HP-UX Reference (11i v1 00/12) - 5 Miscellaneous Topics, 7 Device (Special) Files, 9 General Information, Index (vol 9)

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STANDARD Printed by: Nora Chuang [nchuang] STANDARD
/build/1111/BRICK/man9/!!!intro.9
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a
glossary(9) glossary(9)
the select code, and the function number.
address space
The range of memory locations to which a process can refer.
affiliation See terminal affiliation.
appropriate privileges
Each implementation provides a means of associating privileges with a process for function
calls and function call options requiring special privileges. In the HP-UX system,
appropriate privileges refers either to superuser status or to a privilege associated with
privilege groups (see setprivgrp(1M)).
archive A file comprised of the contents of other files, such as a group of object files (that is, .o)
used by the linker, ld(1)). An archive file is created and maintained by ar(1) or similar pro-
grams, such as tar(1) or cpio(1). An archive is often called a library.
ASCII An acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII is the tradi-
tional System V coded character set and defines 128 characters, including both control char-
acters and graphic characters, each of which is represented by 7-bit binary values ranging
from 0 through 127 decimal.
background process group
Any process group that is a member of a session which has established a connection with a
controlling terminal that is not in the foreground process group.
backup The process of making a copy of all or part of the file system in order to preserve it, in case
a system crash occurs (usually due to a power failure, hardware error, etc.). This is a
highly recommended practice.
block (1) The fundamental unit of information HP-UX uses for access and storage allocation on a
mass storage medium. The size of a block varies between implementations and between
file systems. In order to present a more uniform interface to the user, most system calls
and utilities use block to mean 512 bytes, independent of the actual block size of the
medium. This is the meaning of block unless otherwise specified in the manual entry.
(2) On media such as 9-track tape that write variable length strings of data, the size of
those strings. Block is often used to distinguish from record; a block contains several
records, whereas the number of records denotes the blocking factor.
block special file
A special file associated with a mass storage device (such as a hard disk or tape cartridge
drive) that transfers data in multiple-byte blocks, rather than by series of individual bytes
(see character special file). Block special files can be mounted. A block special file
provides access to the device where hardware characteristics of the device are not visible.
boot, boot-up The process of loading, initializing, and running an operating system.
boot area A portion of a mass storage medium on which the volume header and a ‘‘bootstrap’’ pro-
gram used in booting the operating system reside. The boot area is reserved exclusively
for use by HP-UX.
boot ROM A program residing in ROM (Read-Only Memory) that executes each time the computer is
powered up and is designed to bring the computer to a desired state by means of its own
action. The first few instructions of a bootstrap program are sufficient to bring the
remainder of the program into the computer from an input device and initiate functions
necessary for computation. The function of the boot ROM is to run tests on the computer’s
hardware, find all devices accessible through the computer, and then load either a specified
operating system or the first operating system found according to a specific search algo-
rithm.
bus address A number which makes up part of the address HP-UX uses to locate a particular device.
The bus address is determined by a switch setting on a peripheral device which allows the
computer to distinguish between two devices connected to the same interface. A bus
address is sometimes called a ‘‘device address’’.
character An element used for the organization, control, or representation of text. Characters include
graphic characters and control characters.
HP-UX Release 11i: December 2000 − 2 − Section 9−−3
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