Glossary A - B - C - D - E

analog

An analog signal is any continuously variable signal; it differs from a digital signal in that small fluctuations in the signal are meaningful.

application

Level: Occurrence
An application is an occurrence-level entity (an OccurredProduct) referring to a well-defined software product, often of a rather complex nature. An application usually contains one or more software components.
See also: occurred product, software, application software

An application (short: app) is a computer program, or collection of programs, designed to provide some functionality to the end user. Typical commercial examples of such programs are word processors, spreadsheets, accounting programs and media players.
Multiple applications bundled together are sometimes referred to as an application suite. The category of applications should be distinguished from the category of system software, which is software concerned with managing or utilizing aspects of the computer system itself such as operating systems, device drivers, and compilers.
See also: system software

application software

Level: Component
A well-defined software component with specific functionalities not related to the computer system itself; should be distinguished from system software.
Includes: plug-in, database software, browser
See also: system software, software, application

artistic research and development (aRt&D)

Research and development that involves interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaboration and the merging of artistic concepts and technology, involving artists as "creative researchers".

authenticity

A term with various meanings, depending on the field where it is used (philosophy and ethics, computer security, information science). In the context of preservation or capturing, authenticity refers to the truthfulness of a work's origins and attributions.

authorship

The act of (co-)creating and/or initiating a work (may be a written work, but also an idea, theory or any visual or artistic product).

bandwidth

Capacity to carry information. It can apply to telephone or network wiring as well as system buses, radio frequency signals and monitors. Bandwidth is most accurately measured in cycles per second or hertz (Hz), also as bits or bytes per second.

block diagram

A diagram showing the operation, interrelationships and interdependencies of the components of a system (often an electronic system, but also people, groups or other physical or abstract entities). Boxes, blocks or other geometrical elements represent the components; connecting lines between the blocks represent interfaces. Less structured than a flow chart.

browser

Level: Component
Application software used to locate and display Web pages. The most widely used browser display Web pages in a graphical manner and support various forms of multimedia, sometimes with the help of plug-ins.
See also: application software, plug-in

capturing

In the context of Capturing Unstable Media: the process of registering and safeguarding the record of essential aspects of an activity.

central processing unit (CPU)

Level: Component
The part of a computer that interprets and executes instructions contained in the software and controls all the other parts of the computer. A family of CPU designs is often referred to as CPU architecture. Well-known CPU architectures include Intel's x86 architecture, Motorola's 68000 architecture, Sun Microsystems's SPARC architecture, the AIM Alliance's PowerPC architecture.
Today, most desktop computers have 32-bit processors; 64-bit processors are being phased in. Smaller devices (mobile phones, PDAs, video game devices) may have 16-bit or 8-bit processors.
See also: computing device

choreography

Level: Component
Choreography is the design, often visualized in a script or score, for a performance, usually involving dancers.

A choreography is also the result of this design, i.e. the score itself or the detailed description of the performance. Various notation mechanisms – textual or visual – exist for this purpose.

Choreography is also the act of creating this script or score.

circuit

A circuit (electrical or electronical) is a closed path which can be followed by an electric current or a configuration of electrically or electromagnetically connected components or devices.
See also: circuit diagram, circuit scheme

circuit diagram

A diagram showing the interconnections in a circuit.
See also: circuit

circuit scheme

A structural diagram showing a configuration of electrically or electromagnetically connected components or devices
See also: circuit

class

(Ontology terminology) An abstract representation of a concept in a domain as a collection of related classes. For example, a medical model might have protocol, guidelines, and patient data as classes.

client

Metadata for entity: configuration
A client is a system that accesses a (remote) service on another computer by some kind of network. The term originated from devices that were not capable of running their own stand-alone programs, but could interact with remote computers via some network. These dumb terminals were clients of the time-sharing mainframe computer. The client-server is still used today on the Internet, where a user may connect to a service operating on a remote system.
See also: server, client-server, configuration

client-server

Metadata for entity: configuration
A client-server computer network application is one in which a client, thin client or fat client, which instantiates the user interface of the application, connects with an application server or database system.
When a client connects directly to a database system, or to a monolithic application server, the architecture of the application is a 2-tier architecture.
In recent years, it is more common for a thin client which does not incorporate business logic, but only user interface elements to connect to an application server that implements the business logic, and which transitively (i.e. in turn) communicates with a database server, which stores the raw data used by the application.
Such an architecture is called a 3-tier architecture, which is a special case of n-tier architecture.
In general, n-tier architectures may employ a number of distinct services, including transitive relations between application servers implementing different functions of business logic, each of which may or may not employ a distinct or shared database system.
See also: client, server, configuration

collaboration diagram

A diagram that describes how components in a system will interact with each other.

component

Level: top-level entity
A component is a well-defined, distinct and strategic part or aspect of an occurrence but is not considered an autonomous work or activity in itself. It is usually restricted in time and space.
Includes: digital component, physical component, conceptual component, content component, technical component.

computer

Level: Component
A computer is a programmable electronic machine or device used to perform high-speed mathematical or logical operations and to process information according to a well-defined procedure.
See also: computer hardware

computer hardware

Level: Component
Computer hardware is hardware with electronic parts, used for computing purposes.
Includes: computer, computing device, peripheral
See also: hardware

computer-mediated communication

The activity of communicating with other individuals or groups, using digitized information transmitted trough telephone and other telecommunication links, such as cable, and satellite.

computing device

Level: Component
Any machine or component that attaches to, or can be integrated in, a computer in a functional way.
See also: computer hardware
Includes: CPU, storage device, input/output device, handheld device

conceptual model

A model that defines the types of entities or objects that are of interest in a system or domain, and the relationships between them.

configuration

Level: Component
A specific grouping of components – mainly hardware and software set up for a specific goal. A configuration usually includes a specific systems design, operating system, network setup and has a client and/or server function, and is designed to accommodate an application (occurrence). Can be a part of a systems design.
See also: application, hardware, network, user interface, systems design, configuration instructions

configuration instructions

Instructions for setting up a specific configuration. Or: installation manual that describes the procedure to start up a specific software application.
See also: configuration

conservation

The treatment, preventive care, and research directed toward the long-term safekeeping of cultural and natural heritage.

CPU

See: central processing unit

database

A database is an information set with a regular structure that allows automated searches and updates.

database design

Level: Component
The conceptual structure and system layout of a database.

Also used for the act of developing and creating the structure and layout of a database.

database software

Level: Component
Application software that enables the creation and maintenance of databases. Examples include MySQL, Oracle, Microsoft Access, FileMaker Pro.
See also: database, data collection, application software

data collection

Level: Component
A distinct collection of information; considered as a separate entity from the database and database software in which this information can be stored.

demonstrator

Used for describing the level of development of an occurrence, usually an application. A demonstrator (or demo version) is an early stage of a product, where it is only partially developed for showcasing and testing purposes. A prototype is a more advanced stage of development.
See also: prototype, occurrence

Also used as a genre of document which illustrates the "look and feel" of a product, often a software application.

deployment diagram

Illustrates the physical deployment of the system into a production (or test) environment. It shows where components will be located, on what servers, machines or hardware. It may illustrate network links, LAN bandwidth, etc.

design

Level: Component
A plan-under-development for an artistic or engineered object, an activity which requires research, modeling, iterative adjustment, and re-design.

Also used for the act of originating and developing such a plan.

development

Making use of the knowledge and understanding gained from research, directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods, including design and development of prototypes, and processes. It excludes quality control, routine product testing, and production.
See also: research, research and development

diagram

A plan, sketch, drawing, or outline designed to demonstrate or explain how something works or to clarify the relationship between the parts of a whole.

dissemination

Metadata for entity: Occurrence
Refers to the process of publishing or revealing the results of a research and development process to a wider audience.

document

Level: top-level entity
A well-defined piece of information about an object or activity, mostly existing in physical or/and digital form.

documentation

Material that clarifies, gives instructions or provides evidence of an activity, object or actor. Also refers to the creation or acquisition of such material.

Dublin Core

A 15-element metadata element set, intended to facilitate discovery of electronic resources, designed for simplicity and extensibility.
See also: Open Archives Initiative

electrical appliance

Level: Component
An electrical appliance is a piece of hardware which is powered, but has no electronic parts and/or is not used for computing purposes.
See also: hardware

Appliances are electrical/mechanical tools that accomplish some function.

emulation

Proposes a layer of software that emulates a given hardware platform, and serves as the foundation on which to run the original software, the application used to create it and its operating system, thus giving a working solution for highest fidelity in reproducing the original state of unstable media art.