Complete A-Z of I.T. Terminology - letters O-S
Oasis
Organisation for Structured Information Standards. It exists to promote XML and other vendor independent data transfer standards. Much of its work today is focused on web standards.
Object
"An object orientation term. A piece of software that can be reused in different applications. Eg. A pull down menu. Strictly speaking the correct term is ‘Class’ as an object is merely an instance of class. For example one might refer to a customer object. Customer is actually a class and Mr John Smith, being a specific customer is really the object."
Object Orientation
"Object Orientation. A relatively new (40 years old) approach to software development designed to promote reusability of software and to make maintenance of software easier. Reusability is not happening as predicted by the textbooks, but the overall effect today is that more maintainable software is being produced."
ODBC
Open Database Connectivity – A middleware standard that allows front-end GUI development languages such as Visual Basic to access server databases. ODBC protects the front-end developers from needing to know anything about the back end database.
Off shoring
Off shoring is a concept associated with outsourcing part of your business to a low cost location. Increasingly popular in respect of IT. Some organizations will set up a branch of their business off shore or hand over this part of their business to a third party off shore services provider.
Office
"Microsoft’s best selling office suite. It comprises Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint. Under threat from open source alternatives."
OLAP
Online Analytical Processing. A tool used to carry out data analysis. OLAP tools are a type of Business Intelligence (BI) tool. Also very much associated with Data Warehousing.
On shoring
Outsourcing to a location in the same country as the buyer.
OLE
Object Linking and Embedding. An old Microsoft technology for linking documents together.
OMT
Object Modeling Technique. A predecessor of RUP.
On Demand
A term coined by IBM to embrace their vision of the future. A future where businesses will be more responsive to the needs of their customers and changes in the marketplace. IBM coined the phrase with business in mind but it also lends itself to IT. See Utility Computing to understand how On Demand relates to IT.
OO
See Object Orientation.
Open Office
Legally known as OpenOffice.org. It is an open source suite of applications designed to erode Microsoft’s dominance in this space.
Open Systems
A philosophy that promotes standards as a way of empowering users to avoid vendor lock-in. Essentially open standards are those that are not under the control of a single vendor. As such a committee of people from a variety of institutions controls them.
Opera
A browser designed for palm top computers.
Open source
Software that is fully configurable by the developer community because the source code is openly available to everyone. It can also be thought of as a religious cult that is sweeping through the IT industry.
Operating System
"This is the software that manages the hardware resources of a computer. It can be thought of as a layer of software, which protects the application software from the underlying hardware. "
Operator
A person involved in monitoring the health of one or more back end computers.
Oracle
A major player in the world of databases and enterprise applications. It is the number two software player behind Microsoft. This is something that Oracle’s founder has a serious problem with.
Oracle 8i
Oracle database product. Old school.
Oracle 9i
Oracle database product. Old school.
Oracle 10G
Oracle’s latest database product.
Oracle 11i
Oracle’s latest enterprise applications solution.
OS/2
IBM’s failed attempt to topple Microsoft’s Windows.
OSF/1
"Old school version of Unix associated with DEC, a company that no longer exists."
Outsourcing
The concept of handing over part of one’s business to a third party vendor so that they take responsibility for it. The reason for doing this is that the vendor is likely to be able to do it cheaper and perhaps even better. The outsourcing of IT services is popular. See Off Shoring and Near Shoring.
p-Series
The new name for IBM’s RS/6000 range of computers.
P2P
Peer to peer. An architecture whereby the user’s computer also acts as a server to other users.
PABX
See PBX.
Package
"A general term, which usually refers to shrink-wrapped (or off the shelf) software e.g. MS Office."
Packet switching
"A telecoms term used to describe the mechanism by which data travels across the network. When mentioned in conversation, the suggested facial expression is – animated, as this is essentially a relatively new technology. Rambling on about decoupled train carriages making their own way around the railway networks will get you sage nods from the genuine telecoms experts in your discussion group. See circuit switched."
Parallel Processing
The ability to have the computer utilise more than one processor in executing one or more applications. A similar concept to Clustering.
Pay Per Click
"An online advertising concept whereby companies such as Google and Microsoft allow customers to advertise alongside their search engine results. When users click on an advert, which takes the user to the customer’s website, the customer pays Microsoft. So the customer only pays when the users click on their adverts."
Payment Service Provider
See PSP.
PBX
Private Branch Exchange. The telephone exchange that provides the interface between the public network and an organisation’s private telephone network.
PC
Personal Computer. Today it is a reference to a desktop computer that meets IBM’s original PC specification. See Wintel.
PCMCIA
PC Memory Card International Association. The body that defines the standard for the credit card sized cards used with laptop computers.
PDA
Personal Digital Assistant. A hand-held computing device. Today these devices include phone technology as well as email management and office-like applications.
Perl
Is a C like programming language. Good at handling text and files and so is often used in by system administrators. It is also used in developing Web server applications.
Perlscript
A scripting language designed to support the use of Perl when working with Microsoft Active Server Pages.
PGP
Pretty Good Privacy. A product family that enables message passing in a secure manner. Usually associated with email.
Photonics
A term used to describe the next generation of fibre based technologies.
PHP
Personal Home Page. The name relates to the creator’s original reason for creating this open source scripting language. Associated with Linux it can be considered as an alternative technology to Microsoft’s ASP.
Pick
"Is both an operating system and a database. It was developed by McDonnell Douglas. Was used a lot in the Health sector. Pick the operating system is no longer supported. Pick databases still exist, running on both Pick and Unix operating systems. Old school."
PKI
Public Key Infrastructure. A framework for conducting secure transactions online.
PL1
IBM’s attempt to create an all singing and dancing programming language. Old school.
PL/SQL
Oracle’s proprietary programming language containing database connectivity functionality.
Platform
Usually taken to mean the computer hardware plus the installed operating system. So being platform independent implies that the application concerned is not constrained by your choice of hardware or operating system.
Platform independent
An application that is portable between different platforms.
PMW
An old school project planning and tracking tool.
Pocket PC
A version of Windows CE designed for mobile phones / PDAs.
Pojo
Plain Old Java Object. This is a reference to a piece of reusable Java software (aka object) that does not have a fancy name. Java objects have to some extent lost track of the original design goals of simplicity and reusability. A pojo is a simple and easily reusable lump of Java software.
Polymorphism
A characteristic of Object Orientation. It is closely associated with the ability to add new functionality to the software.
Portal
"A website which is designed to be a user’s main point of entry to the web. Portals attempt to achieve this by providing assistance, usually in navigation (Yahoo, Google) or information (FT.com)."
Portability
"A characteristic associated with software, data (and sometimes even users), which implies that they can be moved from one platform to another with little or no modification."
PPC
See Pay Per Click.
Prime
A now defunct mid range computer that ran the Primos operating system.
Privacy
A term used to describe the need to protect personal data held on computers. This is a big growth area.
Programmer
This individual writes and (on many occasions) tests software.
Prince
An approach to project management developed by the UK Government.
Programming language
This is the tool used by developers to write software.
Project
"A project is a non-business-as-usual activity that is focused on a specific outcome, for example a new system. Often constrained by time and money."
Project Manager
The person that acts as the link between line management and a project.
Proprietary
Something that is Under the control of a single company.
Protocol
"In the world of networking, it is software that enables communication between different computers. For example, TCP/IP is a series of protocols, which enable two computers to communicate over the web."
Psion
A one time great British company that created the palm top marketplace. Now not so high profile.
PSP
Payment Service Provider. An organization that manages online payments on behalf of the merchant. Players include WorldPay and Netbanx.
Public Key Infrastructure
See PKI.
Python
A fairly platform independent open source programming language. Can be thought of as a simplified version of Perl.
Quality Assurance
General term. But used in technology organisations to define the people and the processes used to ensure that a consistently high level of service/product is maintained. See IT Governance.
Quantum computing
A research area that is investigating the application of quantum mechanics to the building of computers. If achieved Moore’s law would leave by the nearest window.
Quad Play
"A term used to capture services that embrace the Internet, wireless communications, wired communications and broadcast media. The cable TV providers and telcos are pushing this. See Triple Play."
R3
The collective term for Sap’s range of enterprise applications. Now known as mySAP.
RAD
Rapid Application Development. This is an approach to software development that makes use of prototyping. The philosophy is to get the users involved in the development and to focus more on the business need as opposed to the system engineering. See Waterfall and Agile.
Rational Rose
A popular object oriented ALM tool developed by Rational Corporation.
Rational Unified Process
A software development methodology developed by the Rational Corporation.
RDBMS
Relational Database Management Systems. A generic term for database products that utilise relational technology. They are characterized by their use of SQL. Examples being Oracle 10G and MS SQL Server.
Real-time
A term used to describe the concept of happening now. Car brake management systems are real-time systems as are foreign exchange data feeds for investment bankers. If these systems do not respond immediately there will be some negative consequences for the user.
Real-time enterprise
A term used to describe an organization that is responsive to changes in the marketplace. This is seen as a good characteristic in fast moving markets. See On Demand.
Red Hat
A company that sells Linux related services. Such companies are known as a Linux distro (a ‘cool’ way of saying distributor).
Regression Testing
Testing that takes place after software has been modified to ensure that unmodified aspects of the system have not been effected.
Relational Database
A relational database is one that was designed to minimize the amount of storage required. The concept is underpinned by mathematical rigour (Set theory). More easily recognisable by its use of SQL. Also known as an RDBMS.
Replication
"The act of copying data from one database to another, typically on a different server. Usually done to ensure that there is a copy of the data should the server fail."
REXX
IBM’s system scripting language. Now an international standard. But now available in open source form. Old school.
RIP
See Regulation of Investigatory Powers.
Robot
"A term used to describe a computer that performs mechanical functions, eg. spraying assembly line workers. Watch the film ‘I, Robot’ to see how this can become problematic."
Robotics
A term used to describe the science and technology associated with the design of robots.
ROI
Return on Investment. This is a well-established financial metric that is often clumsily applied to IT spend.
Router
An intelligent internetworking device. Used to bind the various networks that make up the Internet together.
RPG/2
"Report Program Generator. A programming language developed by IBM, which started life in 1965. Now associated with IBM’s I-Series. And now exhibits object oriented characteristics. Old school."
Ruby
Is an open source cross-platform programming language based on Perl and Smalltalk. It also shares features associated with Python and Lisp.
Ruby on Rails
A set of tools and technologies to facilitate the building of web applications written in the Ruby language. Known more commonly as Rails.
RUP
See Rational Unified Process.
SaaS
"Software as a Service. This refers to the conceptual leap that the IT industry is making. Traditionally people buy their software, or at least buy a licence to use the software. Software as a service is a move towards effectively renting the software. See Web Services and Application Service Provider."
Safari
Apple’s web browser.
SAN
"Storage Area Network. A network, which only links storage devices together, such as disk and tape storage. Increasingly IT departments have separate networks for the users, processors and storage devices. "
Sap
"A German company and major player in the world of enterprise applications. It created the ERP marketplace, which today also embraces CRM and SCM. Its roots lie in the world of MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) systems. Sap is also used as a term to describe the applications that Sap sells."
Sarbannes – Oxley
"This is the name of legislation created in the US to avoid the possibility of accounting scandals emerging in US quoted companies. It was created in response to Worldcom and Enron accounting scandals. Because of the burden it places on IT systems, it is often an issue for IT departments."
Scalability
A solution is scalable if it can run on both small and large computers. The term is generally used to sell a solution to a small company. By being scalable the solution they are buying will still be useful as the company grows. Thus enabling the buyer to squeeze more value from the investment in this solution.
SCM
Supply Chain Management. This is a collective term for those activities that help manage the manufacturing and delivery elements of one’s organisation. In respect of the IT industry SCM is a reference to software solutions that support the supply chain process.
Script(1)
A reference to software that is written for use in the IT department. This is in contrast to application software that is written for users. Unix system administrators usually write scripts. These scripts are sometimes referred to as batch programmes.
Script(2)
A reference to software that is embedded within a web page. Unlike other software scripts can only run when viewed via a browser.
Script kiddie
A type of hacker who uses software available from the web to launch attacks. Usually youngsters who do it for fun and kudos rather than financial or political gain.
Scripting language
See Script.
Scrum
An approach to software development based on the Agile approach. In other words it is a user-oriented approach to software development.
Search engine
A web site dedicated to helping users find information on the WWW. Google is a high profile example.
Search Engine Optimisation
A growing area within the world of online marketing. SEO concerns itself with tuning one’s website so that ranks higher in the search rankings when potential customers visit search engine web sites such as Google.
SEO
See Search Engine Optimisation.
Servlet
A Java program designed to run on a server. As opposed to a Java applet.
Seti
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. A project to look for life beyond earth which employs P2P computing. Essentially the Seti project makes use of the processing power available on people’s computers around the world.
Server
"A hardware device that enables users to share resources such as processing power, files, databases. Applications and access to the Web. Server can also refer to the software that enables the server hardware to share resources."
Services Oriented Architecture
Is a model for developing software whereby the software modules map neatly onto the associated business processes. It can be thought off as the successor to object orientation.
Shell
This is a program that provides a user interface for the Unix operating system.
Shared Source
"Shared source is a variant of open source. Whereas open source allows anyone to have access to a program’s source code, shared source restricts access to those approved by the software owner."
Shell Script
A programming language designed to exploit the features of a shell. Rather than manually typing command into a shell they can be bundled into a script file. See Shell.
Smart card
"A card that has some processing and storage capacity. Often associated with the ability to store value such as e-money, or information, such as medical records. One could argue that credit/debit cards are smart cards, but they do not store value as such, and their processing power is limited to proving that the card is genuine. "
Smart software
Software that is in some way underpinned by artificial intelligence.
SME
Small to medium-sized enterprise.
SMP
Symmetric Multi Processing. A hardware architecture for utilizing multiple processors as if they were really one super processor.
SMS
Short Messaging service. A popular wireless standard for transmitting text based messages. Also known as texting.
SNA
Systems Network Architecture – An old networking architecture introduced by IBM back in 1974.
SOA
See Services Oriented Architecture.
Soap
Simple Object Access Protocol. An open standard middleware solution used to enable applications to communicate with each other over the web.
Software
"IT systems are made up of hardware, software and data. You cannot see software. It is the instructions that are given to otherwise stupid hardware to make it do, in general, useful things. Dropping software on your foot will definitely not hurt."
Software Engineer
"Any role that relates to the development and maintenance of software. Tends to be used on projects where a formal approach is essential, eg. real-time / embedded systems."
Solaris
Sun Microsystems’ Unix offering.
Solution Architect
This is a technical architect that is expected to behave himself in front of the customer.
Sox
See Sarbannes – Oxley.
Spam
A term used to describe unsolicited emails. Usually sent in high volumes and often courtesy of other people’s servers.
Spider
Software used by search engines to gather web addresses by visiting web sites on the WWW.
Spring
"Spring is an open source framework (ie both a model and a set of technologies) used in the development of Java applications. It is one of the projects associated with the Apache Software Foundation. It is attractive to application developers because it enables them to keep the user interface element of web applications decoupled from the data processing element. This makes for more maintainable software. Struts, Stripes and Tapestry are equivalent frameworks."
Spyware
Software that is inadvertently downloaded onto the company by the user. Usually it is created to spy on the user. Often used to observe the web searching habits of users but more maliciously used to harvest usernames and passwords for the purposes of fraud.
SQL
"Structured Query Language. Not a programming language, as such. It provides the means for entering and extracting data to/from a relational database. See RDBMS."
SQL Server
This is the name of Microsoft’s popular database offering.
Steganography
"An e-security technology, which rather than encrypting messages, prior to sending them across a network, hides the message in some unlikely format, eg. a graphic."
Stickiness
Characteristic of a web portal. The degree to which users “stick around”. Companies endeavour to make their websites sticky.
STP
Straight Through Processing. A term used to describe transactions that do not involve any human intervention and so rely heavily on IT.
Stratus
A provider of fault tolerant computers. Old school.
Stripes
"Stripes is an open source framework (ie both a model and a set of technologies) used in the development of Java applications. Seen as a successor to Struts. It is attractive to application developers because it enables them to keep the user interface element of web applications decoupled from the data processing element. This makes for more maintainable software. Struts, Stripes and Tapestry are equivalent frameworks."
Struts
"Struts is an open source framework (ie both a model and a set of technologies) used in the development of Java applications. Formally known as Jakarta Struts, today it is more formally known as Apache Struts. It is attractive to application developers because it enables them to keep the user interface element of web applications decoupled from the data processing element. This makes for more maintainable software. Spring, Stripes and Tapestry are equivalent frameworks."
Sun Microsystems
US vendor of Unix based products. They developed the SPARC family of processors. Also created the Java programming language.
Sunos
An older version of Solaris.
Super server
Is a reference to a server that has large storage and processing capacity. The vendors of such computers in the past referred to them as mainframes.
Swing
"A set of Java components, which enables the production of graphical interfaces for Java applications. It thus enables Java developers to create user-friendly applications."
Switch
"A networking device, which acts as a kind of junction box. The switch will determine which line the data should be sent down based on the destination address. This is analogous to the points on a railway line. "
Sybase
Both a reference to a US company and its flagship product. Sybase specialises in database products.
System administrator
A person who is responsible for keeping the servers available to users. These folk are specialists in the associated hardware and operating system of the platforms concerned. Hence 2003 and Linux system administrators.
System Integration
The process of making disparate hardware and software interoperate together. E.g. Making Oracle run on an ICL box and then making the box accessible to PCs sprinkled across a wide area network. It is a high-risk business and so end user organisations often hand the problem over to software/system houses. The term middleware comes up a lot in respect of system integration.
Systems Analyst
This person is involved during the development of an IT system. Their specific responsibility relates to defining what the system will do.
Systems Programmer
"This person is involved in producing software, which will be used by the IT department, as opposed to business users."