C	C is a structured, procedural programming language that has been widely used for both operating systems and applications and that has had a wide following in the academic community. Many versions of UNIX-based operating systems are written in C. C has been standardized as part of the Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX).
Cache Management	A cache (pronounced CASH) is a place to store something more or less temporarily. Under cache management, results from queries are stored in a cache area during a limited time. That way, when another user requests the same information, the server can get it from the cache rather than from the original server, saving time and reducing work-load on the database, network and data retrieving engines.
Client/Server Programming	Client/server describes the relationship between two computer programs in which one program, the client, makes a service request from another program, the server, which fulfills the request. Although the client/server idea can be used by programs within a single computer, it is a more important idea in a network. In a network, the client/server model provides a convenient way to interconnect programs that are distributed efficiently across different locations. Computer transactions using the client/server model are very common. For example, to check your bank account from your computer, a client program in your computer forwards your request to a server program at the bank. That program may in turn forward the request to its own client program that sends a request to a database server at another bank computer to retrieve your account balance. The balance is returned back to the bank data client, which in turn serves it back to the client in your personal computer, which displays the information for you. Graphical user interfaces are tipically implemented on the client.
Context Sensitive Help	A form of online Help in which you receive information about the current command, selected menu item, or specific screen element.
Data Mining & Knowledge Discovery	Data Mining - The terms data mining and KDD are often used interchangeably. More specifically, data mining is the discovery phase of the larger KDD process. Data mining is the process of discovering hidden patterns and relationships in data by using advanced statistical analysis and modeling techniques. Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) - The extraction of previously unknown, non-trivial, and potentially useful information from data. The KDD process can include data preparation, cleansing, representation, model building and visualization and discovery.
Glimpse	Glimpse (which stands for GLobal IMPlicit SEarch) allows you to search through a large set of files very quickly. Glimpse supports approximate matching (e.g., finding misspelled words), Boolean queries, and even some limited forms of regular expressions.
HTTP Client/Server Internals	The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the set of rules for exchanging files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web. Relative to the TCP/IP suite of protocols (which are the basis for information exchange on the Internet), HTTP is an application protocol. Essential concepts that are part of HTTP include (as its name implies) the idea that files can contain references to other files whose selection will elicit additional transfer requests. Any Web server machine contains, in addition to the HTML and other files it can serve, an HTTP daemon, a program that is designed to wait for HTTP requests and handle them when they arrive. Your Web browser is an HTTP client, sending requests to server machines. When the browser user enters file requests by either "opening" a Web file (typing in a Uniform Resource Locator or URL) or clicking on a hypertext link, the browser builds an HTTP request and sends it to the Internet Protocol address indicated by the URL. The HTTP daemon in the destination server machine receives the request and, after any necessary processing returns the requested file.
Java	Java is a programming language expressly designed for use in the distributed environment of the Internet. It was designed to have the "look and feel" of the C++ language, but it is simpler to use than C++ and enforces an object-oriented view of programming. Java can be used to create complete applications that may run on a single computer or be distributed among servers and clients in a network. It can also be used to build small application modules or applets for use as part of a Web page. Applets make it possible for a Web page user to interact with the page.
Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language	KQML or the Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language is a language and protocol for exchanging information and knowledge. KQML is both a message format and a message-handling protocol to support run-time knowledge sharing among agents. KQML can be used as a language for an application program to interact with an intelligent system or for two or more intelligent systems to share knowledge in support of cooperative problem solving. KQML focuses on an extensible set of performatives, which defines the permissible operations that agents may attempt on each other's knowledge and goal stores. The performatives comprise a substrate on which to develop higher-level models of inter-agent interaction such as contract nets and negotiation. In addition, KQML provides a basic architecture for knowledge sharing through a special class of agent called communication facilitators which coordinate the interactions of other agents The ideas which underlie the evolving design of KQML are currently being explored through experimental prototype systems which are being used to support several testbeds in such areas as concurrent engineering, intelligent design and intelligent planning and scheduling.
Middleware	In the computer industry, middleware is a general term for any software that serves to "glue together," mediate between, or enhance two separate and usually already existing programs. A common application of middleware is to allow programs that access a particular database to also access other databases.
MOO Language	A MOO is an object-oriented MUD. According to Canton Becker, author of "The Unofficial Moo Guide Tutorial," a MOO is: "...just a programming language in which you design objects. Everything is an object. Rooms are objects, exits are objects, possessions are objects, even your MOO alter-ego/avatar is an object. We'll be looking at how you (1) make objects, and (2) write verbs that allow you to do Interesting Things with those objects. I'm not going to talk too much about the philosophy of object-oriented programming (that's what the OO in MOO stands for) so let's go ahead and make your first object:"
Object Oriented System Design	A revolutionary concept that changed the rules in computer program development, object-oriented programming (OOP) is organized around objects rather than actions, data rather than logic. Historically, a program has been viewed as a logical procedure that takes input data, processes it, and produces output data. The programming challenge was seen as how to write the logic, not how to define the data. Object-oriented programming takes the view that what we really care about are the objects we want to manipulate rather than the logic required to manipulate them. Examples of objects range from human beings (described by name, address, and so forth) to buildings and floors (whose properties can be described and managed) down to the little widgets on your computer desktop (such as buttons and scroll bars).
Perl	Perl is an interpreted programming language similar to the C language but including a number of popular UNIX facilities such as sed, awk, and tr. It is regarded as a good choice for developing Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programs because it has good text manipulation facilities (although it also handles binary files). It was invented by Larry Wall. In general, Perl is easier to learn and faster to code in than the more structured, compiled C and C++ languages. Perl programs can, however, be quite sophisticated. Perl tends to have devoted adherents.
Robots and Agents	A bot (short for "robot") is a program that operates as an agent for a user or another program or simulates a human activity. On the Internet, the most ubiquitous bots are the programs, also called spiders or crawlers, that access Web sites and gather their content for search engine indexes. A chatterbot is a program that can simulate talk with a human being. One of the first and most famous chatterbots (prior to the Web) was Eliza, a program that pretended to be a psychotherapist and answered questions with other questions. Shallow Red is a program that can be customized to answer questions from users seeking service for a product. On the Internet, an agent (also called an intelligent agent) is a program that gathers information or performs some other service without your immediate presence and on some regular schedule. Typically, an agent program, using parameters you have provided, searches all or some part of the Internet, gathers information you're interested in, and presents it to you on a daily or other periodic basis.
Spelling & Thesaurus	This spelling and thesaurus combination is a proprietary technique to find a proper match for a given keyword, by checking the keyword proper spelling and expanding it from of a list of subject headings or descriptors, usually with a cross-reference system.
Structured Query Language	SQL (structured query language) is a standard interactive and programming language for getting information from and updating a database. Although SQL is both an ANSI and an ISO standard, many database products support SQL with proprietary extensions to the standard language. Queries take the form of a command language that lets you select, insert, update, find out the location of data, and so forth. There is also a programming interface. You can find out more about SQL at the SQL Standards Home Page or at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Web page on SQL standards.