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Zeus Lexicon

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C

C - 1. the third letter of the alphabet. 2. the drive letter usually used on a PC for the first hard drive or boot drive. The floppy drives are ordinarily referred to as A and B (at least in the U.S.) 3. a popular programming language written by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie. See K&R, C++, Visual C, UNIX, Lingo, FORTRAN, Basic, compile.4. the Roman numeral for 100. 5. n. a single hexadecimal digit used to represent the decimal number 12. 6. degrees Celsius or Centigrade. See K.

C Answer Book, The - companion book containing the answers to all the exercises in K&R. See The C Programming Language.

C Programming Language, The - book commonly referred to as K&R. See C, The C Answer Book..

C++ - (pronounced "See-Plus-Plus") an object-oriented variant of C. See Visual C++.

C3PO - an interpreter droid in Star Wars. See R2D2.

CA - CAlifornia.

ca - the two-letter extension assigned to domains in Canada. See jp, uk.

CAD - 1. (pronounced "Cad") see Computer Aided Design 2. a heel.

call - 1. v. to contact another party either via yelling or telephony. 2. n. a programmatic reference to a subroutine, as in, "Where is that call to PaintWindow?". 3. v. to use or refer to another subroutine or function, as in "My application calls an Xtra to do the real work". See gosub.

capture - to obtain data, or freeze it in time. See screen capture, video capture, digitize.

carriage return - a character used to indicate the end of a line or paragraph, so-called because the Return key on a typewriter causes the "carriage" to "return" to the left side of the page. Note that a carriage return does not necessarily move the cursor to the next line, which may require a line feed character as well. See CR, CR/LF.

Case, Steve - CEO of America On-Line and generally cheesy guy.

cast - See cast file.

cast file - an external Director file, typically with a CST extension, containing assets such as sound, bitmap, script and text cast members. Also known as cast, castlib or cast library. See Shared Cast.

castlib - cast library. See cast file.

cast library - See cast file.

cast member - an single asset in a cast file, such as a sound, bitmap, script or text item.

cast script - a Lingo script attached to a specific cast member, such as a bitmap. Cast scripts are executed when the user clicks on the associated cast member. See movie script, sprite script, frame script, score script.

CBS - 1. Columbia Broadcasting System, a television network. See NBC, ABC.

CBT - see Computer Based Training.

CD - 1. Compact Disc, see WORM, coaster, CD-ROM Burner. 2. CD-ROM drive. 3. Certificate of Deposit (financial instrument).

CDA - Communications Decency Act - a misguided attempt at internet censorship, sensibly overturned by the US Supreme Court.

CD-I - CD Interactive.

CD Plus - See Enhanced CD.

CD-ROM - Compact Disc Read-Only Memory, a small plastic platter that contains data optically encoded into the surface. Read by a laser in a CD-ROM drive.

CD-ROM drive - a drive capable of reading CD-ROMs. They come in single-speed (1X), double-speed (2X), quad-speed (4X) and higher. See CD.

CD-ROM Burner - a device capable of making coasters. See Toast, RomMaker, disk image.

central processing unit - the microprocessor "brain" of a computer, such as a Pentium or PowerPC chip. See CPU, DSP, DMA, parallel processing, MHz.

CEO - Chief Executive Officer. See CFO, COO.

CFO - Chief Financial Officer. See CEO, COO.

CGA - Color Graphics Adapter. See EGA, VGA, SVGA.

CGI - 1. Common Gateway Interface. Scripts that add interactivity to a web page, such as data entry. See Perl. 2. Computer Generated Imagery. See ILM.

CHAT - first in a trilogy of cyber-novels by Nan McCarthy of Rainwater Press. See CONNECT, CRASH.

Chicklet - 1. chewing gum. 2. keys resembling the chewing gum on a keyboard. See PC, Jr.

child - an entity, such as a child object or child process, which is created or controlled by a parent.

child object - an independent object whose behavior is determined by its parent script. Each child object is an independent instance of the parent script. See method, ancestor, inheritance.

child process - a process which is controlled or created by a parent process. If a parent process terminates, ordinarily the child process would be terminated as well.

child window - a secondary window which is controlled by a parent window. If a parent window is closed, ordinarily the child window would be closed as well.

Chief Executive Officer - someone who gets paid more than you, even when the company's stock is in the tank. Often called CEO.

Chief Financial Officer - someone who gets paid more than you, and has stock options too. Often called CFO.

Chief Operating Officer - someone who gets paid more than you, and has stock options too. Often called COO.

chocolate - one of the three food groups. See cookie.

CIG - Collapsing In Giggles, uncommon e-mail abbreviation indicating that the writer thought that the original statement was very funny. See LOL.

CIS - CompuServe Information Services.

Clark, James "Jim" - CEO of Netscape. Former CEO of SGI. See Mark Andreeson.

CLI - 1. Command-Line Interface. 2. Command Line Interpreter.

client - a computer requesting a service. A consumer of information provided by a server.

client-server - a set-up in which one or more servers provide content or services for one or more clients. For internet applications, the web browser is considered a client of the web server.

clock speed - the speed of a CPU as measured in MHz. All else being equal, the faster the clock speed the faster the computer.

clone - 1. Dolly 2. a computer manufactured by a company other than IBM or Apple, but ostensibly adhering to the same standards and therefore compatible with the original manufacturer's equipment. Well known clone manufacturers such as Compaq have achieved a high degree of respectability and market share, but the term "clone" is sometimes used derogatorily. See Gateway 2000, DELL, HP. Mac clone manufacturers include UMAX, and PowerComputing.

CMU - Carnegie-Mellon University.

CMYK - a color specification using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK. See RGB.

CNA - Certified Network Administrator.

CNE - Certified Network Engineer.

coaster - 1. a place to put your drink 2. an amusement park ride, often called "roller-coaster" 3. the best use for many CD-ROMs, see definition 1, and CD-ROM Burner.

C.O.D. - Cash On Delivery, a method of purchase where payment is made when the goods are delivered. Zeus Productions does not process C.O.D. orders.

Code Warrior - 1. a C++ compiler from Metrowerks, primarily for Macintosh development, but also capable of generating Windows code. See IDE, Visual C, CW. 2. someone who lives by the credo, "Blood, Sweat, Code". See Geekware.

Colin - General Powell's first name, often pronounce "colon".

Colligan, John C. "Bud" - CEO of Macromedia. See Rob Burgess.

colon - 1. the large intestine. 2. the ":" character used as part of DOS drive letter specifications.

Color Graphics Adapter - an early video standard on IBM PCs, commonly referred to as CGA. See EGA, VGA, SVGA.

com - (pronounced "dot cahm", not "See-Oh-Em") the final portion of the domain name of a commercial enterprise, such as zeusprod.com. See edu, gov, mil, net, org, dot.

COM1- (pronounced "cahm won") the first COMmunications serial port on a PC. See COM2, LPT1.

COM2 - (pronounced "cahm too") the second COMmunications serial port on a PC. See COM1, LPT2.

command - a keyword or menu choice that initiates a particular option.

Command key - the Command key is used to modify other key commands. For example, Command-M indicates that you should press the M key while holding down the Command key, as you would the Shift key. The Command key on the Macintosh has a "cloverleaf" or "propeller" logo on it. Refer to the Lingo property the commandDown. See Alt key, Control key, Option key.

command line - a text entry area where a user can issues commands to the operating system, used in DOS and UNIX.

command-line interface - an interface in which the user types commands on a single line sequentially. See CLI. Contrast GUI.

command line interpreter - an program which parses and interprets commands entered by the user and performs the requested operation. See CLI.

comment - text within a program, script or batch file that is used to improve the readability for humans. Comments, as indicated by one or more special comment characters, are ignored by the compiler or interpreter, and are a convenient way to temporarily disable portions of your code. See also REM. Refer to the TechNote, "Using Comments".

comment character - a special sequence of one of more characters that indicates that some text is a comment and should be ignored by the computer. The comment character varies with different languages and programs. Lingo uses two hyphens "--" to indicate a comment. Other languages use REM, ; (semi-colon), # (number sign), // (double slash), /* (slash-asterisk) and */ (asterisk-slash) to indicate comments. Refer to the TechNote, "Using Comments".

commerce server - a web server that allows for on-line credit card, or other financial, transactions. See web server.

Commerce Builder - a commerce server from The Internet Factory.

Compaq - maker of IBM-compatible PC clones. Their name stands for Compatibility and Quality (pronounced "compak", not "compact") although they were original known for their luggable computers.

compile - 1. to convert the human-readable source code, in a language such as C, into an object module. Often used to refer to creating an executable, which is technically done by a linker. 2. In Director, to convert Lingo scripts into an optimized ("tokenized") format. Compiling Lingo scripts also verifies their syntax.

compiler - a program that compiles source code from a programming language into a machine-readable object module. See Code Warrior, Visual C, parser, linker, interpreter.

Compact Disc - see CD.

Compact Disc Read-Only Memory - see CD-ROM.

CompactPro - a compression utility that creates CPT and SEA files.

CompuServe - a private on-line network, also CIS, GO. See AOL, MSN, Prodigy

computer aided design - use of a computer in an engineering application, such as architecture. The most popular CAD program is AutoCAD, by AutoDesk.

Computer Based Training - See Authorware, Director, and the TechNote, "Choosing a Multimedia Authoring Tool". See CBT.

concatenate - (con-CAT-in-ate) to join together two or more strings to form a new string. Lingo has two concatenation operators, & and &&.

CONFIG.SYS - a special DOS file which controls the loading of device drivers. See AUTOEXEC.BAT, SysEdit.

conflict - 1. WWII. 2. a state of incompatibility between two or more software or hardware components. See driver conflict, hardware conflict, software conflict, Extensions Manager.

CONNECT - second in a trilogy of cyber-novels by Nan McCarthy of Rainwater Press. See CHAT, CRASH.

content - 1. n. (CON-tent) the graphics, video and sound used in a multimedia project, as opposed to the programming. It is important to establish who will be providing the content prior to agreeing to a project or budget. The content may be provided in raw form, such as a Beta tape, or in finished form, such as a properly compressed QuickTime movie. Do not underestimate the amount of time required to massage content into the appropriate form. 2. adj. (con-TENT) happy.

contiguous - adjacent in position and continuous. See fragment, de-fragment.

continuation character - a special character used to continue the current line of a script onto the next line, which is useful for breaking up long lines of code. The Lingo continuation characters is created using Option-Return on the Mac or Alt-Enter on the PC.

constant - 1. an item with a fixed value or something which does not change. For example, in Lingo, TRUE is a constant that always equals one (1), and FALSE is a constant that always equals zero (0). See dynamic, static, Death and Taxes.

control - see Control key

control character - one of the first 26 ASCII characters, generatedq

Control key - the Control key is used to modify other key commands. For example, Control-M indicates that you should press the M key while holding down the Control key, as you would the Shift key. The Control key is labeled "Ctrl" on some keyboards. Refer to the Lingo property

the
controlDown

. See Alt key, Command key, Option key.

Control Panel - a Mac OS or Windows utility that performs a system configuration function. The Time/Date control panel might set the time and date, the memory control panel allows you to configure virtual memory, etc. See Control Panels folder, Control Panels (Disabled), Extension, Extensions Manager, System Folder, Finder, System, Start Menu.

Control Panels (Disabled) folder - a special folder within the Macintosh System Folder which contains Control Panels disabled by the Extensions Manager. See Enxtensions (Disabled).

Control Panels folder - a special folder within the Macintosh System Folder which contains active Control Panels. See Control Panels (Disabled), Extensions Manager.

COO - Chief Operating Officer. See CEO, CFO. 2. the sound a pigeon makes.

cookie - 1. a token used to maintain continuity between a client (web browser) and a server (web server). A cookie is used to record some information on your computer. Next time you talk to a web site, it checks if the cookie is there, and can act accordingly. Because cookies are written to your drive by the server, they can constitute a security risk. Therefore, most browsers allow you to disable cookies, or can be configured to ask you whether to allow the cookie before setting one. See magic cookie. 2. a tasty pastry, see Florentine. 3. favorite food of Cookie Monster. 4. Something which is tossed. See Beer Pong.

Cookie Monster - a blue furry Sesame Street Character, only slight more desirous of cookies than a hacker at 4:00 am.

CPA - Certified Public Accountant.

CPT - the file extension used for a file compressed with ComPacT Pro.

CPU - Central Processing Unit. See MHz, microprocessor.

CP/M - an outdated operating system.

CR - an ASCII character used to end a line or submit a text entry. See Carriage Return, Return, CR/LF, LF, EOL.

CR/LF - a combination of the Carriage Return and Line Feed characters, used to send the cursor to the left edge of the page and down one line. FileIO on the Macintosh ends each line with only a CR, but the Windows version of FileIO uses CR/LF. See LF, EOL.

crap quotient - the standard by which all crap on the net is judged. If a web site lacks sufficient useless or uninteresting material it may actually inspire someone to think and act consciously. Any web site having an insufficient crap quotient is dangerous to the general welfare and to the state, and must be removed at once. Your cooperation is appreciated.

CRASH - third in a trilogy of cyber-novels by Nan McCarthy of Rainwater Press. See CHAT, CONNECT.

Creator Code - all Macintosh files include a hidden four-character Creator Code which binds a document to an application. When a document is double-clicked, its Creator Code is checked to determine which application should be used to open the document. See APPL, File Type, extension, Mac OS. Refer to the TechNote, "File Types, Creator Codes and Extensions".

CST - 1. the extension for external cast file in Director; 2. Central Standard Time, time zone of Midwestern United States. One (1) hour earlier than EST, one (1) hour later than MST, and two (2) hours later than PST. Six (6) hours earlier than GMT.

cursor - 1. a visual element used to indicate one's position on a computer screen. Common cursors include an arrow, an hourglass, or a watch. Command-line interfaces often use a blinking underscore or solid rectangle to indicate the insertion point. See LF. 2. a Lingo command which sets the cursor.

CVT - Continuously Variable Transmission, featured on some Hondas.

CW - various versions of Code Warrior, such as CW9, CW10, CW11.

cyan - a light blue primary color, used in CMYK specifications.

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