where data on its way out of a computer is held until the external
device is ready to handle it.
Output
channel - Refer to
channel.
Output
device - Any
peripheral that receives output from a computer. Printers and monitors
are output devices.
Output
screen. - The window
of the display screen that shows a program's output. It also can be a
separate monitor.
Output
stream - Steady stream
of information on its way out of a computer to another device, such as a
printer.
Overdrive
- Microprocessor from
Intel Corp. The OverDrive microprocessor, which is sold to and installed
by end users, not manufactures, replaces 486SX or DX processors, and
functions such as a 486DX2/4 or Pentium microprocessor, depending upon
the OverDrive model. The OverDrive either physically replaces the
original microprocessor in the socket left empty when the original
microprocessor is removed or installed in an empty socket on the
motherboard designed for this purpose.
Overflow
error - An error that
occurs when a computer tries to manipulate a number beyond its capacity.
Overlaid
windows - Refer to
cascade.
Overprint
- To print one color
over another without removing the original material.
Override
- To stop something
from taking place.
Overrun
- When information is
lost because a device can't handle information at the rate that it's
received.
Overstrike
- The printing of one
character over another. This can be done to cross out a character or
crate a new character. Example.
Overtype
- Refer to overwrite
mode.
Overwrite
- To record
information on top of previously recorded information, replacing the old
with the new.
Overwrite
mode - One of two
typing settings on a keyboard, overwrite mode allows new input to replace
existing characters. The INSERT key is used to toggle between overwrite
mode and insert mode.
Owner - The person, computer, or program that created a file or
document.
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