		
		 Free On-line Dictionary of Computing 
		______________________________

	FOLDOC is a searchable dictionary of acronyms, jargon,
	programming languages, tools, architecture, operating systems,
	networking, theory, conventions, standards, mathematics,
	telecoms, electronics, institutions, companies, projects,
	products, history, in fact anything to do with computing.

	This dictionary is Copyright 1993 by Denis Howe.

	Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies
	of this dictionary or works derived from it, provided that
	every such copy or derived work carries the above copyright
	notice and is distributed under terms identical to these.
	Individual definitions from this dictionary may be used
	without restriction provided no more than twenty are used in
	any one work.

	Please refer to the dictionary as "The Free On-line Dictionary
	of Computing, http://www.foldoc.org/, Editor Denis Howe" or
	similar.

	The dictionary has been growing since 1985 and now contains
	over 13000 definitions totalling nearly five megabytes of
	text.  Entries are cross-referenced to each other and to
	related resources elsewhere on the net.

	Where {LaTeX} commands for certain non-{ASCII} symbols are
	mentioned, they are described in their own entries.  "\" is
	also used to represent the Greek lower-case lambda used in
	{lambda-calculus}.  Cross-references to other entries look
	{like this}.  Note that not all cross-references actually lead
	anywhere yet, but if you find one that leads to something
	inappropriate, please let me know.  Dates after entries
	indicate when that entry was last updated.  They do not imply
	that it was up-to-date at that time.

	You can search the latest version of the dictionary by {WWW}
	(URL http://www.foldoc.org/).  If you find an entry that
	is wrong or inadequate please let me know.

	See {Pronunciation} for how to interpret the pronunciation
	given for some entries.

	(2000-05-18)

		  	 Acknowledgements
			_________________

	Many thanks to the hundreds of {contributors
	(contributors.html)}, and especially to the {Guest Editors
	(editors.html)}, mirror site maintainers and the maintainers
	of the following resources from which some entries originate:

	Mike Sendall's STING Software engineering glossary
	<sendall@dxpt01.cern.ch>, 1993-10-13,

	Bill Kinnersley's {Language List
	(http://cuiwww.unige.ch/langlist)} v2.2, 1994-01-15,

	Mark Hopkins' catalogue of Free Compilers and Interpreters
	v6.4, 1994-02-28,

	The on-line hacker {Jargon File} v3.0.0, 1993-07-27,

	Internet Users' Glossary (RFC 1392, FYI 18), Jan 1993.

	John Cross's computer glossary, 1994-11-01.

	John Bayko's Great Microprocessors of the Past and Present,
	v4.0.0, 1994-08-18.

	{Electronic Commerce Dictionary}.

	(1997-08-01)
