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BRL 1961, BIBLIOGRAPHY, start page 1085
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CHAPTER IV
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BRL 1961, BIBLIOGRAPHY, start page 1086
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Bell, Wm. D. "A Management Guide to Electronic Computers",
McGraw-Hill, 1957.
- Berkeley, E. C. "Computers: Their Operation & Applications",
Reinhold, 1956.
- Berkeley, E. C. "Giant Brains". John Wiley, 1949.
- Caldwell, Samuel H. "Switching Circuits & Logical Design",
John Wiley, 1958.
- Canning, Richard G. "Installing Electronic Data Processing Systems",
John Wiley, 1957.
- Canning, Richard G. "Electronic Data Processing for Business &
Industry", John Wiley, 1956.
- Casey, R. S. and Perry, J. W. "Punched Cards", Reinhold, Copyright
1951, Second printing 1952.
- Chapin, Ned "An Introduction to Automatic Computers". Van Nostrand, 1957.
- Charnes, A., Cooper, W. W., Henderson, A., et. al. "Introduction to
Linear Programming", Wiley, 1953.
- Culbertson, James T. "Mathematics & Logic for Digital Computers",
Van Nostrand, Copyright 1958.
- Doss, Milburn P. "Information Processing Equipment". Reinhold, 1955.
- Dwyer, P. A. "Linear Computations", Wiley, 1951.
- Eckert, W. J. and Jones, R. "Faster, Faster', McGraw-Hill, 1955.
- Gottlieb, C. C. and Hume, J. N. P. "High-Speed Data Processing",
McGraw-Hill, 1958.
- Grabbe, E. M., Ramo, S. and Wooldridge, D. E., (Editors) "Handbook
of Automation, Computation and Control", Vol I: Control Funda-
mentals; Vol II: Computers & Data Processing; Vol III: Systems &
Components, Wiley, 1959.
- Gregory, R. H. and Van Horn, R. L. "Automatic Data Processing
Systems". Wadsworth Pub. Co., 1960.
- Harvard University, staff of computation Lab. "Synthesis of
Electronic Computing & Control Circuits", Harvard University Press, 1951.
- Harvard University, Staff of Computation Lab. "Description of a
Magnetic Drum Calculator", Harvard University Press, 1952.
- Householder, Alston S. "Principles of Numerical Analysis",
McGraw-Hill, 1953.
- Keister, Wm., Ritchie, A. E., Washburn, S. H., et. al. "Design of
Switching Circuits", Van Nostrand.
- Korn, G. A. and T. M. "Electronic Analog Computers", McGraw-Hill, 1956.
- Kozmetsky, G. and Kircher, P. "Electronic Computers & Management
Control", McGraw-Hill, 1956.
- Lewis, I. A. D. and Wells, F. H. "Millimicrosecond Pulse Techniques",
Pergamon, 1955.
1086
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BIBLIOGRAPHY (CONTINUED)
- McCracken, D. D. "Digital Computer Programming", Wiley, 1957.
- Millman, Jacob & Taub, H. "Pulse & Digital Circuits", McGraw-Hill, 1956.
- Montgomerie, G. A. "Digital Calculating Machines & Their Application to Scientific
& Engineering Work". Van Nostrand, 1957.
- Murphy, John S. "Basics of Digital Computers", John F. Rider,
copyright 1958.
- Ore, Oystein "Number Theory & Its History", McGraw-Hill, 1948.
- Phister, M., Jr. "Logical Design of Digital Computers", Wiley, 1958.
- Pressman, Abraham I. "Design of Transistorized Circuits for Digital
Computers", John F. Rider, 1959.
- Richards, R. K. "Arithmetic Operations in Digital Computers",
Van Nostrand, 1955.
- Richards, R. K. "Digital Computer Components & Circuits",
Van Nostrand, 1957.
- Scott, N. R. "Analog & Digital Computer Technology", McGraw-Hill, 1960.
- Smith, Charles V. L. "Electronic Digital Computers", McGraw-Hill,
Copyright 1959.
- Soroka, W. W. "Analog Methods in Computation & Simulation",
McGraw-Hill, 1954.
- Stewart, W. Earl "Magnetic Recording Techniques", McGraw-Hill,
Copyright 1958.
- Stibitz, Geo. R. and larrivee, Jules A. "Mathematics & Computers",
McGraw-Hill, 1957.
- Svoboda, Antonin "Computing Mechanisms & Linkages", McGraw-Hill, 1948.
- Tompkins, C. B., Wakelin, J. H. and Stifler, W. W., Engineering Res.
Associates "High Speed Computing Devices", McGraw-Hill, 1950.
- Wass, C. A. A. "Introduction to Electronic Analogue Computers",
Pergamon, 1955.
- Wilkes, Maurice V. "Automatic Digital Computers", Wiley, 1956.
- Weik, Martin H. "A Survey of Domestic Electronic Digital Computing
Systems", Ballistic Research Laboratories Report No. 971, Reprinted
by United States Department of Commerce Office of Technical Services,
PB111996.
- Weik, Martin H. A Second Survey of Domestic Electronic Digital Computing
Systems", Ballistic Research Laboratories Report No. 1010, Reprinted
by United States Department of Commerce Office of Technical Services,
111996 R.
- Automatic Data Processing Systems: Department of the Army Regulations and Pamphlets
- Acquisition and use for business type operations: policies,
procedures, etc. - AR 1-250
- Catalog of commercially available DA Pam 1-250-4
- Conducting studies DA Pam 1-250-1
- Industrial, scientific, and office types, Logistics
responsibilities - AR 701-7440
- Introduction - DA Pam 1-250-3
- Program planning guide DA Pam 1-250-2
BRL 1961, BIBLIOGRAPHY, start page 1088
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GoTo Table of Contents
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1085
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CHAPTER V
GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER ENGINEERING AND PROGRAMMING TERMONOLOGY
(REVISED)
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1090
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BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1091
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- ATTENUATE
to obtain a fractional part or reduce in amplitude an action or signal.
Measurement may be made as percentage, per unit, or in decibels, which is
10 times log 10 of power ratio; contrasted with amplify.
- AUTOMATION
the entire field of investigation, design, development, application and
methods of rendering or making processes or machines self-acting or
selfmoving; rendering automatic; theory, art of technique of making a device,
machine, process or procedure more fully automatic; the implementation of a
self-acting or self-moving, hence, automatic process or machine.
- AVAILABLE-TIME, MACHINE
time during which a computer has the power turned on, is not under
maintenance, and is known or believed to be operating correctly.
- AZIMUTH
the angular measurement in an horizontal plane and in a clockwise
direction from a specific reference direction, usually a form of North, i.e., true
azimuth is measured from true north, magnetic azimuth from magnetic north,
grid-azimuth from grid north or thrust or base line.
HAND a group of recording tracks on a magnetic drum.
- BASE
a number base; a quantity used implicitly to define some system
of representing numbers by positional notation; radix.
- BEAM, HOLDING
a diffused beam of electrons used for regenerating the charges stored on
the screen of a cathode ray storage tube.
- BIAS
the average D.C. voltage maintained between the cathode and control
grid of a vacuum tube; a fixed reference located with respect to a neutral or
zero reference.
- BINARY
a characteristic or property involving a selection, choice or
condition in which there are but two possible alternatives.
- BINARY, NUMBER
a single digit or group of characters or symbols representing the total,
aggregate or amount of units utilizing the base two; usually using only the
digits "0" and "1" to express quantity.
- BIQUINARY
a form of notation utilizing a mixed base; see Notation, Biquinary.
- BIT a contraction of binary digit; see Digit, Binary.
- BLOCK
a group of words considered or transported as a unit; an item; a
message; in flow charts, an assembly of boxes, each box representing a
logical unit of programming, usually requiring transfer to and from the high
speed storage; in circuitry, a group of electrical circuits performing a specific
function, as in a "block" diagram, in which a unit, e.g., an oscillator, is
represented as a geometric figure (symbol).
- BLOCK, INPUT
a section of internal storage of a computer reserved for the receiving
and processing of input information; input buffer.
- BOOTSTRAP
the special coded instructions at the beginning of an input tape,
together with one or two instructions inserted by switches or buttons into
the computer; in circuitry, a positive feedback or regenerative circuit
- BORROW
a negative form of carry; see Carry; normally arising in direct
subtraction by raising a lower order (less significant digit) and
compensating by lowering a higher order digit e.g. when subtracting 67
from 92, a tens digit is "borrowed" from the 9, thus the 7 of 67 is subtracted
from 12, yielding 5 as the units digit of the difference and then 6 is
subtracted from 8 (or 9-1) yielding 2 as the tens digit. Thus, 25 is the
difference.
- BRANCH
a conditional jump; a point of decision in a program where a new routine or
sub-routine is entered upon.
- BREAKPOINT
a point in a routine at which the computer may, under the control of a
manually-set switch, be stopped for a visual check of progress.
- BUFFER
an isolating circuit used to avoid any reaction of a driven circuit upon
the corresponding driving circuit, e.g. a circuit having an output and a
multiplicity of inputs so designed that the output is energized whenever
one or more inputs are energized. Thus, a buffer performs the circuit function
or isolation which is equivalent to the logical "OR".
- BUS
a path over which information is transferred; a trunk; an electrical
conductor, channel or line; a heavy wire or heavy lead upon which many
connections are made.
- CABLE
an electrical conductor designed to provide common electric
potential between two or more points.
- CABLE, COAXIAL
a transmission line consisting of two conductors concentric with and
insulated from each other.
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- CALL-NUMBER
a set of characters identifying a subroutine and containing information
concerning parameters to be inserted in the subroutine, information to be
used in generating the subroutine, or information related to the operands; a
call-word when exactly one word is filled.
- CAPACITANCE
the property of two or more bodies which enables them to store
electrical energy in an electrostatic field between the bodies; a measure of
the ability to store electric charge.
- CAPACITY
the upper and lower limits of the numbers which may be processed in a
computer register, e.g., in the accumulator, e.g. the capacity of a computer
may be ten decimal digits or the capacity of a computer may be +.00000
00001 to +.99999 99999. Quantities which exceed the capacity usually
interrupt the operation of the computer in some fashion; the quantity of
information which may be stored in a storage unit; see Capacity,Storage.
- CAPACITY, STORAGE
maximum number of words or characters which a device is capable
of storing; a measure of the ability of a device to store information for
future reference.
- CARD
heavy, stiff paper of uniform size and shape, adapted for being punched in
an intelligible array of holes. The punched holes are sensed electrically by
wire brushes, mechanically by metal feelers, or photoelectrically. One
standard card, is 7 3/8 inches long by 3 and 1/1+ inches wide and contains
80 columns in each of which any one or more of 12 positions may be punched.
- CARRIAGE, AUTOMATIC
a typewriting paper guiding or holding device which is automatically
controlled by information and program so as to feed forms or continuous
paper to a set of impression keys and to provide the necessary space, skip,
eject, tabulate, or performing operations.
- CARRIER WAVE
the basic frequency or pulse repetition rate of a signal, bearing no
intrinsic intelligence until it is modulated by another signal which does
bear intelligence. A carrier may be amplitude, phase, or frequency modulated.
For example, in a typical mercury delay line memory of a digital computer, the
8 megacycle/second sound wave carrier is amplitude (pulse) modulated by a
1 megacycle/second pulse code signal, the presence or absence of a pulse
determining whether or not a one or a zero is present in the binary number
being represented.
- CARRY
(1) A signal, or expression, produced as a result of an arithmetic operation
on one digit place of two or more numbers expressed in Positional Notation and
transferred to the next higher place for processing there; (2) Usually a signal or
expression as defined in (1) above which arises in adding, when the sum of two
digits in the same digit place equals or exceeds the Base of the number system in
use. If a carry into a digit place will result in a carry out of of the same digit place,
and if the normal adding circuit is bypassed when generating this new carry, it is
called a High-Speed Carry, or Standing-on-Nines Carry. If the normal adding
circuit is used in such a case, the carry is called a Cascaded Carry. If a carry
resulting from the addition of carries is not allowed to propagate (e.g., when
forming the partial product in one step of a multiplication process), the process is
called a Partial Carry. If it is allowed to propagate, the process is called a
Complete Carry. If a carry generated in the most significant digit place is sent
directly to the least significant place (e.g., when adding two negative numbers
using nine complements) that carry is called an End-Around Carry. (3) In direct
subtraction, a signal or expression as defined in (1) above which arises when the
difference between the digits is less than zero. Such a carry is frequently called a
Borrow. (4) The action of forwarding a carry. (5) The command directing a carry to
be forwarded.
- CARRY, COMPLETE
see Carry
- CARRY, CASCADED
see Carry
- CARRY, HIGH-SPEED
see Carry
- CARRY, PARTIAL
see Carry
- CARRY, STANDING-ON-NINES
see Carry
- CATHODE-FOLLOWER
a vacuum-tube circuit in which the input signal is applied to the
control grid and the output is taken from the cathode, possessing high input
impedance and low output impedance characteristics.
- CELL
storage for one unit of information, usually one character or one word; a
location specified by whole or part of the address and possessed of the
faculty of store; specific terms such as column, field, location and block, are
preferable when appropriate.
- CELL, BINARY
an element that can have one or the other of two stable states or
conditions and thus can store a single bit of information.
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- CHANNEL
a path along which information, particularly a series of digits or
characters, may flow. In storage which is serial by character and parallel by bit
(e.g., a magnetic tape or drum in some codeddecimal computers), a channel
comprises several parallel tracks. In a circulating storage a channel is one
recirculating path containing a fixed number of words stored serially by word.
- CHARACTER
one of a set of elementary symbols such as those corresponding to the keys
on a typewriter. The symbols usually includes the decimal digits 0 through 9,
the letters A through Z, punctuation marks, operation symbols, and any other
single symbols which a computer may read, store, or write; a pulse code
representation of such a symbol.
- CHECK
a means of verification of information or operation during or
after an operation.
- CHECK, BUILT-IN AUTOMATIC
any provision constructed in "hardware" for verifying the accuracy of
information transmitted, manipulated, or stored by any unit or device in a
computer. Extent of automatic checking is the relative proportion of
machine "hardware" devoted to checking.
- CHECK, CODE
to check a particular coded problem for errors; to de-bug a code.
- CHECK-DUPLICATION
a check which requires that the results of two independent
performances (either concurrently on duplicate equipment or at a later time
on the same equipment) of the same operation be identical.
- CHECK-FORBIDDEN-COMBINATION
a Check (usually an Automatic Check) which tests for the occurrence of
a nonpermissible code expression. A self-checking code (or error-detecting
code) uses code expressions such that one (or more) error(s) in a code
expression produces a forbidden combination. A parity check makes use of a
selfchecking code employing binary digits in which the total number of l's
(or O's) in each permissible code expression is always even or always odd.
A check may be made for either even parity or odd parity. A redundancy
check employs a self-checking code which makes use of redundant digits
called check digits. Some of the various names that have been applied to this
type of check are forbidden pulse combination, unused order (instruction)
unallowable digits, improper operation code, improper command, false code,
forbidden digit, non-existent code, and unused code.
- CHECK, MATHEMATICAL or ARITHMETICAL
a check making use of mathematical identities or other properties,
frequently with some degree of discrepancy being acceptable; e.g., checking
multiplication by verifying that A,B = B.A, checking a tabulated function by
differencing, etc.
- CHECK, MODULO N
a form of check digits, such that the number of ones in each number A
operated upon is compared with a check number B, carried along with A and
equal to the remainder of A when divided by N, e.g., in a "modulo 4 check",
the check number will be 0, 1, 2, or 3 and the remainder of A when divided by
4 must equal the reported check number B, or else an error or malfunction has
occurred; a method of verification by congruences, e.g. casting out nines.
- CHECK, ODD-EVEN
a check system in which a one or zero is carried along in a word
depending on whether the total number of ones (or zeros) in a word is odd or
even.
- CHECK, PARITY
a summation check in which the binary digits, in a character or word, are
added (modulo 2) and the sum checked against a single, previously
computed parity digit; i.e., a check which tests whether the number of ones is
odd or even.
- CHECK, PROGRAMMED
a system of determining the correct program and machine functioning
either by running a sample problem with similar programming and known
answer, including mathematical or logical checks such as comparing A
times B with B times A and usually where reliance is placed on a high
probability of correctness rather than built-in error-detection circuits; a
check system built into the actual program being run and utilized for
checking during the actual running of the problem.
- CHECK, REDUNDANT
a check which uses extra digits, short of complete duplication, to help
detect malfunctions and mistakes.
- CHECK, SUMMATION
a check in which groups of digits are summed, usually without regard for
overflow, and that sum checked against a previously computed sum to verify
accuracy.
- CHECK, TRANSFER
verification of transmitted information by temporary storing, re-
transmitting and comparing.
- CHECK, TWIN
a continuous duplication check achieved by duplication of
hardware and automatic comparison
- CHECKING, MARGINAL
a system or method of determining computer circuit weaknesses and
incipient malfunctions by varying the power applied to various
circuits, usually by a lowering of the D.C. supply or filament voltages.
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- CLAMING-CIRCUIT
a circuit which maintains either amplitude extreme of a waveform at a
given voltage level, or potential.
- CLEAR
to replace all information in a storage device by ones or zeros as
expressed in the number system employed.
- CLOCK, MASTER
the source of standard signals required for sequencing computer
operation, usually consisting of a timing pulse generator, a cycling unit and
sets of special pulses that occur at given intervals of time. Usually in
synchronous machines the basic frequency utilized is the clocking pulse.
- CLOSED-SHOP
this is intended to mean that mode of computing machine support wherein
the applied programs and utility routines are written by members of a specific
specialized group whose primary professional concern is the use of computers.
- CODE
a system of symbols or their use in representing rules for handling the
flow or processing of information; to actually prepare problems for solution
on a specific computer.
- CODE, COMPUTER
the code representing the operations built into the hardware of the
computer; reperatoire of instructions.
- CODE, EXCESS-THREE
a coded decimal notation for decimal digits which represents each
decimal digit as the corresponding binary number plus three, e.g. the decimal
digits 0, 1, 7, 9 are represented as 0011, 0100, 1010, 1100, respectively. In
this notation, the nines complement of the decimal digit is equal to the ones
complement of the corresponding four binary digits.
- CODE, INSTRUCTION
an artificial language for describing or expressing the instructions which
can be carried out by a digital computer. In automatically sequenced
computers, the instruction code is used when describing or expressing
sequences of instructions, and each instruction word usually contains a part
specifying the operation to be performed and one or more addresses which
identify a particular location in storage. Sometimes an address part of an
instruction is not intended to specify a location in storage but is used for
some other purpose. If more than one address is used, the code is called a
multiple-address code.
- CODE, INTERPRETER
a code which is acceptable to an interpretive routine.
- CODE, MULTIPLE-ADDRESS
an instruction or code in which more than one address or storage
location is utilized. In a typical instruction of a Four-Address Code the
addresses specify the location of two operands, the destination of the result,
and the location of the next instruction in the sequence. In a typical Three-
Address Code, the fourth address specifying the location of the next
instruction is dispensed with, the instructions are taken from storage in a
preassigned order. In a typical Two-Address Code, the addresses may specify
the locations of the operands. The results may be placed at one of the
addresses or the destination of the results may be specified by another
instruction.
- CODE, OPERATIONAL
that part of an instruction which designates the operation to be
performed.
- CODING
the list, in computer code or in pseudo-code, of the successive computer
operations required to solve a given problem; repertoire of instructions.
- CODING, ABSOLUTE, RELATIVE or SYMBOLIC
coding in which one uses absolute, relative, or symbolic addresses,
respectively, i.e., coding in which all addresses refer to an arbitrarily selected
position, or in which all addresses are represented symbolically.
- CODING, ALPHABETIC
a system of abbreviation used in preparing information for input into a
computer such that information is reported in the form of letters, e.g., New York
as NY, carriage return as CN, etc.
- CODING, AUTOMATIC
any technique in which a computer is used to help bridge the gap
between some "easiest" form, intellectually and manually, of describing the
steps to be followed in solving a given problem and some "most efficient" final
coding of the same problem for a given computer; two basic forms are Routine,
Compilation and Routine, Interpretation.
- CODING, NUMERIC
a system of abbreviation used in the preparation of information for
machine acceptance by reducing all information to numerical quantities; in
contrast to alphabetic coding.
- COLLATE
to combine two or more similarly ordered sets of items to produce another
ordered set composed of information from the original sets. Both the number of
items and the size of the individual items in the resulting set may differ from
those of either of the original sets and of their sums, sequence 23, 24, 48
may be collated into 12, 23, 24, 29, 42, 48; to combine two or more
sequences of items according to a prescribed rule such that all items appear in
the final sequence.
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- COLLATOR
a machine which has two card feeds, four card pockets and three stations
at which a card may be compared or sequenced with regard to other cards so
as to select a pocket in which it is to be placed, e.g., the machine is suitable
for matching detail cards with master cards, merging cards in proper
sequence, etc.
- COLUMN
one of the character or digit positions in a positional notation
representation of a unit of information, columns are usually numbered from
right to left column, zero being the right-most column if there is no point, or
the column immediately to the left of the point if there is one; a position or
place in a number in which the position designates the power of the base and
the digit is the coefficient, e.g.., in 3876, the 8 is the coefficient of 10 , the
position of the 8 designating the 2.
- COMMAND
a pulse, signal, or set of signals initiating one step in the performance of a
computer operation; that portion of the instruction word which specifies the
operation to be performed; See instruction and order.
- COMPARATOR
a device for comparing two different transcriptions of the same
information to verify the accuracy of transcription, storage, arithmetic
operation or other process, in which a signal is given dependent upon the
relative state of two items, i.e. larger, smaller, equal, difference, etc.
- COMPARE
to examine the representation of a quantity for the purpose of discovering
its relationship to zero, or of two quantities usually for the purpose of
discovering identity or relative magnitude.
- COMPARISON
determining the identity, relative magnitude and relative sign of two
quantities usually in order to initiate an action.
- COMPARISON, LOGICAL
the operation concerned with the determination of similarity or
dissimilarity of two items, e.g. if A and B are alike, the result shall be"1"
or.yes, if A and B are not alike or equal, the result shall be "0" or no,
signifying "not alike".
- COMPILER
a program making routine, which produces a specific program for a
particular problem by determining the intended meaning of an element of
information expressed in pseudo-code, selecting or generating the required
subroutine, transforming the subroutine into specific coding for the specific
problem, assigning specific storage registers, etc. and entering it as an element
of the problem program, maintaining a record of the subroutines used and their
position in the problem program and continuing to the next element of
information in pseudo-code.
- COMPLEMENT
a quantity which is derived from a given quantity,
expressed to the base n, by one of the following rules and which is
frequently used to represent the negative of the given quantity. (a.)
Complement on n; subtract each digit of the given quantity from n-1, add
unity to the least significant digit, and perform all resultant carrys. For
example, the twos complement of binary 11010 is 00110; the tens
complement of decimal 456 is 544. (b) Complement' on n-1: subtract each
digit of the given quantity from n-1. For example, the ones complement of
binary 11010 is 00101; the nines complement of decimal 456 is 543.
- COMPUTER
any device capable of accepting information, applying prescribed
processes to the information, and supplying the results of these processes;
sometimes, more specifically, a device for performing sequences of arithmetic
and logical operations; sometimes, still more specifically, a stored-program
digital computer capable of performing sequences of internally-stored
instructions, as opposed to calculators on which the sequence is impressed
manually desk calculator) or from tape or cards (card programmed calculator).
- COMPUTER, ANALOG
a calculating machine which solves problems by translating physical
conditions like flow, temperature or pressure into electrical quantities and
using electrical equivalent circuits for the physical phenomenon.
- COMPUTER, ASYNCHRONOUS
a calculating device in which an operation is initiated by a signal generated
upon completion of a previous operation; contrasted with Synchronous Computer.
- COMPUTER, AUTOMATIC
a calculating device which handles long sequences of operations
without human intervention.
- COMPUTER, DIGITAL
a calculating device utilizing numbers to express all the variables and
quantities of a problem. The numbers are usually expressed as a space-time
distribution of punched holes, electrical pulses, sonic pulses, etc.
- COMPUTER, SYNCHRONOUS
a calculating device in which the performance of all operations is
controlled with periodic signals from a master clock.
- CONJUNCTION
in logical design, normally an "And" function; see And-Operator.
- CONTENTS
the information stored in any storage medium. Quite prevalently, the symbol ) is
used to indicate "the contents of"; e,g., (m) indicates the contents of the storage
location whose address is m; (A) indicates the contents of register A; (T2) may
indicate the contents of the tape on inputoutput unit two.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1096
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- CONTROL
(1) Usually, those parts of a digital computer which effect the carrying
out of instructions in proper sequence, the interpretation of each instruction,
and the application of the proper signals to the arithmetic unit and other parts
in accordance with this interpretation. (2) Frequently, one or more of the
components in any mechanism responsible for interpreting and carrying out
manually-initiated directions. Sometimes called manual control. (3) In some
applications of mathematics, a mathematical check.
- CONTROL, CASCADE
an automatic control system in which various control units are linked
in sequence, each control unit regulating the operation of the next control
unit in line.
- CONTROL-SEQUENCE
the normal order of selection of instructions for execution. In some
computers, one of the addresses in each instruction specifies the control
sequence. In most other computers the sequence is consecutive except
where a Jump occurs.
- CONTROL, SEQUENTIAL
a manner of operation of a computer such that instructions are fed to or
stored in the computer in a given order during the solution of a problem and
the computer executes these instructions in a given order.
- CONTROL-UNIT
that portion of the hardware of an automatic digital computer
which directs the sequence of operations, interprets the coded
instructions, and initiates the proper commands to the computer
circuits to execute the instructions.
- CONVERT
to change numerical information from one number base to another (e.g.,
decimal to binary) and/or from some form of fixed point to some form of
floating-point representation, or vice versa; occasionally to transfer
information from one recorded medium to another.
- CONVERTER
a unit which changes the language of information from one form to
another so as to make it available or acceptable to another machine, e.g., a
unit which takes information punched on cards to information recorded on
magnetic tape, possibly including editing facilities.
- COPY
to reproduce information in a new location, replacing whatever was
previously stored there, and usually leaving the information unchanged at
the original location.
- CORE, MAGNETIC
a magnetic material capable of assuming and remaining at one of two or
more conditions of magnetization, thus capable of providing storage, gating
or switching functions, usually of toroidal shape and pulsed or polarized by
electric currents carried on wire adjacent the material.
- COUNTER
a device, register, or storage location for storing numbers or integers,
permitting these integers to be increased or decreased by unity or by an
arbitrary number or integer, and capable of being reset to zero or to an
arbitrary number.
- COUNTER, CONTROL
a device which records the storage location of the instruction word,
which is to be operated upon following the instruction word in current use.
The control counter may select storage locations in sequence, thus
obtaining the next instruction word from the subsequent storage location,
unless a transfer or special instruction is encountered.
- COUNTER, RING
a loop of interconnected bistable elements such that one and only one is
in a specified state at arty given time and such that, as input signals are
counted, the position of the element in the specified state "moves" in an ordered
sequence around the loop.
- COUPLING
the means by which energy is transferred from one circuit to
another; the common impedance necessary for coupling.
- COUPLING, CAPACITIVE
a method of transferring energy from one circuit to another by means of a
capacitor that is common to both circuits.
- COUPLING, DIRECT
a method of transferring energy from one circuit to another by means of
resistors common to both circuits.
- CRT
cathode-ray tube; a device yielding a visual plot of the variation
of several parameters by means of a proportionally deflected beam of
electrons.
- CYBERNETICS
the comparative study of the control and intracommunication of
information handling machines and nervous systems of animals and man in
order to understand and improve communication.
- CYCLE
a set of operations repeated as a unit; a nonarithmetic shift in which the
digits dropped off at one end of a word are returned at the other end in
circular fashion; cycle right and cycle left. To repeat a set of operations a
prescribed number of times including, when required, supplying necessary
address changes by arithmetic processes or by means of a hardware device
such as a B-box or cycle-counter.
- CYCLE COUNT
to increase or decrease the cycle index by unity or by an arbitrary integer
or number.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1097
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- CYCLE-CRITERION
the total number of times the cycle is to be repeated; the register
which stores that number.
- CYCLE-INDEX
the number of times a cycle has been executed; or the difference, or
the negative of the difference, between that number and the number of
repetitions desired.
- CYCLE, MAJOR
the maximum access time of a recirculating serial storage element; the time
for one rotation, e.g., of a magnetic drum or of pulses in an acoustic delay line;
a whole number of minor cycles.
- CYCLE, MEMORY
a repeated, periodic sequence of events occurring
when information is transferred to or from the storag device of a computer.
Storing, sensing, and
regeneration form parts of the storage sequence. Usually a"timing chart,'
shoving pulse times on all leads to a storage cell describe such a cycle.
- CYCLE, MINOR
the word time of a serial computer, including the spacing between
words.
- CYCLE, RESET
to return a cycle index to its initial value.
- DAMPING
a characteristic built into electrical circuits and mechanical systems to
prevent rapid or excessive corrections which may lead to instability or
oscillatory conditions, e.g., connecting a resistor on the terminals of a pulse
transformer to remove, natural oscillations; placing a moving element in oil or
sluggish grease to prevent overshoot.
- DATA-REDUCTION
the art or process of transforming masses of raw test or experimentally
obtained data, usually gathered by instrumentation, into useful, ordered, or
simplified intelligence.
- DATA-REDUCTION, ON-LINE
the processing of information as rapidly as the information is received
by the computing system or as rapidly as it is generated by the source.
- DEBUG
to isolate and remove all malfunctions from a computer or all
mistakes from a routine.
- DECADE
a group or assembly of ten units, e.g., a decade counter counts to ten in
one column; a decade resistor box inserts resistance quantities in multiples
of powers of 10; ten years.
- DECIMAL, CODED, BINARY
decimal notation in which the individual decimal digits are represented
by some binary code, e.g., in the 8-4-2-1 coded decimal notation, the number
twelve is represented as 0001 0010 for 1 and 2, respectively, whereas in
pure binary notation, it is represented as 1100. Other coded decimal
notations are used, e.g., 5-4-2-1, excess three, 2-4-2-1, etc.
- DECODE
to ascertain the intended meaning of the individual characters or
groups of characters in the pseudo-coded program.
- DECODER
a device capable of ascertaining the significance or meaning of a group of
signals and initiating a computer event based thereon; matrix.
- DECREMENT-FIELD
a portion of an instruction word set aside specifically for modifying the
contents of a register or memory location specified by the tag digits of the same
instruction word.
- DEFLECTION-SENSITIVITY
in connection with Cathode Ray Tubes, it is the quotient of the displacement of
the electron beam at the place of impact by the change in deflecting as was. It is
usually expressed in millimeters per volt applied between the deflection electrodes,
or in millimeters per gauss of the deflecting magnetic field.
- DELAY-LINE, ELECTRIC
a transmission line of lumped or distributed capacitive and inductive
elements in which the velocity of propagation of electromagnetic energy
is small compared with the velocity of light. Storage may be accomplished
by re-circulation of wave patterns containing information, usually in
binary form.
- DELAY-LINE, MAGNETIC
a magnetic medium along which the velocity of propagation of magnetic
energy is small relative to the speed of light. Storage is accomplished by
recirculation of wave patterns containing information, usually in binary form.
- DELAY-LINE, MERCURY or QUARTZ
a sonic or acoustic delay-line in which mercury or quartz is used as the
medium of sound transmission, with transducers on each end to permit
conversion to and from electrical energy; See Delay-line, Sonic or Acoustic.
- DELAY-LINE, SONIC or ACOUSTIC
a device capable of transmitting retarded sound pulses, transmission
being accomplished by wave patterns of elastic deformation. Storage is
accomplished by re-circulation of wave pattern containing information,
usually in binary form.
- DENSITY, PACKING
the number of units of useful information contained within a given
linear dimension, usually expressed in units per inch, e.g., the number of
binary digit magnetic pulses stored on tape or drum per linear inch on a
single track by a single head.
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- DESIGN, LOGICAL
(1) The planning of a computer or data-processing system prior to its
detailed engineering design.(2) The synthesizing of a network of logical
elements to perform a specified function. (3) The result of (1) and (2) above,
frequently called the logic of the system, machine, or network.
- DIAGRAM, BLOCK
a schematic representation of a sequence of subroutines designed to
solve a problem; a coarser and less symbolic representation than a flow
chart, frequently including descriptions in English words; a schematic or
logical drawing showing the electrical circuit or logical arrangements
within a component.
- DIAGRAM, LOGICAL
in logical design a diagram representing the logical elements and their
interconnections without necessarily expressing construction or
engineering details.
- DIFFERENTIATOR
a device whose output function is proportional to a derivative of its
input function with respect to one or more variables.
- DIGIT
one of the n symbols of integral value ranging from 0 to n-1 inclusive
in a scale of numbering of base n, e.g., one of the ten decimal digits, 0, 1, 2.
3, 4, 5. 6, 7, 8,, 9.
- DIGIT, BINARY
a whole number in the binary scale of notation; this digit may be only 0
(zero) or 1 (one). It may be equivalent to an "on" or "off" condition, a "yes" or a
"no", etc.
- DIGIT, DECIMAL, CODED
one of ten arbitrarily-selected patterns of ones and zeros used to
represent the decimal digits.
- DIGITAL
the quality of utilizing numbers in a given scale of notation to represent
all the quantities that occur in a problem or a calculation.
- DIGITIZE
to render an analog measurement of a physical variable into a
numerical value, expressing the quantity in digital form.
- DIGITS, EQUIVALENT BINARY
the number of binary digits required to express a number in another
base with the same precision, e.g., approximately 3 1/3 times the number of
decimal digits is required to express a decimal number in binary form. For
the case of coded decimal notation, the number of binary digits required is
4 times the number of decimal digits.
- DISJUNCTION
in logical design, normally an "OR" function; see OR-Operator
- DOWN-TIME
the period during which a computer is malfunctioning or not operating
correctly due to machine failures; contrasted with available time, idle time or
standby time. Scheduled maintenance time is also considered down-time, in as
much as the computer is unable to operate during this period.
- DRUM, MAGNETIC
a rotating cylinder on whose magnetic-material coating information
is stored in the form of magnetized dipoles, the orientation or polarity of
which is used to store binary information.
- DUMMY
an artificial address, instruction, or other unit of information inserted
solely to fulfill prescribed conditions (such as word-length or block-length)
without affecting operations..
- DUMP, A. C.
the removal of all A. C. power, intentionally, accidentally or
conditionally from a system or component. An A. C. dump usually results
in the removal of all power. DUMP, D. C.
the removal of all D.C. power, intentionally, accidentally, or
conditionally, from a system. or component.
- DUMP, POWER
the removal of all power accidentally or intentionally.
- ECCLES-JORDAN (TRIGGER)
a direct coupled multivibrator circuit possessing two conditions of
stable equilibrium. Also known as a flip-flop circuit or "toggle".
- ECHO CHECKING
a system of assuring accuracy by reflecting the transmitted information
back to the transmitter and comparing the reflected information with that
which was transmitted.
- EDIT
to rearrange information. Editing may involve the deletion of unwanted
data, the selection of pertinent data, the insertion of invariant symbols such
as page numbers and typewriter characters, and the application of standard
processes such as zerosuppression.
- ELECTRONIC
pertaining to the application of that branch of science which deals with
the motion, emission and behavior of currents of free electrons, especially in
vacuum, gas or phototubes and special conductors or semi-conductors.
Contrasted with electric which pertains to the flow of large currents in wires
or conventional conductors.
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- HARDWARE
the mechanical, magnetic, electronic and electrical devices
from which a computer is fabricated; the assembly of material
forming a computer or component thereof. HEAD
a device which reads, records or erases information in a
storage medium, usually a small electromagnet used to read,
write or erase information on a magnetic drum or tape or the
set of perforating or reading fingers and block assembly for
punching or reading holes in paper tape or cards.
- HOLD
the function of retaining information in one storage
device after transferring it to another device; in contrast
to clear.
- HUNTING
a continuous attempt on the part of an automatically
controlled system to seek a desired equilibrium condition. The
system usually contains a standard, a method of determining
deviation from this standard and a method of influencing the
system such that the difference between the standard and the
state of the system is brought to zero. See Servomechanism.
- IGNORE
an instruction requiring non-performance of what
normally might be executed; not to be executed; a typewriter
character indicating that no action whatsoever be taken. (In
Teletype or Flexowriter code, all holes punched is an ignore).
- IMPEDANCE, CHARACTERISTIC
the ratio of voltage to current at every point along a
transmission line on which there are no standing waves; the
square root of the product of the open and short circuit
impedance of the line. When a transmission line is terminated
in its characteristic impedance, energy is not reflected, but is
fully absorbed in the terminating impedance.
- INCLUSIVE-OR-OPERATOR
see OR-OPERATOR. P or Q is True if P or Q or both is
True; when the term OR is used alone, as in OR-gate, the
Inclusive-OR is usually implied; buffer. INFORMATION an
aggregation of data.
- INPUT
the information which is transferred from external storage
into the internal storage; a modifier designating the device
performing this function.
- INSTRUCTION
a set of characters which defines an operation together with
one or more addresses (or no address) and which, as a unit,
causes the computer to operate accordingly on the indicated
quantities. The term
"instruction" is preferable to the terms "command" and
"order"; command is reserved for electronic signals; order is
reserved for "the order of the characters" (implying
sequence) or "the order of the interpolation", or "the order
of the differential equation".
- INSTRUCTION, BREAKPOINT
an instruction which, if some specified switch is set, will
cause the computer to stop.
- INSTRUCTION, BREAKPOINT, CONDITIONAL
a conditional jump instruction which, if some specified
switch is set or situation exists, will cause the computer to
stop, after which either the routine may be continued as
coded or a jump may be forced.
- INSTRUCTION, MULTIPLE-ADDRESS
see code, Multiple-address.
- INSTRUCTION, ONE-ADDRESS
an instruction consisting of an operation and exactly one
address. The instruction code of a single-address computer may
include both zeroand multi-address instructions as special cases.
- INSTRUCTION, ONE-PLUS-ONE or THREE-PLUS-ONE ADDRESS
a two- or four-address instruction, respectively, in which
one of the addresses always specifies the location of the next
instruction to be performed.
- INSTRUCTION, TRANSFER
a computer operational step in which a signal or set of
signals specifies the location of the next operation to be
performed and directs the computer to that operation (or
instruction).
- INSTRUCTION, TWO, THREE or FOUR ADDRESS
an instruction consisting of an operation and 2, 3, or 4
addresses, respectively. The addresses may specify the
location of operands, destination of results, or location of
other or next instruction.
- INSTRUCTION, ZERO-ADDRESS
an instruction specifying an operation in which the
location of the operands are defined by the computer code, so
that no address need be given explicitly.
- INTEGRATOR
a device whose output is proportional to the integral
with respect to the input variable.
- INTERLACE
to assign successive storage locations to physically
separated storage positions, e.g. on a magnetic drum or tape,
usually for the express purpose of reducing access time.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1102
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- ITEM
a set of one or more fields containing related
information; a unit of correlated information relating to a
single person or object; the contents of a single message.
- INTERPRETER
an interpretive routine.
- JUMP
an instruction or signal which, conditionally or
unconditionally, specifies the location of the next instruction
and directs the computer to that instruction. A jump is used to
alter the normal sequence control of the computer. Under
certain special conditions, a ,jump may be forced by manual
intervention. In other words a transfer of control is made to a
specified instruction.
- JUMP, CONDITIONAL
an instruction which will cause the proper one of two (or
more) addresses to be used in obtaining the next instruction,
depending upon some property of one or more numerical
expressions or other conditions.
- KEY
a group of characters usually forming a field, utilized in the
identification or location of an item; a marked lever manually
operated for copying a character, e.g. typewriter, paper tape
perforator, card punch manual keyboard, digitizer or manual
word generator.
- LAG
a relative measure of the time delay between two events,
states, or mechanisms.
- LANGUAGE, MACHINE
expressions which define the operations of a computer,
usually intelligible to the computer by means of its circuitry.
It may be information recorded in a form which many be
made available to a computer; coded information which can
be sensed by a machine.
- LATENCY
in a serial storage system, the access time less the word
time, e.g. the time spent waiting for the desired word or unit of
information to appear under the drum heads or at the end of
an acoustic tank.
- LIBRARY, ROUTINE
an ordered set or collection of standard and proven routines
and subroutines by which problems and parts of problems may
be solved, usually stored in relative or symbolic coding. (A
library may be subdivided into various volumes, such as floating
decimal, double-precision, or complex, according to the type of
arithmetic employed by the subroutines.)
- LINE, DELAY
a device capable of causing an energy impulse to be
retarded in time from point to point, thus
providing a means of storage by circulating intelligence bearing-
pulse configurations and patterns. Examples of delay lines are
material media such as mercury, in which sonic patterns may be
propagated in time; lumped constant electrical lines; co-axial
cables, transmission lines and recirculating magnetic drum loops.
- LINE-PRINTING
printing an entire line of characters across a page as the
paper feeds in one direction past a type bar or cylinder
bearing all characters on a single element.
- LINE, TRANSMISSION
any conductor or systems of conductors used to carry
electrical energy from its source to a load.
- LOCATION
a unit storage position in the main internal storage,
storing one computer word; a storage register.
- LOCATION, STORAGE
a storage position holding one computer word, usually
designated by a specific address or a specific register.
- LOGGER
a device which automatically records physical processes
and events, usually chronologically.
- LOGIC
the science that deals with the canons and criteria of
validity in thought and demonstration; the science of the
formal principles of reasoning; the basic principles and
applications of truth tables, gating, interconnection, etc.
required for arithmetic computation in a computer.
- LOGIC, SYMBOLIC
exact reasoning about relations using symbols that are
efficient in calculation. A branch of this subject known as
Boolean algebra has been of considerable assistance in the
logical design of computing circuits.
- LOGICAL
see
Operation, Logical.
- LOOP
the repetition of a group of instructions in a routine.
- LOOP, CLOSED
repetition of a group of instructions which may be
repeated indefinitely.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1103
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- MALFUNCTION
a failure in the operation of the hardware of a computer.
See Error.
- MATRIX
in mathematics, an array of quantities in a prescribed form,
usually capable of being subject to a mathematical operation by
means of an operator or another matrix according to orescribed
rules; an array of circuit elements, e.g. diodes, wires, magnetic
cores, relays, etc. which are capable of performing a specific
function, e.g. conversion from one numerical system to another
or selection of a channel based upon the input signal pattern.
- MEMORY
the term "storage" is preferred.
- MERGE
to produce a single sequence of items, ordered according
to some rule (i.e., arranged in some orderly sequence), from
two or more sequences previously ordered according to the
same rule, without changing the items in size, structure, or
total number. Merging is a special case of collation.
- MESSAGE
a group of words, variable in length, transported as a unit; a
transported item of information.
- MICROSECOND
a millionth
part of a second. Abbreviated usec.
- MILLISECOND
a
thousandth part of a second. Abbreviated msec.
- MISTAKE
a human blunder which results in an incorrect instruction in
a program or in coding, an incorrect element of information,
or an incorrect manual operation. See Error.
- MNEMONIC
assisting, or intended to assist, memory; of or pertaining to
memory; mnemonics is the art of improving the efficiency of
the memory (in computers, storage).
- MODIFIER
a quantity used to alter the address of an operand,
e.g. the cycle index.
- MODIFY
in an instruction, to alter the address of the operand; to
alter a subroutine according to a defined parameter.
- MULTIVIBRATOR
a type of relaxation oscillator used for the generation of
non-sinusoidal waves in which the output of each of its two
tubes is coupled to the
input of the other to sustain oscillations.
- MULTIVIBRATOR, ASTABLE
a free running type of relaxation oscillator used for the
generation of non-sinusoidal waves.
- MULTIVIBRATOR, MONOSTABLE
a type of relaxation oscillator used to sustain a trigger pulse
for a specified time. The device assumes another state for a
specified length of time at the end of which it returns to its
original state, after being pulsed or forced into another state.
- NORMALIZE
to adjust the exponent and mantissa of a floating-point
result so that the mantissa lies in the prescribed standard
(normal) range; standardize.
- NOTATION
see "NUMBER-SYSTEM".
- NOTATION, BIQUINARY one of any number of
mixed-base notations in which the term ni in the
definition of number system is replaced by the product
ono mJ* In the biquinary system, mj is
two for j odd, five for j
even; a scale of notation wherein the base is alternately 2 and 5,
e.g. the decimal number 3671 is biquinary 03 11 12 01, the first of
each pair of digits counting 0 or 1 units of five and the second
counts 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 units. For comparison, the same number in
Roman numerals is MMMDCLXXI Biquinary notation expresses
the representation of numbers by the abacus, and by the two
hands and five fingers of man and is used in some computers.
- NOTATION, CODED-DECIMAL
decimal notation in which the individual decimal digits are
represented by some code.
- NOTATION, MIXED-BASE
a number system in which the term ni in
the definition of number-system is replaced by the product
??? mj, e.g. in the biquinary system
mj
is two for j odd and five for j even.
- NOTATION, POSITIONAL
in a number system, a notation in which the position of each
digit determines the exponent to which the base is raised, the
digit being the coefficient of the power of the base and the
position of the digit indicating the power to which the base is
raised, e.g. in decimal, positional notation, 264 is 2 x 102
+ 6 x 101 + 4 x l00.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1104
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- NUMBER, BINARY
a numerical value written in the base-two system of notation. Usually
the characters 0 and 1 are used to express numbers, although any pair of
arbitrary symbols could be used. NUMBER, OPERATION
a number indicating the position of an operation or its equivalent
subroutine in the sequence forming a problem routine. When a problem is
stated in pseudo-code, each step is sometimes assigned an operation
number.
- NUMBER, RANDOM
a set of digits constructed of such a sequence that each successive
digit is equally likely to be any of n digits to the base n of the number.
- NUMBER-SYSTEM
numerical notation; positional notation; a systematic method for
representing numerical quantities in which any quantity is represented
approximately by the factors needed to equate it to a sum of multiples of
powers of some chosen base n. That is, a number x =
aqnq+aq-1nq-1
+...+a1n+ao+a-1n-1
1+...+a-pn p
1=q 1
_ Sumation sin , with n < ai 0 for all i, is repre sented by aqaq-
l...ala0a-l_a-p, with a point to
the right of a 0 to identify it. For example, in
decimal notation familiar to all, in which n equals
ten, x = 371.426 represents 3-102 + 7ù101 + 1.100
+ 4ù10 1 + 2.10 2 + 6ù10 3; in binary notation, in which n equals two, x
= 1101.01 represents
1ù23 + 1-22 + 0.21 + 1-20 + 0.2 1 + 1.2 2, which = 13ù75 in decimal
notation. In writing numbers, the base is sometimes indicated as a subscript
(itself always in decimal notation) whenever there is any doubt about what
base is being employed (e.g-, 1101.112 = 13.7510); Binary, Ternary,
Quatenary,
Quinar , Octal (Octonary), Decimal, Duodecimal, Sexadecimal Hexadecimal or
Duotricenary Notation notation using the base 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 16 or
32 respectively.
- OCTAL
pertaining to the number base of eight, e.g. in octal notation, octal 214
is 2 times 64 plus 1 times 8 plus 4 times 1 equals decimal 140; octal 214
is binary-coded-octal 010, 001, 100; octal 214 is straight binary
10001100.
- ONE-ADDRESS
single address; a system of machine instruction such that each
complete instruction explicitly describes one operation and one storage
location. See Instruction, One-Address.
- ON-LINE OPERATION
a type of system application in which the input data to the system is fed
directly from the measuring devices and the computer results obtained
during the progress of the event, e.g. a computer receives data from wind
tunnel measurements during a run, and the computations of dependent
variables are performed during the run enabling a change in the conditions
so as to produce particularly desirable results. OPERAND
any one of the quantities entering or arising in an operation. An
operand may be an argument, a result, a parameter, or an indication of the
location of the next instruction; generally, the quantity being operated
upon.
- OPERATION
a defined action; the action specified by a single computer instruction
or pseudo-instruction; an arithmetical, logical, or transferal unit of a
problem, usually executed under the direction of a subroutine.
- OPERATION, ARITHMETICAL
an operation in which numerical quantities form the elements of the
calculation (e.g addition, subtraction, multiplication, division).
- OPERATION, AVERAGE-CALCULATING
a common or typical calculating operation longer than an addition and
shorter than a multiplication; often taken as the average of nine addition
and one multiplication time.
- OPERATION, COMPLETE
an operation which includes (a) obtaining the instruction, (b) obtaining all
operands from storage, (c) performing the operation, and (d) returning results
to storage.
- OPERATION, COMPUTER
the electronic action resulting from an instruc-
tion; in general, computer manipulation required to
secure computed results.
- OPERATION, FIXED-CYCLE
a type of computer performance whereby a fixed amount of time is
allocated to an operation; synchronous or clock-type arrangement
within a computer in which events occur as a function of measured time.
- OPERATION, LOGICAL
an operation in which logical (yes-or-no) quantities form the elements
being operated on (e.g., comparison, extraction). A usual requirement is
that the value appearing in a given column of the result shall not depend
on the values appearing in more than one given column of each of the
arguments.
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BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1106
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- PARAMETER, PRESET
a parameter incorporated into a subroutine during input.
- PARAMETER, PROGRAM
a parameter incorporated into a subroutine during computation. A
program parameter frequently comprises a word stored relative to either the
subroutine or the entry point and dealt with by the subroutine during each
reference. It may be altered by the routine and/or may vary from one point of
entry to another.
- PATCH
section of coding inserted into a routine to correct a mistake or alter
the routine; explicitly transferring control from a routine to a section of
coding and back again.
- PENTODE
a five-electrode vacuum tube containing a cathode, control grid, screen
grid, suppressor grid, and plate. The grids may be referred to as grids no. 1, 2,
and 3, respectively.
- PERFORATION, RATE of
number of characters, rows or words punched in a paper tape by a device
per unit of time.
- PHOSPHORESCENCE
the property of emitting light for some time after excitation.
- PIEZOELECTRIC
the effect of producing a voltage by placing a stress variation, either
by compression, by expansion, or by twisting, on a material, usually
certain crystals and, conversely, the effect of producing a stress in a crystal
by applying a voltage to it.
- PLOTTING-BOARD
a device capable of graphically presenting information, usually as curves
of one or more variables; analogue curve or point tracer.
- PLUG-BOARD
a removable panel containing an ordered array of terminals which may
be interconnected by short electrical leads according to a prescribed pattern
and hence designating a specific program or machine step. The entire panel,
pre-wired, may be inserted for different programs. Used to a large extent in
CPC's, printers, tabulators, summary punches and some computers e.g. the
Univac File Computer.
- POINT
the dot that marks the separation between the integral and fractional parts
of a quantity; i.e., between the coefficients of the zero and the minus one powers
of the number base. It is usually called, for a number system using base two, a
binary point; for base ten, a decimal point, etc; base point; radix.
- POST MORTEM
a routine which, either automatically or on demand, prints information
concerning the contents of the registers and storage locations at the time
the routine stopped, in rder to assist in the location of a mistake in coding.
- POTENTIOMETER
a variable voltage divider, a resistor which has a variable contact arm
so that any portion of the potential applied between its ends may be
selected.
- PRECISION
the degree of exactness with which a quantity is stated; a relative term
often based on the number of significant digits in a measurement. See also
Accuracy.
- PRECISION, DOUBLE
retention of twice as many digits of a quantity as the computer
normally handles, e.g. a computer whose basic word consists of 10 decimal
digits is called upon to handle 20 decimal digit quantities. PRE-STORE
to set an initial value for the address of an operand or a cycle index;
to restore; to store a quantity in an available or convenient location
before it is required in a routine.
- PROGRAM
a plan for the solution of a problem. A complete program includes plans
for the transcription of data, coding for the computer and plans for the
absorption of the results into the system. The list of coded instructions is
called a routine; to plan a computation or process from the asking of a
question to the delivery of the results, including the integration of the
operation into an existing system. Thus programming consists of planning
and coding, including numerical analysis, systems analysis, specification of
printing formats, and any other functions necessary to the integration of a
computer in a system.
- PROGRAM, ASSEMBLY
a program designed to place various sections of another program in
their programer designated locations. Some assembly programs also
contain the elements of a translator or translation.program.
- PROGRAM SENSITIVE MALFUNCTION
a malfunction which occurs only when some unusual combination of
program steps occur.
- PROGRAMMER
a person who prepares instruction sequences without necessarily
converting them into the detailed codes of a particular computer.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1107
|
- PROGRAMMING AUTOMATIC
any technique in which the computer is used to
help plan as well as to help code a problem; e.g.
compiling routines, interpretive routines.
- PROGRAMMING, OPTIMUM
improper terminology for minimal latency coding,
i.e., for producing a minimal latency routine; pro-
gramming in order to make efficient use of hardware
e.g. least storage usage, time share of peripheral
equipment, use of time between operations, etc.
- PROGRAMMING, RANDOM-ACCESS
programming without regard for the time required
for access to the storage positions called for in
the program; contrast with minimum access program-
ming or minimal latency programming.
- PSEUDO-CODE
an arbitrary code, independent of the hardware
of a computer, which must be translated into
computer code.
- PSEUDO-RANDOM
having the property of satisfying one or more of
the standard criteria for statistical randomness
but being produced by a definite calculation process.
- PULSE
a change in the intensity or level of some medium,
usually over a relatively short period of time, e.g.
a shift in electric potential of a point for a
short period of time compared to the time period,
i.e., if the voltage level of a point shifts from
-10 to +20 volts with respect to ground for a period
of 2 microseconds, one says that the point received
a 30 volt 2 microsecond pulse.
- PULSE-CODE
sets of pulses to which particular meanings have
been assigned; the binary representations of
characters.
- PUNCH, CALCULATING, ELECTRONIC
a card handling machine which reads a punched
card, performs a number of sequential operations
and punches the result on a card.
- PUNCH, CARD
a device which perforates or places holes in
cards in specific locations designated by a program.
- PUNCH-POSITION
the location of the row in a columniated card
e.g. in an 80-column card the rows or "punch
position" may be 0 to 9 and "X" and "Y" corres-
ponding to position 11 and 12.
- PUNCH, SUMMARY
a card handling machine which may be electri-
cally connected to another machine, e.g. tabulator
and which will punch out on a card the information
produced, calculated or summarized by the other
machine.
- PUNCHING, RATE of
number of cards, characters, blocks, fields or
words of information placed in the form of holes
distribution on cards, or tape per unit of time.
- QUANTITY
a positive or negative real number in the mathe-
matical sense. The term quantity is preferred to
the term number in referring to numerical data;
the term number is used in the sense of natural
number and reserved for "the number of digits", the
"number of operations", etc.
- QUANTITY, DOUBLE-PRECISION
a quantity having twice as many digits as are
normally carried in a specific computer.
- RANDOM-ACCESS
access to storage under conditions in which the
next position from which information is to be
obtained is in no way dependent on the previous one.
- RANGE
all the values which a function may have; the
difference between the limits imposed upon a
variable.
- RATIO, OPERATING
the ratio obtained by dividing the number of
hours of correct machine operation by the total
hours of scheduled operation, e.g. on a 168 hour
week scheduled operation, if 12 hours of preven-
tive maintenance is required and 4.8 hours of un-
scheduled dawn time occurs, then the operating
ratio is (168 - 16.8)168, which is equivalent to
a 90,% operating ratio.
- READ
to copy, usually. from one form of storage to
another, particularly from external or secondary
storage to internal storage; to sense the meaning
or arrangements of hardware; to sense the presence
of information on a recording medium.
- READ-AROUND-RATIO
in electrostatic storage tubes, the number of
times a specific spot (digit or location) may be
consulted before "spill over" will cause a loss of
information stored in surrounding spots, immediate-
ly prior to which the surrounding information must
be restored; read-around number.
- READER, CARD
a mechanism that permits the sensing of infor-
mation punched on cards by means of wire brushes,
metal feelers, or a photoelectric device, convert-
ing the information into electrical pulses that are
sensible to the computing system.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1108
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- READER, TAPE, MAGNETIC
a device capable of restoring to a train or sequence of
electrical pulses, information recorded on a magnetic tape in
the form of a series of magnetized spots, usually for the
purpose of transferring the information to some other storage
medium.
- READER, TAPE, PAPER
a device capable of restoring to a train or. sequence of
electrical pulses, information punched on a paper tape in the
form of a series of holes, usually for the purpose of
transferring the infor- _ mation to some other storage
medium.
- READING, RATE of
number of characters, words, fields, blocks or cards
sensed by an input sensing device per unit of time. REAL-
- TIME
the performance of a computation during the actual time
that the related physical process transpires in order that results
of the computations are useful in guiding the physical process.
- RECORD
a listing of information, usually in printed or printable form;
one output of a compiler consisting of a list of the operations and
their positions in the final specific routine and containing
information describing the segmentation and storage allocation of
the routine; to copy or set down information in reusable form for
future reference; to make a transcription of data by a systematic
alteration of the condition, property or configuration of a
physical medium, e.g., placing information on magnetic tape or a
drum by means of magnetized spots.
- REGENERATION
the process of returning a part of the output signal of an
amplifier to its input circuit in such a manner that it reinforces
the grid excitation and thereby increases the total
amplification; periodic restoration of stored information.
- REGISTER
the hardware for storing one or more computer words.
Registers are usually nearby zero-access storage devices.
- REGISTER, CIRCULATING or MEMORY
a register (or memory) consisting of a means for delaying
information and a means for regenerating and reinserting the
information into the delaying means.
- REGISTER, CONTROL
the accumulator, register or storage unit which stores the
current instruction governing a computer operation; an
instruction register.
- REGISTER, PROGRAM
a register in the control unit which stores the current
instruction of the program and controls computer operation
during the execution of the instruction; control register;
program counter.
- REGULATION, VOLTAGE
a measure of the degree to which an. electrical power
source maintains its output-voltage stability under varying load
conditions.
- REPETITION, RATE of PULSE
the number of electric pulses per unit of time
experienced by a point in a computer, usually the maximum,
normal, or standard rate of pulses.
- REPRESENTATIVE-CALCULATING-TIME
a method of evaluating the speed performance of a
computer. One method is to use one-tenth of the time required
to perform nine complete additions and one complete
multiplication. A complete addition or a complete multiplication
time includes the time required to procure two operands from
high speed storage, perform the operation, and store the result
and the time required to select and execute the required number
of instructions to do this.
- RERUN
to repeat all or part of a program on a computer.
- RERUN-POINT
that stage of a computer run at which all information
pertinent to the running of the routine is available either to the
routine itself or to a rerun routine in order that a run may be
reconstituted.
- RESET
to return a device to zero or to an initial or arbitrarily
selected condition.
- RESOLVER
a device which separates or breaks up a quantity,
particularly a vector, into constituent parts or elements, e.g. to
form the three mutually perpendicular components of a space
vector.
- RESPONSE, FREQUENCY
a measure of the ability of a device to take into account,
follow or act upon a rapidly varying condition, e.g. as applied to
amplifiers, the frequency at which the gain has fallen to the
one=half power point or to 0.707 of the voltage gain factor; as
applied to a mechanical controller, the maxim rate at which
changes in condition can be followed and acted upon.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1109
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- RESTORE
to return a cycle index, a variable address, or other
computer word to its initial or preselected value; periodic
regeneration of charge, especially in volatile, condenser-action
storage systems; when sensing the contents of a storage
location destructively, to return the contents or regenerate the
contents after reading.
- RETURN
to go back to a specific, planned point in a program,
usually when an error is detected, for the purpose of rerunning
the program. -Rerun points are usually three to five minutes
apart to avoid long periods of lost computer time.
Information pertinent to a rerun is available in standby
registers from point to point.
- REWIND
to return a film or magnetic tape to its beginning or
passed location.
- ROLLBACK
equivalent to rerun when referring to tapesequenced
computers; to recapture tape-inscribed data.
- ROLL-OUT
to read a register or counter by adding ones to the
respective digits simultaneously obtaining a signal as each
column returns to zero, until all columns have returned to
zero, usually requiring n additions, where n is the number
base.
- ROUND-OFF
to change a more precise quantity to a less precise one,
according to some rule, usually in order to keep the number
of digits expressing the number.
- ROUTINE
a set of coded instructions arranged in proper sequence
to direct the computer to perform a desired operation or
series of operations.
- ROUTINE, COMPILING
an executive routine which, before the desired computation
is started, translates a program expressed in pseudo-code into
machine code (or into another pseudo-code for further
translation by an interpreter). In accomplishing the translation,
the compiler is required to decode, convert, select, generate,
allocate, adapt, orient, incorporate, or record.
- ROUTINE, DIAGNOSTIC
a specific routine designed to locate either a malfunction
in the computer or a mistake in coding.
- ROUTINE, EXECUTIVE
a set of coded instructions designed to process and control
other sets of coded instructions; a set of coded instructions
used in realizing "automatic coding"; a master set of coded
instructions.
- ROUTINE, FLOATING-POINT
a set of coded instructions arranged in proper sequence to
direct the computer to perform a specific set of operations
which will permit floating-point operation, e.g. enable the use
of a fixedpoint machine to handle information on a
floatingpoint basis from an external point of view. Floating-
point routines are usually used in computers which do not have
built in floating-point circuitry, in which case floating-point
operation must be programmed.
- ROUTINE, GENERAL
a routine expressed in computer coding designed to solve a
class of problems, specializing to a specific problem when
appropriate parametric values are supplied.
- ROUTINE, INTERPRETIVE
an executive routine which, as the computation progresses,
translates a stored program expressed in some machine-like
pseudo-code into machine code and performs the indicated
operations, by means of subroutines as they are translated. An
interpretive routine is essentially a closed subroutine which
operates successively on an indefinitely-long sequence of
program parameters (the pseudo-instructions and operands). It
may usually be entered as a closed subroutine and exitted by a
pseudo-code exit instruction.
- ROUTINE, MINIMAL LATENCY
especially in reference to serial storage systems, a routine so
coded, by ,judicious arrangement of data and instructions in
storage, that the actual latency is appreciably less than the
expected random-access latency.
- ROUTINE, RERUN
a routine designed to be used in the wake of a computer
malfunction or a coding or operating mistake to reconstitute a
routine from the last previous rerun point; roll back routine. See
Rerun.
- ROUTINE, SEQUENCE-CHECKING
a routine which checks every instruction executed, printing
certain data, e.g., to print out the coded instruction with
addresses, and the contents of each of several registers, or it may
be designed to print out only selected data, such as transfer
instructions and the quantity actually transferred.
- ROUTINE, SERVICE
a routine designed to assist in the actual operation of the
computer. Tape comparison, block location, certain post
mortems, and correction routines fall in this class.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1110
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- ROUTINE, SPECIFIC
a routine expressed in computer coding designed
to solve a particular mathematical, logical, or
data-handling problem in which each address refers
to explicitly stated registers and locations.
- ROUTINE, TEST
a routine designed to show whether a computer is
functioning properly or not.
- RUN
one performance of a program on a computer;
performance of one routine, or several routines
automatically linked so that they form an operating
unit, during which manual manipulations are not
required of the computer operator.
- SCALE
to alter the units in which all variables are
expressed so as to bring all magnitudes within
the capacity of the computer or routine at hand.
- SCANNER
an instrument which automatically samples or
interrogates the state of various processes,
conditions, or physical states and initiates action
in accordance with the information obtained.
- SEGMENT
to divide a routine in parts each consisting of
an integral number of subroutines, each part capable
of being completely stored in the internal storage
and containing the necessary instructions to ,jump
to other segments; in a routine too long to fit in-
to internal storage, a part short enough to be
stored entirely in the internal storage and contain-
ing the coding necessary to call in and jump auto-
matically to other segments. Routines which exceed
internal storage capacity may be automatically
divided into segments by a compiler.
- SELECT
to take the alternative A if the report on a
condition is of one state, and alternative B if
the report on the condition is of another state;
to choose a needed subroutine from a file of sub-
routines.
- SELECTOR
a device which interrogates a condition and
initiates a particular operation according to the
interrogation report.
- SENSE
to examine, particularly relative to a criterion;
to determine the present arrangement of some element
of hardware, especially a manually-set switch; to
read holes punched in paper.
- SENTINEL
a symbol marking the beginning or the end of
some element of information such as a field, item,
block, tape, etc; a tag.
- SEQUENCE, PSEUDO-RANDOM
an order of numbers produced by a definite
recursive rule but satisfying one or more of the
standard tests for randomness.
- SEQUENCER
a machine which puts items of information into
a particular order, e.g., it will determine whether
A is greater than, equal to, or less than B, and
sort or order accordingly.
- SERIAL
handle one after the other in a single facility,
such as transfer or store in a digit by digit time
sequence.
- SERVOMECHANISM
a closed loop system in which the error or
deviation from a desired or pre-set norm is reduced
to zero, and one in which mechanical position is
usually the controlled variable, e.g., a synchro-
nized drum storage system requires a servomechanism
to insure synchronism between a crystal controlled
electronic oscillator and a rotating cylinder; an
AA fire control gun-positioning system requires a
servo to insure that deviations are corrected.
- SHIFT
to move the characters of a unit of information
column-wise right or left. For a number, this
is equivalent to multiplying or dividing by a power
of the base of notation.
- SHIFT, ARITHMETIC
to multiply or divide a quantity by a power of
the number base, e.g. binary 1011 represents deci-
mal 11, therefore two arithmetic shifts to the left
is binary 101100, which represents decimal 44;
which means 11 was multiplied by two twice when a
binary number is shifted. If the decimal 11 was
shifted twice, it would mean multiplication by 100,
or a result of 1100.
- SHUT, CYCLIC
a shift in which the digits dropped off at one
end of a word are returned at the other in a
circular fashion; logical, non-arithmetical or
circular shift.
- SIGNIFICANCE
the arbitrary rank, priority, or order of rela-
tive magnitude assigned to a given position or
column in a number; the significant digits of a
number are a set of digits, usually from consecutive
columns beginning with the most significant digit
different from zero and ending with the least
significant digit whose value is known are assumed
relevant, e.g., 2300.0 has five significant digits,
whereas 2300 probably has two significant digits.
However 2301 has four significant digits.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1111
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- SIMULATION
the representation of physical systems and phenomenons
by computers, models or other equipment.
- SKIP
an instruction to proceed to the next instruction; a "blank"
instruction.
- SOLVER, EQUATION
a calculating device, usually analog, which arrives at the
solution to systems of linear simultaneous non-differential
equations or determine the roots of polynomials or both.
- SORT
to arrange items of information according to rules
dependent upon a key or field contained in the items.
- STACKER, CARD
a mechanism that accumulates cards in a bin after they
have passed through a machine operation. STANDARDIZE
to adjust the exponent and mantissa of a floating-point
result so that the mantissa lies in the prescribed normal
range; normalize; see Floatingpoint Representation.
- STORAGE
preferred to memory, any device into which units of
information can be copies, which will hold this information,
and from which the information can be obtained at a later
time; devices, such as plugboards, which hold information in
the form of arrangements of physical elements, hardware, or
equipment; the erasable storage in any given computer.
- STORAGE, BUFFER
a synchronizing element between two different forms of
storage, usually between internal and external; an input device
in which information is assembled from external or secondary
storage and stored ready for transfer to internal storage; an
output device into which information is copied from internal
storage and held for transfer to secondary or external storage.
Computation continues while transfers between buffer storage
and secondary or internal storage or vice versa take place.
- STORAGE, CIRCULATING
a device using a delay line, or unit which stores
information in a train or pattern of pulses, where the pattern
of pulses issuing at the final end are sensed, amplified,
reshaped and re-inserted in the delay line at the beginning end.
See DelayLine.
- STORAGE, DYNAMIC
storage such that information at a certain position is
moving or varying with time and so is not always available
instantly; e.g., acoustic delay line, magnetic drum; circulating or
re-circulating of information in a medium.
- STORAGE, ELECTROSTATIC
a device possessing the capability of storing changeable
information in the form of charged or uncharged areas on the
screen of a cathode ray tube.
- STORAGE, ERASABLE
media which may hold information that can be
changed; i.e., the media can be re-used; e.g., magnetic
tape, drum, or core.
- STORAGE, EXTERNAL
storage facilities divorced from the computer itself but
holding information in the form prescribed for the
computer; e.g., magnetic tapes, magnetic wire, punched
cards, etc.
- STORAGE, INTERNAL
storage facilities forming an integral physical part of the
computer and directly controlled by the computer; the total
storage automatically accessible to the computer.
- STORAGE, MAGNETIC
any storage system which utilizes the magnetic
properties of materials to store information.
- STORAGE, MERCURY
columns of a liquid mercury medium used as a storage
element by the delaying action or time of travel of sonic
pulses which are circulated by having electrical amplifier,
shaper, and timer circuits complete the loop.
- STORAGE, NON-ERASABLE
media used for containing information which cannot be
erased and reused, such as punched paper tapes, and punched
cards.
- STORAGE, NON-VOLATILE
storage media which retain information in the absence
of power and which may be made available upon
restoration of power; e.g., magnetic tapes, drums, or cores.
- STORAGE, PARALLEL
storage in which all bits, or characters, or
(especially) words are essentially equally available
in space, without time being one of the coordinates.
Parallel storage contrasts with serial storage.
When words are in parallel, the storage is said to
be parallel by words; when characters within words
(or binary digits within words or characters) are
dealt with simultaneously, not one after the other,
the storage is parallel by characters (or parallel
by bit respectively . Contrasted with Storage,
Parallel.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1112
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- STORAGE, SECONDARY
storage facilities not an integral part of the computer
but directly connected to and controlled by the computer;
e.g., magnetic drum, magnetic tapes, etc.
- STORAGE, SERIAL
storage in which time is one of the coordinates used to
locate any given bit, character, or (especially) word. Storage in
which words, within given groups of several words, appear one
after the other in time sequence, and in which access time
therefore includes a variable latency or waiting time of from
zero to many-times, is said to be serial by word. Storage in
which the individual bits comprising a word appear in time
sequence is serial by bit. Storage for coded-decimal or other non-
binary numbers in which the characters appear in time sequence
is serial by character; e.g., magnetic drums are usually serial by
word but may be serial by bit, or parallel by bit, or serial by
character and parallel by bit, etc.
- STORAGE, STATIC
storage such that information is fixed in space and
available at any time; e.g., flip-flop, electrostatic, or
coincident-current magnetic-core storage.
- STORAGE, TEMPORARY
internal storage locations reserved for intermediate and
partial results.
- STORAGE, VOLATILE
storage media such that if the applied power is cut off,
the stored information is lost; e.g., acoustic delay lines,
electrostatic tubes.
- STORAGE, WORKING
a portion of the internal storage reserved for the data
upon which operations are being performed.
- STORAGE, ZERO-ACCESS
storage for which the latency (waiting time) is small at
all times.
- STORE
to transfer an element of information to a device from
which the unaltered information can be obtained at a later time.
- SUBROUTINE
the set of instructions necessary to direct the computer to
carry out a well defined mathematical or logical operation; a
subunit of a routine. A subroutine is often written in relative or
symbolic coding even when the routine to which it belongs is
not.
- SUBROUTINE, CLOSED
a subroutine not stored in its proper place in the linear
operational sequence, but stored away from the routine which
refers to it. Such a subroutine is entered by a ,jump, and
provision is made to return, i.e., to jump back to the proper
point in the main routine at the end of the subroutine.
- SUBROUTINE, DYNAMIC
a subroutine which involves parameters, such as decimal
point position or item size, from which a relatively coded
subroutine is derived: The computer itself is expected to
adjust or generate the subroutine according to the parametric
values chosen.
- SUBROUTINE, OPEN
a subroutine inserted directly into the linear operational
sequence, not entered by a jump. Such a subroutine must be
recopied at each point that it is needed in a routine.
SUBROUTINE, STATIC
a subroutine which involves no parameters other than the
addresses of the operands.
- SUBSTITUTE
to replace an element of information by some other
element of information.
- SWITCH, ELECTRONIC
a circuit which causes a start-and-stop action or a
switching action by electronic means.
- SWITCH, FUNCTION
a circuit having a fixed number of inputs and outputs
designed such that the output information is a function of the
input information, each expressed in a certain code or signal
configuration or pattern.
- SYMBOL, LOGICAL
a symbol used to represent a logical element
graphically.
- SYSTEM
an assembly of components united by some form of
regulated interaction; an organized whole.
- TABULATOR
a machine which reads information from one medium,
e.g., cards, paper tape, magnetic tape, etc. and produces
lists, tables, and totals on separate forms or continuous
paper.
- TAG
a unit of information, whose composition differs from that
of other members of the set so that it can be used as a marker
or label; a sentinel.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1113
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- TANK
a unit of acoustic delay line storage, containing a set of
channels each forming a separate recirculation path; a circuit
consisting of inductance and capacitance used for the purpose
of sustaining electrical oscillations.
- TAPE, MAGNETIC
a tape or ribbon of any material impregnated or coated
with magnetic material on which information may be placed in
the form of magnetically polarized spots.
- TAPE, PROGRAM
a tape which contains the sequence of instructions required
for solving a problem and which may be read by the computer.
- TERNARY
pertaining to the system of notation utilizing the base of 3,
employing the characters 0, 1, and 2.
- TEST, CRIPPLED-LEAP-FROG
a variation of the leap-frog test, modified so that it
repeats its tests from a single set of storage locations rather
than a changing set of locations.
- TEST, LEAPFROG
a program designed to discover computer malfunction,
characterized by the property that it performs a series of
arithmetical or logical operations on one group of storage
locations, transfers itself to another group of storage locations,
checks the correctness of the transfer, then begins the series of
operations over again. Eventually, all storage positions will
have been occupied and the test will be repeated.
- TETRAD
a group of four, usually four pulses, in particular, a group of
four pulses used to express a decimal digit, or a sexadecimal
digit by means of four (binary) pulses.
- TETRODE
a four-electrode vacuum tube containing a cathode,
control grid, screen grid, and plate.
- THERMISTOR
the thermistor is a solid state, semiconducting device
made by sintering mixtures of the oxide powders of various
metals. It is made in many shapes, such as beads, disks, flakes,
washers, and rods, to which contact wires are attached. As its
temperature is changed, the electrical resistance of the
thermistor varies. The associated temperature coefficient of
resistance is extremely high, nonlinear, and negative.
- THERMOCOUPLE
a device made up of two bi-metal joints (usually wires
forming a closed loop) having the property that if the two
,junctions are maintained at different temperatures, a
difference of potential is brought into existence equally
distributed between the two junctions.
- THREE-ADDRESS
see
Code, Multiple-address.
- THYRATRON
a hot-cathode, gas-discharge tube in which one or more
electrodes are used to control electrostatically the starting
of an unidirectional flow of current.
TIME, CODE CHECKING
all time spent checking out a problem on the machine
making sure that the problem is set up correctly, and that
the code is correct.
- TIME, ENGINEERING or SERVICING
all machine down time necessary for routine testing (good
or bad), for machine servicing due to breakdowns, or for
preventive servicing measures, e.g., block tube changes. Includes
all test time (good or bad) following breakdown and subsequent
repair or preventive servicing.
- TIME, IDLE
time in which machine is believed to be in good operating
condition and attended by service engineers but not in use on
problems. To verify that the machine is in good operating
condition, nachine tests of the leapfrog variety may be run.
- TIME, NO CHARGE MACHINE-FAULT
unproductive time due to a computer fault such as the
following: (1) non-duplication, (2) transcribing error, (3)
input-output malfunction, (4) machine malfunction resulting
in an incomplete run.
- TIME, NO CHARGE NON-NACHINE-FAULT
unproductive time due to no fault of the computer such as
the following: (1) good duplication, (2) error in preparation of
input data, (3) error in arranging the program deck, (4) error in
operating instructions or misinterpretation of instructions, (5)
unscheduled good testing time, run during normal production
period when machine malfunction is suspected but is
demonstrated not to exist.
- TIME, PRODUCTION
good computing time, including occasional duplication of
one case for a check or rerunning of the test run. Also,
duplication requested by the sponsor; any reruns caused by
misinformation or bad data supplied by sponsor. Error studies
using different intervals, convergence criteria, etc.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1114
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- TIME, STANDBY UNATTENDED
time in which the machine is in an unknown condition and not in use of
problems. Includes time in which machine is known to be defective and work
is not being done to restore it to operating condition. Includes breakdowns
which render it unavailable due to outside conditions (power outages, etc.).
- TIME, SYSTEM, IMPROVEMENT
all machine down time needed for the installation and testing of new
components, large or small, and machine down time necessary for modification
of existing components. Includes all programmed tests following the above
actions to prove machine is operating properly.
- TRACK
in a serial magnetic storage element, a single path containing a set of
pulses.
- TRANSCRIBE
to copy, with or without translating, from one external storage
medium to another.
- TRANSDUCER
a device which converts energy from one form to another, e.g., a quartz
crystal imbedded in mercury can change electrical energy to sound energy
as is done in sonic delay lines in computer storage systems.
- TRANSFER
to copy, exchange, read, record, store, transmit, transport, or write data;
to change control; to jump to another location.
- TRANSFER, CONDITIONALLY
to copy, exchange, read, record, store, transmit, or write data or to change
control or ,jump to another location according to a certain specified rule or in
accordance with a certain criterion.
- TRANSFER, PARALLEL
a system of data transfer in which the characters of an element of
information are transferred simultaneously over a set of paths.
- TRANSFER, SERIAL
a system of data transfer in which the characters of an element of
information are transferred in sequence over a single path in
consecutive time positions.
- TRANSFER, UNCONDITIONAL
an instruction which causes the subsequent instruction to be taken
from an address which is not the next one in the sequence in a digital
computer which ordinarily obtains its instructions serially from an
ordered sequence at all other times.
- TRANSFORM
to change information in structure or composition without altering
the meaning or value; to normalize, edit, or substitute.
- TRANSIENT
a phenomenon experiencing a change as a function of time; something
which is temporary; a build-up or breakdown in the intensity of a
phenonenon until a steady state condition is reached; an aperiodic
phenomenon; the time rate of change of energy is finite and some form of
energy storage is usually involved.
- TRANSISTOR
an electronic device utilizing semi-conductor properties to control the
flow of currents from one source in one circuit by currents from another
circuit, e.g. a triod transistor permits the control of current in one circuit by
the use of a smaller current in another circuit, with the transistor common
to both circuits.
- TRANSLATE
to change inforamtion (e.g., problem statements in pseudo-code, data,
or coding) from one language to another without significantly affecting the
meaning.
- TRANSMIT
to reproduce information in a new location replacing whatever was
previously stored and clearing or erasing the source of the information.
- TRANSPORT
to convey as a whole from one storage device to another.
- TROUBLE-SHOOT
to search for a coding mistake or the cause of a computer malfunction in
order to remove same.
- TRUNCATE
to drop digits of a number of terms of a series thus lessening precision,
e.g. the number 3.14159265 is truncated to five figures in 3.1415, whereas
one may round off to 3.1416.
- TRUNK
a path over which information is transferred; a bus.
- TUBE, ACORN
a small vacuum tube designed for ultra-highfrequency circuits. The
tube has short electron transit time and low interelectrode capacity.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1115
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- TUBE, CATHODE-RAY
an electronic vacuum tube containing a screen on which
information may be stored by means of a multigrid modulated
beam of electrons from the thermionic emitter, storage
effected by means of charged or uncharged spots; a storage
tube; a Williams tube; an oscilloscope tube; a picture tube.
- TUBE, WILLIAMS
a cathode ray tube used as an electrostatic storage
device of the type designed by F. C. Williams,
University of Manchester, England.
- TWO-ADDRESS
see Code, Multiple-address.
- TYPEWRITER, ELECTRIC
a hand operated electric powered individual character
printing device having the property that almost every
operation of the machine after the keys are touched by human
fingers is performed by electric power instead of manual power;
a typewriter powered by electricity, in all other respects the
same as a manually powered typewriter.
- ULTRASONICS
the field of science devoted to frequencies of sound
above the human audio range, i.e. above 20 kilocycles per
second.
- UNCONDITIONAL
not subject to conditions external to the specific
instruction.
- UNDERFLOW
the condition which arises when a machine computation
yields a result which is smaller than the smallest possible
quantity which the machine is capable of storing; in floating-
point operations, when the exponent plus the excess becomes
negative.
- UNPACK
to decompose packed information into a sequence of
separate words or elements.
- UNWIND
to code explicitly, at length and in full all the operations of a
cycle thus eliminating all red-tape operations in the final
problem coding. Unwinding may be performed automatically by
the computer during assembly, generation, or compilation.
- VALIDITY
correctness; especially the degree of the closeness by which
iterated results approach the correct result.
- VARISTOR
a passive resistor-like circuit element whose resistance is a
function of the current through it or voltage across its
terminals, i.e. the current through it is a non-linear function
of the voltage across its terminals, hence the linear form of
Ohms Law is not obeyed; a self-varying resistance.
- VERIFIER
a device on which a manual transcription can be
verified by comparing a retranscription with it character-
by-character as it is being retranscribed.
- VERIFY
to check a data transfer or transcription, especially
those involving manual processes.
- WIRE, MAGNETIC
wire made of a magnetic material along small
incremental lengths of which magnetic dipoles are placed in
accordance with binary information.
- WORD
a set of characters which occupies one storage location and
is treated by the computer circuits as a unit and transported as
such. Ordinarily a word is treated by the control unit as an
instruction, and by the arithmetic unit as a quantity. Word
lengths are fixed or variable depending on the particular
computer.
- WORD, INFORMATION
an ordered set of characters bearing at least one
meaning and handled by a computer as a unit, including
separating spacing, which may be contrasted with
instruction words.
- WORD-TIME
especially in reference to words stored serially, the time
required to transport one word from one storage device to
another. See also Access Time.
- WRITE
to transfer information to an output medium; to copy,
usually from internal storage to external storage; to record
information in a register, location, or other storage device or
medium.
- ZERO
nothing; positive binary zero is usually indicated by the
absence of digits or pulses in a word; negative binary zero in a
computer operating on ones complements by a pulse in every
pulse position in a word; in a coded decimal machine, decimal
zero and binary zero may not have the same representation. In
most computers, there exist distinct and valid representation
both for plus and for minus zero.
BRL 1961, GLOSSARY, start page 1116
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- ZERO-SUPPRESSION
the editing or elimination of non-significant
zeros to the left of the integral part of a
quantity before printing operations are initiated;
a part of editing.
- ZONE
a portion of internal storage allocated for a
particular function or purpose; any of the three
top positions of 12, 11 and 0 on a punch card. In
these zone positions, a second punch can be in-
serted so that with punches in the remaining
positions 1 to 9, alphabetic characters may be
represented.
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