jim@stiatl.UUCP (Jim Dorin) (08/23/90)
Hey, do you remember this request for computer glossary suggestions a few
weeks back?
WANTED :: COMPUTER GLOSSARY ADVICE
OK, we're tired of having to come up with the definitions
for computer(ese) terminology. To save our tech writers
and documentation grunts the time, we're going to get
a dictionary/glossary of computer-related terms and
acronyms. Is there a de facto standard publication we
should be using? (Like Merriam Webster is to the English
language? (sorry, Funk & Wagnall)). What publication do you
use for this kind of reference?
Thanks, in advance .. e-mail your responses .. I'll post a
summary when the responses taper off.
Well, the responses have ended, so now I'll post the salient portions of
ALL the 6 responses I've received. Each response starts out with "From:".
_____________________________________________________________________________
(1) From:
Liam R. E. Quin, lee@sq.com, {utai,utzoo}!sq!lee, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto
There are none that are up to date. Most will cover terms like B.A.S.I.C.,
and some of the newer ones even mention Unix... but few will be factual
about the Internet, for example, or sendmail, or fine-grain adaptive
scheduling. The field changes too fast for written publications to
keep up.
... it all depends what kind of work you are doing.
If you are working on the IBM PC with Lotus and Dbase and Basic, there
are all sorts of little dictionaries to help you. If you are working
in Unix software development I don't think there's anything.
And the meanings of many terms changes with time, more rapidly than
dictionary production. If you have a fairly limited technical
vocabulary, you might consder keeping your own little index online.
You could use refer or bib, perhaps, to help you, and use lookbib to
look up words. This sort of thing is useful when it comes to compiling
an index or glossary in a manual or text book, too.
_____________________________________________________________________________
(2) From:
Mike Albaugh (albaugh@dms.UUCP || {...decwrl!pyramid!}weitek!dms!albaugh)
Atari Games Corp (Arcade Games, no relation to the makers of the ST)
I think you may find yourself in a bind. "common usage" is
quite at variance with the actual technical meaning of many terms.
For example, if you define "byte" as "eight bits" you will demonstrate
your ignorance to those who know it was actually coined to mean "the
smallest individually addressable unit of storage", and used in that
sense for many years, until Byte magazine and other semi-literate
publications got their mitts on it. Similarly "baud" as "bit per second"
rather than "inverse of duration of the shortest (not necc. binary)
signaling interval". On the other hand, if you use the technical
definition, you will be flamed as a pedant. Tough choice :-)
Mike
BTW: I lean toward pedantry. The entire concept of a 9600 _baud_ modem
on a voice grade line is trivially nonsense. But the masses always like
to speak as if they knew what they were talking about, and I have learned
to bend and shut up...
_____________________________________________________________________________
(3) From:
Noel Strader (strader@mcc.com)
There is an IEEE dictionary that contains definitions of technical terms
including computer terminology. This should provide help. Information is
FJ946, $53.00, 100-1984 Dictionary of Electrical & Electronics Terms (ANSI/IEEE)
from Computer Society Press, 1-800-CS-BOOKS.
There may be a more recent version. You might also try ACM.
_____________________________________________________________________________
From:
Wes Morgan {any major site}!ukma!ukecc!morgan
the University of Kentucky's Engineering Computing Center
Well, I have here a copy of "The Digital Dictionary", which is a commercial
compilation by DEC's documentation writers and engineers. It's very DEC-
specific; as you know, they've created any number of terms....
The Digital Dictionary
Robert E. Marotta, Editor
Digital Press
Digital Equipment Corporation
12 Crosby Drive
Bedford MA 01730
Order Number EY-3433E-DP
ISBN 0-932376-82-7
_____________________________________________________________________________
(4) From:
uunet!prg.oxford.ac.uk!Jonathan.Bowen
Organization: Programming Research Group, Oxford University, UK
I have found the "Dictionary of Computing", Oxford University
Press, 1986, ISBN 0 19 853913 4 very good, particularly for
related mathematical terms.
_____________________________________________________________________________
(5) From:
Victor Krawczuk, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
victor@concour.cs.concordia.ca
Yeah, there is such a thing (although it's not perfect, I can't
find one that is). It's called the Van Nostrand Reinhold
Dictionary of Information Technology. Some of the definitions
are sort of watered down so a, lets say, MIS person can easily
catch on. A computer expert may find it lacking in some areas.
I'm looking forward to your compilation in case someone can
recommend a better book (perhaps the IEEE have such a thing,
I never persued that avenue to the end. By thing, I meant
a good dictionary of their own).
_____________________________________________________________________________
(6) From:
Roger Scowen, DITC/93, National Physical Laboratory
Teddington, Middlesex, England TW11 0LW
<uunet!seg.npl.co.uk!rss>
Do you know about International Standard 2382 Data Processing - Vocabulary?
It has several parts, is periodically updated but natuarlly
never has the latest buzz words.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Now, then, I thank you six contributors VERY MUCH for taking the time to
respond to my inquiry. There were several others who responded with
something like .. when you get the info, please send me a copy, etc.
As you can see, there were no duplicate suggestions. A not-so-scientific
approach I took to locating the glossary I eventually bought was to look
through the references in our local *very comprehensive* bookstore, The
Oxford Book Store, to see if I could find definitions to such -isms as
ISA, EISA, EGA, VGA, SVGA, SCCS, surface mounted technology, platform, and
other hardware and software development environment buzzwords. I'm sorry
to report, fellow techies, that none I investigated came close to these
"isms". I didn't have time to do an exhaustive survey through references
I couldn't get into my hands, so I finally got a copy of the missal the
guy behind curtain #5 above suggested: Van Nostrand Reinhold's 'Dictionary
of Information Technology" (3rd edition, 1989, US$24.95); thank you Victor
Krawczuk. No, I didn't find ANY of the "isms" that constituted my search
filter in this book .. oh, well!
I've included all suggestions I received so that you may pursue it to a
more useful conclusion, if you have the time and inclination. Good luck!
-jim
--
______________________________________________________________________________
Jim Dorin, Software Engineer jim@SalesTech.com | {backbones}!emory!stiatl!jim
SALES TECHNOLOGIES, INC., The Lenox Building - Suite 700 Voice 404/841-4991
3399 Peachtree Road, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 FAX 404/841-4115