Monday, March 26, 2001		Bits & Bytes

Dump: The act of copying raw data from one place to another with little or no formatting for readability. Usually, dump refers to copying data from main memory to a display screen or a printer. Dumps are useful for diagnosing bugs. After a program fails, you can study the dump and analyse the contents of memory at the time of the failure. Dumps are usually output in a difficult-to-read form (that is, binary, octal, or hexadecimal), so a dump will not help you unless you know exactly what to look for.

Gopher: A system that pre-dates the World Wide Web for organising and displaying files on Internet servers. A Gopher server presents its contents as a hierarchically structured list of files. With the ascendance of the Web, most Gopher databases are being converted to Web sites that can be more easily accessed via Web search engines.

Hardwired: Refers to elements of a program or device that cannot be changed. Originally, the term was used to describe functionality that was built into the circuitry (i.e., the wires) of a device. Nowadays, however, the term is also used to describe constants built into software.

Username: On most host systems, the first time you connect you are asked to supply a one-word user name. This can be any combination of letters and numbers.

VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited): The monopolistic Indian government venture that controls all access to the Internet in India.