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

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STDM:
statistical time-division multiplexing.

step:
(1) A statement or instruction in a program. (2) One operation in a routine. (3) To cause a computer to execute one or more operations.

step-by-step operation:
Synonym for single-step operation.

stepwise refinement:
In software development, a technique in which processing steps and data are defined broadly at first, then further defined with increasing detail.

stereo analysis:
Image analysis using a pair of images of the same scene taken from different locations deriving depth information from the difference in locations of the same feature in each of the images. Synonymous with stereoscopic analysis.

stereopsis:
The measurement of distance by use of stereo images.

stereoscopic analysis:
Synonym for stereo analysis.

stereoscopic approach:
The use of triangulation between two or more views, obtained from different positions, to determine depth.

stereoscopic system:
An imaging system designed to produce spatial impression by displaying different images to each eye. Examples are:
  1. anaglyphic, in which complementary-colored lenses cause each eye to see only one image of the pair;
  2. split screen, in which optical means are used to separate the two interleaved images for each eye;
  3. dual screens, which use video displays to present different images simultaneously.

stipple pattern:
A bitmap used to construct a tile or a clip mask.

stop instruction:
An exit that specifies the termination of the execution of a program.

stop key:
In text processing, a control that terminates or interrupts an operation.

stop signal:
In start-stop transmission, a signal at the end of a character that prepares the receiving device for the reception of a subsequent character. A stop signal is usually limited to one signal element having any duration equal to or greater than a specified minimum value.

storage:
(1) The retention of data for possible future retrieval. (2) A storage device.

storage allocation:
The assignment of storage areas for specified purposes.

storage capacity:
The amount of data that can be contained in a storage device or data medium measured in binary characters, bytes, words, or other units. For registers, the term "register length" is used with the same meaning. Synonymous with storage size.

storage cell:
The smallest unit of storage that can be addressed. Synonymous with storage element.

storage device:
A functional unit into which data can be placed, in which they can be retained, and from which they can be retrieved.

storage element:
Synonym for storage cell.

storage image:
The representation of a program and its related data as they exist at the time they reside in main storage.

storage location:
A position in a data medium or storage device that is uniquely specified by means of an address.

storage organization:
The arrangement of storage and of its access operations corresponding to a data structure and to its associations. The logical elements of the data structure are mapped into their stored physical counterparts. For example, the records of a record type are mapped into stored records of a file.

storage protection:
Limitation of access to a storage device, or to one or more storage locations, by preventing writing or reading or both.

storage schema:
In the CODASYL model, the statements of the data storage definition that describe storage areas, stored records, and any associated indexes and access paths that support the records and sets defined by a given schema.

storage size:
Synonym for storage capacity.

storage structure language:
A database language for defining storage organizations independently of any particular storage device or operating system.

store:
To place or retain data in a storage device.

store-and-forward:
A mode of operation of a data network in which data are temporarily stored before they are retransmitted toward the destination.

stored message alert service:
A service that informs a user whenever a message arriving at the message store satisfies registered criteria.

stored message listing service:
A service that provides a recipient's user agent with a list of information on messages stored in the message store. The information comprises attributes selected from each message and other information added by the message store.

stored message summary service:
A service that provides a recipient's user agent with a count of the number of messages satisfying a specified criterion based on one or more attributes of the messages stored in the message store.

stored-program computer:
A computer that includes instructions stored along with the data, and that can subsequently execute those instructions.

stored record:
(1) A named collection of fields that represent information stored in a database about a particular entity. (2) A physical record that represents a tuple.

stow:
Synonym for iconize.

straight-line coding:
(1) A set of instructions in which there are no loops. (2) A programming technique in which loops are avoided by unwinding.

stratified language:
A language that cannot be used as its own metalanguage. Contrast with unstratified language.

stream editor:
In text processing, a text editor that treats the entire text as a single string, even when the string is broken into lines for viewing purposes.

streamer:
Synonym for streaming tape drive.

streaming tape drive:
A magnetic tape unit especially designed to make a nonstop dump or restore data without stopping at interrecord gaps. Synonymous with streamer.

streaming tape recording:
A method of recording on magnetic tape that maintains continuous tape motion without the requirement to start and stop within the interrecord gap.

stress test:
A maintenance technique in which certain operating conditions are varied over a range of design limits in order to detect or locate potential faults.

stretch:
To change the size or shape or both of a graphic object, proportionally or nonproportionally.

string:
A sequence of elements of a set, such as characters, considered as a whole.

string constant:
Synonym for string literal.

string literal:
A literal, consisting of a sequence of zero or more characters, taken as a unit; for example: "What is your name?" is a string literal delimited by quotation marks. Synonymous with string constant.

string type:
A data type, each data object of which is a string.

striping:
The writing of data across multiple drives and adding of redundancy to permit recovery of the data if one of the drives fails. It is a RAID technique.

stripping:
In a ring network, an action taken by an originating data station to remove its frames after a successful transit of the data around the ring.

stroke:
A straight line or arc that is used as a segment of a graphic character.

stroke centerline:
A line midway between the two stroke edges.

stroke character generator:
A character generator that generates display images composed of line segments.

stroke device:
An input unit that provides a set of coordinates for recording a path of the unit. For example, an input unit that returns a polyline of cursor positions entered with the physical locator. Many physical devices such as locators, valuator devices, choice devices, may be simulated in graphics and thus become logical input units.

stroke edge:
In character recognition, the line of discontinuity between a side of a stroke and the background, obtained by averaging, over the length of the stroke, the irregularities resulting from the printing and detecting processes.

stroke width:
In character recognition, the distance measured perpendicularly to the stroke centerline between the two stroke edges.

strong typing:
Enforcement of the requirement that operands in a language construct must be of data types compatible with those of the operation or have explicitly undergone type conversion before the operation is performed; for example, the strong typing in Ada makes the addition 2 + 3.5 illegal, because 2 is an integer and 3.5 is a real number.

structural character recognition:
An approach to character recognition based on the structure of the character to be identified and used where simple matching is not viable, as for example in hand-written documents. Structural characteristics may include the number of straight lines, bays, holes, etc.

structural description:
A representation of objects and concepts based on descriptions of their parts, and on relationships among them.

structural element:
A cluster of pixels or a neighborhood used in conjunction with morphological operations. A cluster is usually small (3 x 3) but may be large or even disjoint.

structural pattern recognition:
An approach to pattern recognition in which patterns are represented in terms of image component and relationships among them in order to describe and classify pattern structure. Image components may include edges, blobs, etc., in object analysis; if applied recursively, components of an image may include objects as in scene analysis. Similarly, characters can be recognized by lines, bays, holes, etc.; words may be recognized by patterns of characters; meanings of text may be recognized from patterns of words.

structure:
The relations among the elements of a system.

structure chart:
A diagram that identifies modules, activities, or other entities in a system or program and shows how larger or more general entities break down into smaller, more specific entities. The result is not necessarily the same as that shown in a call graph. Synonymous with hierarchy chart. (Figure 59 - Structure chart)

structured design:
Any disciplined approach to software design that adheres to specified rules based on principles such as modularity, top-down design, and stepwise refinement of data, of system structures, and of processing steps.

structured light:
A light pattern projected at a known angle onto a scene. Observing the lateral position elements of the light pattern in the image reveals depth information.

structured program:
A program constructed according to the principles of structured programming.

structured programming:
(1) A method for constructing programs using only hierarchically arranged constructs each having a single entry point and a single exit point. Three kinds of control flow are used in structured programming: sequential, conditional, and iterative. (2) Any software development technique that includes structured design and results in the development of structured programs.

structured-programming language:
A programming language that provides language constructs for structured programming.

structured query language:
SQL

structured type:
In Pascal, the term for composite type.

structured walk-through:
A systematic examination of the requirements, design, or implementation of a system, or any part of it, by qualified personnel.

STT conversion:
Synonym for speech-to-text conversion.

stub:
A substitute component that is used temporarily in a program so that progress can be made; for example: in compilation or testing, a stub is used until the actual component becomes available.

stub network:
A network that conveys data only among local host computers. Even if the local hosts are connected to more than one other network, these hosts do not carry traffic between these other networks.

STX:
The start-of-text character.

style:
In text processing, a named set of formatting instructions that enables the user to apply many attributes at the same time to text and to standardize the layout of a document by applying the same formatting characteristics to different parts of the text.

style checker:
Software that proofreads by comparing the stylistic characteristics of text with a built-in style manual and then indicates ways to improve the style.

style sheet:
A collection of styles stored in a file that determines the layout of the documents to which it is attached.

stylus:
A pointing device that is operated by placing it on a display surface or on a tablet; for example, a lightpen, a sonic pen, a voltage pencil.

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