HP-UX Reference (11i v3 07/02) - 7 Device (Special) Files, 9 General Information, Index (vol 10)

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glossary(9) glossary(9)
mode
A 16-bit word associated with every file in the file system, stored in the inode. The least-significant 12 bits
of the mode determine the read, write, and execute permissions for the file owner, file group, and all oth-
ers, and contain the set-user-ID, set-group-ID, and sticky bits. The least-significant 12 bits can be set by
the chmod(1) command if you are the file’s owner or the superuser. These 12 bits are sometimes referred
to as permission bits. The most-significant 4 bits specify the file type for the associated file and are set as
the result of open(2) or mknod(2) system calls.
mountable file system
A removable blocked file system contained on some mass storage medium with its own root directory and
an independent hierarchy of directories and files. See block special file and mount(1M).
msqid
See message queue identifier.
Multiplexer (MUX)
Multiplexer (MUX) is a high-speed serial communication multiple port product. It combines various signals
for transmission over a single channel and provides intelligent communication functions to off-load CPU
serial communication processing tasks.
multiuser state
The condition of the HP-UX operating system in which terminals (in addition to the system console) allow
communication between the system and its users. By convention, multiuser run level is set at state 2,
which is usually defined to contain all the terminal processes and daemons needed in a multiuser environ-
ment. Run levels are table driven, and are specified by init(1M), which sets the run level by looking at the
file
/etc/inittab . Do not confuse the multiuser system with the multiuser state. A multiuser system
is a system which can have more than one user actively communicating with the system when it is in the
multiuser state. The multiuser state removes the single-user restriction imposed by the single-user state
(see single-user state, inittab(4)).
native language
A computer user’s spoken or written language, such as Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek,
Italian, Katakana, Korean, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and so on.
Network File System (NFS)
The Network File System (NFS) allows a client node to perform transparent file access over the network.
By using NFS, a client node operates on files residing on a variety of servers and server architectures, and
across a variety of operating systems. File access calls on the client (such as read requests) are converted
to NFS protocol requests and sent to the server system over the network. The server receives the request,
performs the actual file system operation, and sends a response back to the client.
NFS operates in a stateless manner using remote procedure calls (RPC) built on top of an external data
representation (XDR) protocol. The RPC protocol enables version and authentication parameters to be
exchanged for security over the network.
A server grants access to a specific file system to clients by adding an entry for that file system to the
server’s /etc/dfs/dfstab file.
Native Language Support (NLS)
A feature of HP-UX that provides the user with internationalized software and the application programmer
with tools to develop this software.
newline character
The character with an ASCII value of 10 (line feed) used to separate lines of characters. It is represented
by \n in the C language and in various utilities. The terminal driver normally interprets a carriage-
return/line-feed sequence sent by a terminal as a single newline character (but see tty(7) for full details)
NLS
See Native Language Support.
NLSPATH
An environment variable used to indicate the search path for message catalogs (see message catalog).
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