0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ

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W3:
WWW.

W3C (World Wide Web Consortium):
An organization responsible for the World Wide Web that, among other things, develops standards, such as HTML, XML, HTTP, and other open standards.

WAIS (Wide Area Information Server):
A document retrieval system comprising specialized servers and some software; it permits searching for a document by keywords.

waiting time:
Synonym for latency.

WAN:
wide area network.

wand:
Any pen-shaped object that includes a graphics tablet's stylus but most commonly refers to the scanning mechanism used with many bar-code readers.

warm start:
The start of a database management system with preprocessing of before-images or after-images.

warped-input model:
A compressed form of a speech spectrogram that retains such significant features as major frequency bands, relative amplitudes, and rising and falling pitches.

watchdog timer:
A timer that monitors the state of a signal or of a functional unit for inactivity or delay of response beyond a specified duration. Upon lapse of the specified period of time, the watchdog timer may activate an alarm or cause a redundant functional unit to take over the functional unit being monitored.

wavetable:
A set of sound samples coming from various music instruments whose combination provides the synthesis of musical sequences defined by a digital signal.

wavetable synthesis sound card:
A sound card that stores digital samples of sound from various instruments, which can then be combined, edited, and enhanced to reproduce sound defined by a digital input signal.

W-CDMA:
wideband code division multiple access.

weak bit:
A bit intentionally written on a diskette with a weak magnetic field strength that may be interpreted as zero or one and that is written as part of a method of copy protection.

weak typing:
A relaxation of the rules of strong typing; for example: weak typing may permit the addition of an integer and a floating-point number without explicit type conversion of one of the two operands. In weak typing, there may or may not be implicit type conversion.

wearable computer:
A small and lightweight computer designed to be worn on the human body in order for the user to keep his or her freedom of movements. Examples are found in military operations, maintenance, and warehouse supplying.

Web:
WWW.

webmaster:
The person responsible for managing and maintaining a Web server.

Web page:
A document that conforms to the rules of the World Wide Web. Usually, the frame of the Web page is written in HTML, but its subparts may be in other notations.

Web server:
A server that provides access to files or other applications for the users of the World Wide Web. The protocol for communication between a Web server and a client is usually HTTP.

web view:
A presentation of a hypermedia web showing its hotspots.

what-you-see-is-what-you-get:
WYSIWYG.

while-construct:
A language construct for iteration control that defines a test to be performed before each iteration step.

white pages:
In networking, a directory containing the electronic addresses of users organized by user name. Contrast with yellow pages.

WHOIS:
An Internet service that enables a user to find information about persons.

Wide Area Information Server:
WAIS.

wide area network (WAN):
A network that provides communication services to a geographic area larger than that served by a local area network or a metropolitan area network.

wideband:
Synonym for broadband.

wide track:
A set of two or more adjacent tracks written on a floppy disk with the same data, as part of a method of copy protection.

widow:
A last line of a paragraph that is carried over to the top of the next column or page, where it stands alone. Synonymous with widow line. Contrast with orphan.

widow line:
Synonym for widow.

window:
(1) A part of a display image with defined boundaries in which information is displayed. (2) In computer graphics, a predetermined part of a virtual space. (Figure 63 - Window/viewport transformation).

window cascading:
The creation of overlapping cascaded windows. Synonymous with rollover windowing. Contrast with tiling.

windowing:
(1) A technique for using windows for the concurrent display of different data or for the separate control of different applications. (2) In computer vision, a technique for reducing the quantity of data to be processed by selecting only a small portion of the image for analysis, ignoring all other parts of the image.

window RAM (WRAM):
A type of RAM providing excellent graphics and floating-point performance.

window/viewport transformation:
A mapping of the boundary and contents of a window into the boundary and interior of a viewport. Synonymous with viewing transformation. (Figure 63 - Window/viewport transformation).

winner-takes-all network:
An artificial neural network in which the strongest artificial neuron in a layer may inhibit the others in the same layer. A winner-takes-all network uses a type of competitive learning.

winner-takes-more network:
An artificial neural network in which all competing artificial neurons with an input value above average may stay active. A winner-takes-more network uses a type of competitive learning.

wire-frame graphics:
A mode of display showing all edges of a three-dimensional object without distinguishing hidden lines.

wireframe modeling:
A three-dimensional geometric modeling that represents shapes of an object by using a series of lines outlining its surface.

wireframe representation:
A representation of a three-dimensional object, composed entirely of lines as though constructed of wire. The lines may represent edges or surface contours in the display including those that may be hidden in the view of a real object.

wireless virtual reality:
A virtual world that uses cameras and software to interpret a scene rather than devices on the participants to track activities of the participants, such as position, gesture, or direction of gaze. Synonymous with wireless VR.

wireless VR:
Synonym for wireless virtual reality.

wiretapping:
Surreptitious access to a line to obtain, modify, or insert data.

wizard:
An interactive aid that guides a user through a series of steps to accomplish a task.

word:
A character string or a bit string treated as a unit for a given purpose. The length of a computer word is defined by the computer architecture, while the words in text processing are delimited by special characters or control characters.

word control:
In text processing, the capability to operate one word at a time; for example, skip, move, delete, print.

word count:
A capability of a text processor that allows for counting the number of words in a document.

word length:
The number of characters or bits in a word. Synonymous with word size.

word-organized storage:
A storage device in which data can be stored or from which data can be retrieved in units of computer words.

word processing:
Synonym for text processing.

word processor:
Synonym for text processor.

word size:
Synonym for word length.

word spotting:
The capability of a speech recognizer to recognize either a command word or a command sequence within fluent speech.

word wrap:
A function that automatically places a whole word on the next line when the length of the word and its associated punctuation exceeds the available space on the line.

work area:
Synonym for working space.

working area:
Synonym for working space.

working set:
The set of virtual pages that are in real memory at any moment for a particular process.

working space:
A portion of a storage device used by a program to hold data temporarily. Synonymous with work area, working area, work space.

work space:
Synonym for working space.

workstation:
A functional unit that usually has special-purpose-computing capabilities and includes user-oriented input units and output units. Examples are a programmable terminal or a stand-alone microcomputer.

world coordinate:
A device-independent coordinate used by the application software for specifying graphical data processing, especially input and output. (Figure 63 - Window/viewport transformation).

world knowledge:
Synonym for domain knowledge.

World Wide Web (WWW):
An application within the Internet, where computers communicate by means of HTTP. Synonymous with W3, Web, WWW.

World Wide Web Consortium:
W3C.

worm:
A self-contained program that can propagate itself through data processing systems or networks. Worms are often designed to use up available resources such as storage space or processing time.

WORM:
write-once-read-many.

WORM drive:
A disk drive that is used in recording data on a disk such that the data can then be read but not erased. WORM drive is the abbreviation for write-once-read-many drive.

WORM optical disk:
An optical disk in which data is recorded in an irreversible manner such that, once written, it can be read many times and be appended on the remaining part of the recording surface, but not erased. WORM optical disk is the abbreviation for write-once read multiple times optical disk.

WRAM:
window RAM.

wraparound:
(1) In computer graphics, displaying, at the opposite end of the display space, the part of a display image that would otherwise lie outside that display space. (2) A function that enables text entered after the last position on a line to be placed automatically at the beginning of the next line.

write:
To send data to an output unit, to a storage device, or to a data medium.

write access:
An access right that gives permission to write data. Write access may grant permission to append, modify, delete, or create data.

write-back cache:
A cache memory in which the changes to cached data are not simultaneously made to the original data, but marked for later update.

write-cycle time:
The minimum time interval between the starts of successive write cycles of a storage device that has separate reading and writing cycles.

write-enable ring:
A removable plastic or metal ring, the presence of which on a magnetic tape reel enables writing.

write head:
A magnetic head capable only of writing.

write-inhibit hole:
A hole in the case that inhibits both write and erase operations, when detected by the drive.

write-many:
Pertaining to a technique whereby a medium can be erased and written as many times as the physical medium allows.

write-once:
Pertaining to a technique whereby a medium is restricted to initialization and writing once only; erase is not permitted.

write-once optical disk:
An optical disk in which the data in specified areas can be written only once and read multiple times by an optical beam.

write-once-read-many:
WORM.

write-once read multiple times optical disk:
WORM optical disk.

write protection:
A means to prevent writing or deletion of data on a data medium; for example: write ring for a magnetic tape, write-protect notch on a floppy disk, an entry in the file access table to indicate that a file is not deletable.

write-protection device:
A movable or removable device that allows only reading of a data medium.

write-protection label:
A label, the presence or absence of which on a floppy disk prevents writing or deletion of data on that floppy disk.

write-protect notch:
A cut in the protective jacket of a floppy disk that allows or prevents the writing of data.

write ring:
A removable plastic or metal ring, the presence or absence of which on a magnetic tape reel prevents writing on the magnetic tape and thereby prevents the accidental erasure of a file. Synonymous with safety ring.

write-through cache:
A cache memory in which the changes to cached data are simultaneously made to the original data.

writing line:
An imaginary line on which rests the bottom of a displayed, printed, or typed character, excluding descenders.

WWW:
Synonym for World Wide Web.

WYSIWYG:
Pertaining to a capability of a text processor or desktop publishing package to continually display pages or parts of pages as they will be printed. WYSIWYG display provides a constant display whereas print preview is a function that must be requested by the user. WYSIWYG is the abbreviation for what-you-see-is-what-you-get.

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