List of computing and IT abbreviations

__NOTOC__ There are many abbreviations associated with the computer industry - PC, IT, CPU etc. Add them to this listing, sorted alphabetically by abbreviation. Internet slang gives rise to a number of abbreviations not listed here, as do many common Filename_extension and List of file formats.

=See also=

Acronym

Internet slang

List of file formats

Certification#Abbreviated listing of computer-related certifications

=External links=

[http://www.sharpened.net/glossary/ Glossary of Computer Terms and Acronyms]

[http://www.acronymfinder.com Acronym Finder] - Searchable database of acronyms and abbreviations (over 60,000 IT entries)

[http://www.acronyms.ch TUCAA] - The Ultimate Computer Acronyms Archive (over 10,000 entries)

[http://www.foldoc.org/ The Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing]

[http://www.roesler-ac.de/wolfram/acro/all.htm The UNIX Acronym List]

[http://www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/vera/vera_toc.html Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms]

[http://www.techterms.org/acronyms.php Computer and Internet Acronyms Defined]

=09=

Slashdot - Slashdot

First-generation programming language - First-Generation Programming Language

10BASE2 - 10 Base2

10BASE5 - 10 Base5

10BASE-F - 10 Base-F

10BASE-FB - 10 Base-FB

10BASE-FL - 10 Base-FL

10BASE-FP - 10 Base-FP

10BASE-T - 10 Base-T

100BASE-FX - 100 Base-FX

100BASE-T - 100 Base-T

100BASE-TX - 100 Base-TX

100BaseVG - 100 BaseVG

Intel_80286 - 80286

2B1Q - 2 Binary 1 Quaternary

Second-generation programming language - Second-Generation Programming Language

Third-generation programming language - Third-Generation Programming Language

Intel_80386 - 80386

Intel_80486 - 80486

4B5BLF - 4 Byte 5 Byte Local Fiber

Fourth-generation programming language - Fourth-Generation Programming Language

Fifth-generation programming language - Fifth-Generation Programming Language

8B10BLF - 8 Byte 10 Byte Local Fiber

=A=

Anti-Aliasing - Anti-Aliasing

AAA - Authentication Authorization, Accounting

AABB - Axis Aligned Bounding Box

Advanced Audio Coding - Advanced Audio Coding (audio compression format defined by the MPEG-2 standard)

ATM Adaptation Layers - ATM Adaptation Layer

AALC - ATM Adaptation Layer Connection

Appletalk - AppleTalk Address Resolution Protocol

Application binary interface - Application Binary Interface

Asynchronous_Balanced_Mode - Asynchronous Balanced Mode

Area Border Router - Area Border Router

Auto Baud Rate Detect - Auto Baud - Rate Detect

Available Bit Rate - Available Bit Rate

Alternating current - Alternating Current

Acoustic coupler - Acoustic Coupler

ACID - Atomiticy Consistency Isolation Durability

Access control list - Access Control List

Active current loop - Active Current Loop

Association for Computing Machinery - Association for Computing Machinery

Advanced Configuration and Power Interface - Advanced Configuration and Power Interface

Automatic call distributor - Automatic Call Distributor

ACF - Advanced Communications Function

ACF NCP - Advanced Communications Function - Network Control Program

ACK - ACKnowledgement

Allowed cell rate - Allowed Cell Rate

Attenuation to crosstalk ratio - Attenuation to Crosstalk Ratio

Active Directory - Active Directory

Administrative domain - Administrative Domain

Apple Display Connector - Apple Display Connector (Digital_visual_interface variant)

Apple Desktop Bus - Apple Desktop Bus

ADCCP - Advanced Data Communications Control Protocol/Procedures

ADO - ActiveX Data Object

ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (variant of Digital Subscriber Line)

AE - Adaptive Equalizer

AES - Advanced Encryption Standard

Accelerated Graphics Port - Accelerated Graphics Port (sometimes used with a suffix indicating the port s bandwidth, like AGP4x)

Active hub - Active Hub

Artificial Intelligence - Artificial Intelligence

AOL Instant Messenger - AOL Instant Messenger

AIX operating system - Advanced Interactive Executive

Ajax (programming) - Asynchronous JavaScript and XML

Hyperlink - Active Link

Access list - Access List

ALGOL - Algorithmic Language

ALSA - Advanced Linux Sound Architecture

Arithmetic and logical unit - Arithmetic and Logical Unit

Active matrix - Active Matrix

Access method - Access Method

Active monitor - Active Monitor

Advanced Micro Devices - Advanced Micro Devices

AMI - American Megatrends Inc. (BIOS manufacturer)

Audio/modem riser - Audio Modem Riser

Artificial neural network - Artificial Neural Network

ANSI - American National Standards Institute

Apache Ant - Another Neat Tool

ATA-over-Ethernet - ATA-over-Ethernet

AOL - America Online

Aspect-oriented programming - Aspect-Oriented Programming

APCI - Application-Layer Protocol Control Information

Application Programming Interface - Application Programming Interface

APIC - Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller

APL programming language - A Programming Language

APS - Accunet Packet Service

Apache Portable Runtime - Apache Portable Runtime

Advanced RISC Machines - Advanced RISC Machines

Address Resolution Protocol - Address Resolution Protocol

.arpa - Address and Routing Parameter Area

Advanced Research Projects Agency - Advanced Research Projects Agency (see also DARPA)

ARPANET - Advanced Research Projects Agency Network

Access server - Access Server

ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange

Abstract semantic graph - Abstract Semantic Graph

ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit

ASMP (computing) - Asymmetric Multiprocessing

ASN.1 - Abstract Syntax Notation 1

Application service provider - Application Service Provider

Active Server Pages (MS ASP) - Active Server Pages

Abstract syntax tree - Abstract Syntax Tree

IBM PC-AT - Advanced Technology

Access time - Access Time

Active terminator - Active Terminator

Advanced Technology Attachment - Advanced Technology Attachment

ATAG - Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines

ATAPI - Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface

ATG - Advanced Technology Group

ATI Technologies - Array Technology Industry

AT&T - American Telephone & Telegraph

AVC - Advanced Video Coding

AVI - Audio Video Interleaved

Abstract Windowing Toolkit - Abstract Windowing Toolkit

=B=

Business-to-business electronic commerce - Business-to-Business

Bash - Bourne-again shell

BASIC programming language - Beginner s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (acronym was added later)

Baseband Processor - Baseband Processor

Bulletin board system - Bulletin Board System

BCD - Binary Coded Decimal

BEEP - Blocks Extensible Exchange Protocol

Bit error rate - Bit Error Rate

Binary File Descriptor - Binary File Descriptor

Breadth-first search - Breadth-First Search

Bi-directional text - Bi-Directional

Binary - binary

BINAC - Binary Automatic Computer

BIND - Berkeley Internet Name Daemon

BIOS - Basic Input Output System

BJT - Bipolar Junction Transistor

Weblog - Web Log

Mapping of Unicode characters - Basic Multilingual Plane

BNC connector - Bayonet Neill-Concelman

BOFH - Bastard Operator From Hell

BOOTP - Bootstrap Protocol

BPEL - Business Process Execution Language

Power line communication - Broadband over Power Lines

bit rate - bits per second

Business Readiness Rating - Business Readiness Rating

BSA - Business Software Alliance

Berkeley Software Distribution - Berkeley Software Distribution (Unix variant)

Blue Screen of Death - Blue Screen of Death (MS Windows specific)

BSS - Block Started by Symbol

BT - BitTorrent

Bandwidth - Bandwidth

=C=

Certificate authority - Certificate Authority

Computer-aided design - Computer-Aided Design

Computer-aided engineering - Computer-Aided Engineering

Computer Aided Industrial Design - Computer Aided Industrial Design

Computer-aided instruction - Computer-Aided Instruction

Computer-aided manufacturing - Computer-Aided Manufacturing

Computer Aided Quality - Computer Aided Quality

Computer-aided software engineering - Computer-Aided Software Engineering

Compact Disc - Compact Disc

Common Desktop Environment - Common Desktop Environment

Code division multiple access - Code Division Multiple Access

Continuous data protection - Continuous Data Protection

CD-R - CD-Recordable

CD-ROM - CD Read-Only Memory

CD-RW - CD-Rewritable

CERT - Computer Emergency Response Team

Consumer Electronics Show - Consumer Electronics Show

Compact Flash - Compact Flash

Computational fluid dynamics - Computational Fluid Dynamics

Context-free grammar - Context-Free Grammar

Control flow graph - Control Flow Graph

Computer graphics - Computer Graphics

Color Graphics Adapter - Color Graphics Array

Common Gateway Interface - Common Gateway Interface

Computer-generated imagery - Computer-Generated Imagery

Computational Graph Theory - Computational Graph Theory

Cylinder-head-sector - Cylinder-Head-Sector

Server Message Block - Common Internet Filesystem

Common Information Model - Common Information Model

Complex Instruction Set Computer - Complex Instruction Set Computer

CJK - Chinese, Japanese, and Korean

CJK - Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese

Command line interface - Command Line Interface

Common Language Runtime - Common Language Runtime

Configuration management - Configuration Management

Content management - Content Management

CMOS - Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor

Content management system - Content Management System

Active Directory - Canonical Name

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol - Common Name

CNC - Computer Numerical Control

Communications and Networking Riser - Communications and Networking Riser

COBOL - Common Business-Oriented Language

Component object model - Component Object Model

CORBA - Common Object Request Broker Architecture

Commercial off-the-shelf - Commercial Off-The-Shelf

CPAN - Comprehensive Perl Archive Network

CP/M - Control Program/Monitor

CPS - characters per second

Central processing unit - Central Processing Unit

Carriage return - Carriage Return

CRAN - Comprehensive R Archive Network

Cyclic redundancy check - Cyclic Redundancy Check

CRLF - Carriage Return Line Feed

Customer relationship management - Customer Relationship Management

Cathode ray tube - Cathode Ray Tube

Cable select - Cable Select

Computer science - Computer Science

Computer Science and Engineering - Computer Science and Engineering

Cross-site request forgery - Cross-Site Request Forgery

Cascading Style Sheets - Cascading Style Sheets

Content-scrambling system - Content-Scrambling System

Closed source - Closed Source Software

Cross site scripting - Cross Site Scripting

Comma-separated values - Comma-Separated Values

Computed_axial_tomography - Computerized Tomography

CTAN - Comprehensive TeX Archive Network

CTCP - Client-To-Client Protocol

Transmit flow control - Clear To Send

CTSS - Compatible Time-Sharing System

Common User Access - Common User Access

Concurrent Versions System - Concurrent Versioning System

=D=

DARPA - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Data Access Objects - Data Access Objects

Disk At Once - Disk At Once

Directory Access Protocol - Directory Access Protocol

Digital Audio Tape - Digital Audio Tape

DB - Database

Database administrator - Database Administrator

DBCS - Double Byte Character Set

Database management system - Database Management System

Direct Client-to-Client - Direct Client-to-Client

Debian Common Core Alliance - Debian Common Core Alliance

Data Control Language - Data Control Language

Dublin Core - Dublin Core Metadata Initiative

Distributed component object model - Distributed Component Object Model

Double density - Double Density

Dynamic data exchange - Dynamic Data Exchange

Data Definition Language - Data Definition Language

DDoS - Distributed Denial of Service

DDR SDRAM - Double Data Rate

Digital Equipment Corporation - Digital Equipment Corporation

Data Encryption Standard - Data Encryption Standard

- device

Deterministic finite state machine - Deterministic Finite Automaton

Data flow diagram - Data Flow Diagram

Depth-first search - Depth-First Search

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

Dynamic HTML - Dynamic HTML

DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module

Dual in-line package - Dual In-line Package

DIVX - Digital Video Express

Domain Keys Identified Mail - Domain Keys Identified Mail

Download - Download

DLL - Dynamic Link Library

DLP - Digital Light Processing

Direct memory access - Direct Memory Access

Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Data Manipulation Language - Data Manipulation Language

Dennis Ritchie - Dennis M. Ritchie

Distinguished name - Distinguished Name

Drag-and-drop - Drag-and-Drop

Domain Name System - Domain Name System

DOCSIS - Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification

Document Object Model - Document Object Model

Denial-of-service attack - Denial of Service

DOS - Disk Operating System

Dot pitch - Dot Pitch

DPI - Dots Per Inch

DOS Protected Mode Interface - DOS Protected Mode Interface

VESA Display Power Management Signaling - Display Power Management Signaling

Dynamic random access memory - Dynamic Random Access Memory

Direct Rendering Infrastructure - Direct Rendering Infrastructure

Digital rights management - Digital Rights Management

Direct Rendering Manager - Direct Rendering Manager

Document Schema Definition Languages - Document Schema Definition Languages

Dynamic Systems Development Method - Dynamic Systems Development Method

Digital subscriber line access multiplexer - Digital subscriber line access multiplexer

Database Source Name - Database Source Name (ODBC)

DSN - Dataset Name (OS/390)

Digital signal processor - Digital Signal Processor

Document Type Definition - Document Type Definition

Data terminal equipment - Data Terminal Equipment

Desktop publishing - Desktop Publishing

RS-232 - Data Terminal Ready

DVD - Digital Video Disc / Digital Versatile Disc

Digital Visual Interface - Digital Visual Interface

Personal video recorder - Digital Video Recorder (see also PVR)

=E=

Extensible Authentication Protocol - Extensible Authentication Protocol

EBCDIC - Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code

Extensible Binary Meta Language - Extensible Binary Meta Language

Elliptic curve cryptography - Elliptic Curve Cryptography

European Computer Manufacturers Association - European Computer Manufacturers Association

EDI - Electronic Data Interchange

EDO - Extended Data Out

EDSAC - Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computer

EDVAC - Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer

EEPROM - Electronically-Eraseable Programmable Read-Only Memory

Electronic Frontier Foundation - Electronic Frontier Foundation

EFI - Extensible Firmware Interface

Eight-to-Fourteen Modulation - Eight-to-Fourteen Modulation

Enhanced Graphics Adapter - Enhanced Graphics Array

eID - electronic ID

EIDE - Enhanced IDE

Extended Industry Standard Architecture - Extended Industry Standard Architecture

Extremely low frequency - Extremely Low Frequency

Executable and Linkable Format - Executable and Linkable Format

Elm (email client) - Electronic Mail

EMACS - Editor Macros

Expanded memory - Expanded Memory Specification

ENIAC - Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer

EOF - End of File

End-of-life - End of Life

EOL - End of Line

End of Message - End of Message

EPROM - Eraseable Programmable Read-Only Memory

Enterprise resource planning - Enterprise Resource Planning

ESCON - Enterprise Systems Connection

Electrostatic discharge - Electrostatic Discharge

Eric S. Raymond - Eric Steven Raymond

Extended Unix Code - Extended Unix Code

End user license agreement - End User License Agreement

=F=

FORTRAN Assembly Program - FORTRAN Assembly Program

File Allocation Table - File Allocation Table

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

File control block - File Control Block

FDD - Floppy Disk Drive

Fiber distributed data interface - Fiber Distributed Data Interface

Frequency-division multiple access - Frequency-Division Multiple Access

Forward error correction - Forward Error Correction

FEMB - Front-End Motherboard

Field effect transistor - Field Effect Transistor

FICON - Fiber Connectivity

FIFO - First In First Out

Filesystem Hierarchy Standard - Filesystem Hierarchy Standard

FLAC - Free Lossless Audio Codec

FLOPS - FLoating-Point Operations Per Second

Free/Libre/Open-Source Software - Free/Libre/Open Source Software

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

FOSDEM - Free and Open source Software Developers European Meeting

FOSI - Formatted Output Specification Instance

Free and Open Source Software - Free and Open Source Software

Field-programmable gate array - Field Programmable Gate Array

Floating point unit - Floating Point Unit

File system - File System

Front side bus - Front Side Bus

Free Software Foundation - Free Software Foundation

Finite state machine - Finite State Machine

Fiber to the Curb - Fiber To The Curb

Fiber to the premises - Fiber To The Home

Fiber to the premises - Fiber To The Premises

File transfer protocol - File Transfer Protocol

FQDN - Fully Qualified Domain Name

FUD - Fear Uncertainty Doubt

=G=

Globalization - Globalization

Gigabit - Gigabit

Gigabyte - Gigabyte

GNU Compiler Collection - GNU Compiler Collection (formerly GNU C Compiler)

CGJ - GNU Compiler for Java

Group Code Recording - Group Code Recording

GDB - GNU Debugger

GDI - Graphics Device Interface

GNU Free Documentation License - GNU Free Documentation License

GIF - Graphics Interchange Format

GIGO - Garbage In, Garbage Out

GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program

Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search - Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search

Geographic information system - Geographic Information System

GLUT - OpenGL Utility Toolkit

GNOME - GNU Network Object Model Environment

GNU - GNU s Not Unix

GNU Privacy Guard - GNU Privacy Guard

GPIB - General-Purpose Instrumentation Bus

GNU General Public License - General Public License

GUID Partition Table - GUID Partition Table

GRUB - Grand Unified Boot-Loader

GTK - GIMP Toolkit

Graphical user interface - Graphical User Interface

Globally Unique Identifier - Globally Unique IDentifier

=H=

Hardware abstraction layer - Hardware Abstraction Layer

Host Bus Adapter - Host Bus Adapter

Human-computer interaction - Human Computer Interaction

High density - High Density

hard disk - Hard Disk Drive

HD-DVD - High Definition DVD

Hardware description language - Hardware Description Language

High frequency - High Frequency

Human Interface Guidelines - Human Interface Guidelines

GNU Hurd - Hurd of Interfaces Representing Depth

High Memory Area - High Memory Area

Hewlett-Packard - Hewlett-Packard

HPFS - High Performance File System

Hyper-threading - Hyper Threading

HTML - Hypertext Markup Language

HTTP - Hypertext Transport Protocol

HTTPd - Hypertext Transport Protocol Daemon

GNU Hurd - Hird of Unix-Replacing Daemons

Hertz - Hertz

=I=

Internationalization and localization - Internationalization

IANA - Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

Intel Binary Compatibility Standard - Intel Binary Compatibility Standard

IBM - International Business Machines

Integrated circuit - Integrated Circuit

ICANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

In-circuit emulator - In-Circuit Emulator

Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics - Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics

Internet control message protocol - Internet Control Message Protocol

Information technology - Information and Communication Technology

Integrated development environment - Integrated Development Environment

Advanced Technology Attachment - Integrated Drive Electronics

Interface description language - Interface Definition Language

Internet Explorer - Internet Explorer

International Electrotechnical Commission - International Electrotechnical Commission

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Internet Engineering Task Force - Internet Engineering Task Force

Integrated Facility for Linux - Integrated Facility for Linux

Internet group management protocol - Internet Group Management Protocol

Independent hardware vendor - Independent Hardware Vendor

IIOP - Internet Inter-Orb Protocol

Internet Information Services - Internet Information Services

Instant messenger - Instant Messaging

Internet Message Access Protocol - Internet Message Access Protocol

Input method editor - Input Method Editor

Input/output - Input/Output

Intellectual Property - Intellectual Property

Internet Protocol - Internet Protocol

Inter-process communication - Inter-Process Communication

Initial Program Load - Initial Program Load

IPsec - Internet Protocol security

IPX - Internetwork Packet Exchange

Internet Relay Chat - Internet Relay Chat

Infrared Data Association - Infrared Data Association

IRQ - Interrupt Request

Information systems - Information Systems

Industry standard architecture - Industry Standard Architechture

Integrated Services Digital Network - Integrated Services Digital Network

International Organization for Standardization - International Organization for Standardization

Internet service provider - Internet Service Provider

ISPF - Interactive System Productivity Facility

Independent software vendor - Independent Software Vendor

Information technology - Information Technology

International Telecommunication Union - International Telecommunication Union

=J=

Java API for XML Processing - Java API for XML Processing

Redundant array of independent disks - Just a Bunch of Disks

JCL - Job Control Language

Java Database Connectivity - Java Database Connectivity

Java Development Kit - Java Development Kit

Java Desktop System - Java Desktop System

Java Foundation Classes - Java Foundation Classes

JFET - Junction Field-Effect Transistor

JFS - Journaling Filesystem

JINI - Jini Is Not Initials

Just-in-time - Just-In-Time

Java Native Interface - Java Native Interface

JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group

Java Runtime Environment - Java Runtime Environment

JS - JavaScript

JSON - JavaScript Object Notation

Jackson Structured Programming - Jackson Structured Programming

JavaServer Pages - JavaServer Pages

JTAG - Joint Test Action Group

Java virtual machine - Java Virtual Machine

Jamie Zawinski - Jamie Zawinski

=K=

The C Programming Language (book) - Kernighan and Ritchie

Computer keyboard - Keyboard

Kilobit - Kilobit

Kilobyte - Kilobyte

Knowledge base - Knowledge Base

KDE - K Desktop Environment

Kilohertz - Kilohertz

KISS Principle - Keep It Simple, Stupid

KVM switch - Keyboard, Video, Mouse

=L=

Internationalization and localization - Localization

LAMP (software bundle) - Linux Apache MySQL (Perl, PHP, or Python)

LAN - Local Area Network

Logical block addressing - Logical Block Addressing

Liquid crystal display - Liquid Crystal Display

Liquid crystal on silicon - Liquid Crystal On Silicon

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol - Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

Logical volume management - Logical Extents

Light-emitting diode - Light-Emitting Diode

Line feed - Line Feed

Low frequency - Low Frequency

Linux From Scratch - Linux From Scratch

lib - library

Low insertion force - Low Insertion Force

LIFO - Last In First Out

Lilo - Linux Loader

Linux kernel mailing list - Linux Kernel Mailing List

GNU Lesser General Public License - [GNU] Lesser General Public License

Source lines of code - Lines of Code

Linux Professional Institute - Linux Professional Institute

Least significant bit - Least Significant Bit

Linux Standard Base - Linux Standard Base

Integrated circuit#LSI - Large-Scale Integration

Bi-directional text - Left-to-Right

Linux User Group - Linux User Group

LUN - Logical Unit Number

Logical volume management - Logical Volume

Logical volume management - Logical Volume Management

LZW - Lempel-Ziv-Welch

=M=

Media Access Control - Media Access Control

Metropolitan area network - Metropolitan Area Network

Mobile ad-hoc network - Mobile Ad-Hoc Network

MAPI - Messaging Application Programming Interface

Megabit - Megabit

Megabyte - Megabyte

MBCS - Multi Byte Character Set

Master boot record - Master Boot Record

Micro Channel architecture - Micro Channel Architecture

MCSE - Microsoft Certified System Engineer

Mail Delivery Agent - Mail Delivery Agent

Monochrome Display Adapter - Monochrome Display Adapter

Windows Me - [Windows] Millennium Edition

Medium frequency - Medium Frequency

Microsoft Foundation Classes - Microsoft Foundation Classes

Modified Frequency Modulation - Modified Frequency Modulation

Megahertz - Megahertz

Musical Instrument Digital Interface - Musical Instrument Digital Interface

MIMD - Multiple Instruction, Multiple Data

Million instructions per second - Million Instructions Per Second

MIPS architecture - Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages

Management information systems - Management Information Systems

MISD - Multiple Instruction, Single Data

Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIME - Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

Memory-mapped I/O - Memory-Mapped I/O

MMORPG - Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

Memory management unit - Memory Management Unit

MMX - Multi-Media Extensions

MNG - Multiple-image Network Graphics

Motherboard - Motherboard

MOO - MUD Object Oriented

MOSFET - Metal-Oxide Semiconductor FET

MOTD - Message Of The Day

Motion Picture Association of America - Motion Picture Association of America

MPEG - Motion Pictures (Coding) Experts Group

Mozilla Public License - Mozilla Public License

MPU - Microprocessor Unit

Microsoft - Microsoft

Most significant bit - Most Significant Bit

MS-DOS - Microsoft DOS

Machine translation - Machine Translation

Mail transfer agent - Mail Transfer Agent

MTU (networking) - Maximum Transmission Unit

Mail submission agent - Mail Submission Agent

Microsoft Developer Network - Microsoft Developer Network

Integrated circuit#MSI - Medium-Scale Integration

Email client - Mail User Agent

MUD - Multi-User Dungeon

MVC - Model-View-Controller

MVS - Multiple Virtual Storage

MX record - Mail exchange

=N=

NACK - Negative ACKnowedgement

NAK - Negative AcKnowedgement Character

NAT - Network Address Translation

National Center for Supercomputing Applications - National Center for Supercomputing Applications

Novell Directory Services - Novell Directory Services

Near-end crosstalk - Near-End CrossTalk

Nondeterministic finite state machine - Nondeterministic Finite Automaton

Network File System - Network Filesystem

National Instruments - National Instruments

Network card - Network Interface Card

New I/O - New I/O

National Institute of Standards and Technology - National Institute of Standards and Technology

Natural language processing - Natural Language Processing

NP (complexity) - Non-Deterministic Polynomial-Time

Netscape Public License - Netscape Public License

NPU - Numeric Processing Unit

Netscape Communications Corporation - Netscape

National Security Agency - National Security Agency

Netscape Portable Runtime - Netscape Portable Runtime

Non-Maskable interrupt - Non-Maskable Interrupt

Network News Transfer Protocol - Network News Transfer Protocol

Network Operations Center - Network Operations Center

NOP - No OPeration

Windows NT - New Technology

New Trails Technology - New Trails Technology

NTFS - NT Filesystem

NTLM - NT Lan Manager

Network Time Protocol - Network Time Protocol

Non-Uniform Memory Access - Non-Uniform Memory Access

Nonuniform rational B-spline - Nonuniform rational B-spline

NVRAM - Non-Volatile Random Access Memory

=O=

OASIS (organization) - Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards

Open Database Connectivity - Open Database Connectivity

Original Equipment Manufacturer - Original Equipment Manufacturer

OFTC - Open and Free Technology Community

OLAP - Online Analytical Processing

Object linking and embedding - Object Linking and Embedding

Organic light-emitting diode - Organic Light Emitting Diode

OLTP - Online Transaction Processing

Object Management Group - Object Management Group

Object-oriented programming - Object-Oriented

OpenOffice - Open Office

OOo - OpenOffice.org

Object-oriented programming - Object-Oriented Programming

OPML - Outline Processor Markup Language

Object request broker - Object Request Broker

Open source - Open Source

Operating system - Operating System

OSCON

Open Source Technology Group - Open Source Developer Network

Open Source Initiative - Open Source Initiative

Open systems interconnect - Open Systems Interconnect

Open Shortest Path First - Open Shortest Path First

Open Sound System - Open Sound System

Open-source software - Open-Source Software

Operational Support Systems - Operational Support Systems

Open Source Technology Group - Open Source Technology Group (formerly OSDN)

Organizationally Unique Identifier - Organizationally Unique Identifier

=P=

Peer-to-peer - Peer-To-Peer

Personal area network - Personal Area Network

Xerox PARC - Palo Alto Research Center

P-ATA - Parallel ATA

Printed circuit board - Printed Circuit Board

Personal computer - Personal Computer

Peripheral Component Interconnect - Peripheral Component Interconnect

PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card International Association

Pulse-code modulation - Pulse-Code Modulation

PCRE - Perl Compatible Regular Expressions

Public domain - Public Domain

Personal digital assistant - Personal Digital Assistant

Portable Document Format - Portable Document Format

PDP - Programmed Data Processor

Logical volume management - Physical Extents

PERL - Practical Extraction and Reporting Language

Pin grid array - Pin Grid Array

Programmable gate array - Programmable Gate Arrays

Pretty Good Privacy - Pretty Good Privacy

PHP - PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor

PIC microcontroller - Peripheral Interface Controller

PID controller - Proportional-Integral-Derivative

Process identifier - Process ID

Personal information manager - Personal Information Manager

Pine (email client) - Program for Internet News & Email (unofficially PINE Is Not Elm)

Programmed input/output - Programmed Input/Output

PKCS - Public Key Cryptography Standards

Public key infrastructure - Public Key Infrastructure

Power line communication - Power Line Communication

Programmable logic controller - Programmable Logic Controller

Programmable logic device - Programmable Logic Device

PL/I programming language - Programming Language One

PL/M programming language - Programming Language for Microcomputers

PL/P - Programming Language for Prime

Power line communication - Power Line Telecoms

Personal Memory Manager - Personal Memory Manager

POST Memory Manager - POST Memory Manager

PNG - Portable Network Graphics

Plug-and-play - Plug-and-Play

Power over Ethernet - Power over Ethernet

Point of presence - Point of Presence

Post Office Protocol - Post Office Protocol v3

POSIX - Portable Operating System Interface

Power-On Self Test - Power-On Self Test

PowerPC - PowerPC

Pixels per inch - Pixels Per Inch

Point-to-Point Protocol - Point-to-Point Protocol

PPPoE - PPP over Ethernet

PS - PostScript

PS/2 - Personal System/2

PSVI - Post-Schema-Validation Infoset

Logical volume management - Physical Volume

Logical volume management - Physical Volume Group

Personal video recorder - Personal Video Recorder

PXE - Pre Execution Environment

PXI

=Q=

Quality control - Quality Assurance

Quality of service - Quality of Service

QOTD - Quote of the Day

Qt toolkit - Quasar Toolkit

=R=

RACF - Resource Access Control Facility

Rapid application development - Rapid Application Development

RADIUS - Remote Authentication Dial In User Service

Redundant array of independent disks - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks

Redundant array of inexpensive tapes - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Tapes

Random Access Memory - Random Access Memory

Reverse Address Resolution Protocol - Reverse Address Resolution Protocol

Release Candidate - Release Candidate

Run Commands - Run Commands

Runtime Configuration - Runtime Configuration

Revision Control System - Revision Control System

Relational Database Management System - Relational Database Management System

Resource Description Framework - Resource Description Framework

REFAL - REcursive Functions Algorithmic Language

Representational State Transfer - Representational State Transfer

Regular expression - Regular Expression

Radio frequency - Radio Frequency

Request for Comments - Request For Comments

Request for Enhancement - Request For Enhancement

Radio frequency interference - Radio Frequency Interference

RFID - Radio Frequency Identification

RGB - Red, Green, Blue

Red Hat Linux - Red Hat (Linux)

Red Hat Enterprise Linux - Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Rich Internet Application - Rich Internet Application

Recording Industry Association of America - Recording Industry Association of America

Raster image processor - Raster Image Processor

Routing Information Protocol - Routing Information Protocol

RISC - Reduced Instruction Set Computer

Run-length encoding - Run-Length Encoding

Run Length Limited - Run Length Limited

Java remote method invocation - Remote Method Invocation

Richard Stallman - Richard Matthew Stallman

Read-only memory - Read Only Memory

ROMB - Read-Out Motherboard

Remote procedure call - Remote Procedure Call

RPM Package Manager - RedHat Package Manager

RSA - Rivest Shamir Adleman

RSS (file format) - Rich Site Summary, RDF Site Summary, or Really Simple Syndication

Real-time clock - Real-Time Clock

Bi-directional text - Right-to-Left

Real-time operating system - Real Time Operating System

Transmit flow control - Ready To Send

=S=

Storage area network - Storage Area Network

Serial ATA - Serial ATA

Simple API for XML - Simple API for XML

sbin - superuser binary

Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition - Supervisory Control And Data Aquisition

Secure copy - Secure Copy

SCSI - Small Computer System Interface

Secure Digital Card - Secure Digital

Secure Digital Card - Secure Digital Input Output

Software development kit - Software Development Kit

Simple DirectMedia Layer - Simple DirectMedia Layer

Service Delivery Network - Service Delivery Network

Software-defined radio - Software-Defined Radio

SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory

SDSL - Symmetric DSL

Semantics-directed Environment Adaptation Language - Semantics-directed Environment Adaptation Language

SEI - Software Engineering Institute

Secure FTP - Secure FTP

Simple File Transfer Protocol - Simple File Transfer Protocol

SSH file transfer protocol - SSH File Transfer Protocol

Silicon Graphics - Silicon Graphics, Incorporated

SGML - Standard Generalized Markup Language

SHA - Secure Hash Algorithm

SIGGRAPH - Special Interest Group on Graphics,

SIMD - Single Instruction, Multiple Data

SIMM - Single Inline Memory Module

Session Initiation Protocol - Session Initiation Protocol

Mapping of Unicode characters - Supplementary Ideographic Plane

SISD - Single Instruction, Single Data

Scalable Link Interface - Scalable Link Interface

Serial Line Internet Protocol - Serial Line Internet Protocol

Service Level Management - Service Level Management

Source lines of code - Source Lines of Code

SPMD - Single Program, Multiple Data

SMA connector - SubMiniature version A

Server message block - Server Message Block

SMBIOS - System Management BIOS

SMC Networks - SMC Networks (company)

SMIL - Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language

S/MIME - Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

Mapping of Unicode characters - Supplementary Multilingual Plane

Symmetric multiprocessing - Symmetric Multi-Processing

Short message service - Short Message Service

Simultaneous multithreading - Simultaneous Multithreading

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

Systems Network Architecture - Systems Network Architecture

Simple network management protocol - Simple Network Management Protocol

Service-oriented architecture - Service-Oriented Architecture

Simple Object Access Protocol - Simple Object Access Protocol

System-on-a-chip - System-on-a-Chip

SO-DIMM - Small Outline DIMM

Silicon on insulator - Silicon On Insulator

Service pack - Service Pack

Single Page Application - Single Page Application

Sender Policy Framework - Sender Policy Framework

Stateful Packet Inspection - Stateful Packet Inspection

SPARC - Scalable Processor Architecture

SQL - Structured Query Language

Static Random Access Memory - Static Random Access Memory

Software Specification Document - Software Specification Document

Secure shell - Secure Shell

Server Side Includes - Server Side Includes

Single-system image - Single-System Image

Integrated circuit#SSI - Small-Scale Integration

Service set identifier - Service Set Identifier

Secure Sockets Layer - Secure Socket Layer

Mapping of Unicode characters - Supplementary Special-purpose Plane

Single UNIX Specification - Single UNIX Specification

Scalable Vector Graphics - Scalable Vector Graphics

Super Video Graphics Array - Super Video Graphics Array

Standard Widget Toolkit - Stardard Widget Toolkit

su - superuser

=T=

Track at Once - Track at Once

Terabyte - Terabyte

Tcl - Tool Command Language

Transmission Control Protocol - Transmission Control Protocol

Internet protocol suite - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

Telecommunication Control Unit - Telecommunication Control Unit

Time division multiple access - Time Division Multiple Access

Temp (disambiguation) - temporary (variable, file, directory, etc.)

Trusted Email Open Standard - Trusted Email Open Standard

Thin-film transistor - Thin Film Transistor

Texas Instruments - Texas Instruments

Tk -

TLA - Three-Letter Acronym

Top-level domain - Top-Level Domain

Transport Layer Security - Transport Layer Security

Temp (disambiguation) - temporary (variable, file, directory, etc.)

Terminal node controller - Terminal Node Controller

Threaded Neill-Concelman connector - Threaded Neill-Concelman

Time Sharing Option - Time Sharing Option

Traveling salesman problem - Traveling Salesman Problem

Terminate and Stay Resident - Terminate and Stay Resident

TTA - True Tap Audio

Transistor-transistor logic - Transistor-Transistor Logic

Time to live - Time To Live

Speech synthesis - Text-to-Speech

Computer terminal - Teletype

TUCOWS - The Ultimate Collection of Winsock Software

=U=

UAAG - User Agent Accessibility Guidelines

Universal asynchronous receiver transmitter - Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter

Universal Character Set - Universal Character Set

UDDI - Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration

UDMA - Ultra DMA

User Datagram Protocol - User Datagram Protocol

User experience - User Experience

Ultra high frequency - Ultra High Frequency

User interface - User Interface

Upload - Upload

Upper Memory Area - Upper Memory Area

Upper Memory Area - Upper Memory Block

Unified Modeling Language - Unified Modeling Language

User Mode Linux - User Mode Linux

Universal Naming Convention - Universal Naming Convention

Uninterruptible power supply - Uninterruptible Power Supply

Uniform Resource Identifier - Uniform Resource Identifier

Uniform Resource Locator - Uniform Resource Locator

URN - Uniform Resource Name

Universal Serial Bus - Universal Serial Bus

- user

U.S. Robotics - U.S. Robotics

Coordinated Universal Time - Coordinated Universal Time

Unicode Transformation Format - Unicode Transformation Format

UUCP - Unix to Unix Copy

Universally Unique Identifier - Universally Unique Identifier

Universal Virtual Computer - Universal Virtual Computer

=V=

Var (disambiguation) - variable

VAX - Virtual Address eXtension

DOS Protected Mode Interface - Virtual Control Program Interface

Virtual reality - Virtual Reality

VRML - Virtual Reality Modeling Language

Visual Basic - Visual Basic

Visual Basic for Applications programming language - Visual Basic for Applications

VBS - Visual Basic Script

VESA - Video Electronics Standards Association

File Allocation Table - Virtual FAT

Virtual file system - Virtual File System

Logical volume management - Volume Group

Video Graphics Array - Video Graphics Array

Very high frequency - Very High Frequency

VESA Local Bus - Vesa Local Bus

Very low frequency - Very Low Frequency

Very-large-scale integration - Very-Large-Scale Integration

Virtual machine - Virtual Machine

Virtual memory - Virtual Memory

Video on Demand - Video On Demand

Voice over IP - Voice over IP

Virtual private network - Virtual Private Network

Virtual storage access method - Virtual Storage Access Method

Very small aperture terminal - Very Small Aperture Terminal

VT100 - Video Terminal

VTAM - Virtual Telecommunications Access Method

=W=

World Wide Web Consortium - World Wide Web Consortium

WAFS - Wide Area File Services

WAI - Web Accessibility Initiative

Wide area information server - Wide Area Information Server

WAN - Wide Area Network

Wireless access point - Wireless Access Point

WAP - Wireless Application Protocol

WAV - WAVEform audio format

Web-Based Enterprise Management - Web-Based Enterprise Management

WCAG - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Windows Communication Foundation - Windows Communication Foundation

Wavelength division multiplexing - Wavelength Division Multiplexing

WebDAV - WWW Distributed Authoring and Versioning

WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy

Wi-Fi - Wireless Fidelity

WiMAX - Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access

WINS- Windows Internet Naming Service

WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network

WMA - Windows Media Audio

Wol - Wake on LAN

Wi-Fi Protected Access - Wi-Fi Protected Access

Windows Presentation Foundation - Windows Presentation Foundation

WSDL - Web Services Description Language

Web Services Flow Language - Web Services Flow Language

WWW - World Wide Web

WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

=X=

XAG - XML Accessibility Guidelines

XAML - eXtensible Application Markup Language

X Display Manager - X Window Display Manager

X Display Manager - X Display Manager Control Protocol

XCBL - XML Common Business Library

XHTML - eXtensible Hypertext Markup Language

XML - eXtensible Markup Language

XMMS - X Multimedia System

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol - eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol

Extended Memory Specification - Extended Memory Specification

Xerox network services - Xerox Network Services

XP - Cross Platform (not Windows XP)

Extreme programming - Extreme Programming

XPCOM - Cross Platform Component Object Model

XPI - Cross Platform Installer

XPIDL - Cross Platform IDL

XML Schema Definition - XML Schema Definition

XSLT - eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations

Cross site scripting - Cross Site Scripting

XT_bus_architecture -

XTF - Extensible Tag Framework

XUL - XML-based User-interface Language

=Y=

Year 2000 problem - Year Two Thousand

YACC - Yet Another Compiler Compiler

YAML - YAML Ain t Markup Language

YaST - Yet Another Setup Tool

=Z=

Zone Bit Recording - Zone Constant Angular Velocity

ZCS - Zero Code Suppression

Zero Insertion - Zero Insertion

ZIF - Zero Insertion Force

ZIFS - Zero Insertion Force Socket

Zero Instruction Set Computer - Zero Instruction Set Computer

Zope - Z Object Publishing Environment

Zone Multicast Address - Zone Multicast Address