A
A: ampere, for example, 25 A (n); 25-A current (adj)
AAAI: American Association for Artificial Intelligence
AAAS: American Association for the Advancement of Science
AACP: American Association of Computing Professionals
ABET: Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
*AC: alternating current
academic degrees: BS, MS, and PhD are the standard abbreviations for the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees that we encounter in most of our authors’ biographies. However, if an author insists, using “BSME” or “BSEE” instead of “BS in mechanical engineering” or “MSc” instead of “MS” is acceptable. These and other variants have the sanction of being included in the Webster’s list of abbreviations. In general, reproduce non-US degrees as authors submit them (except for periods), for example, BEng, BTech, and DPhil. See also bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate.
accents: Use accents in anglicized non-English terms when important for pronunciation, to avoid confusion with another word, or where context makes it unclear. Use accents in non-English names, especially names of individuals. In general, lean toward the author’s preference. See also the Non-English Words and Phrases section.
ACE: Advanced Computing Environment
ACID: atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability (a test)
ACK: acknowledgment
acknowledgment: not acknowledgement
ACL: Association for Computational Linguistics
ACM: Association for Computing Machinery; includes several special-interest groups (SIGs). With the exception of Siggraph, use the ACM style for each SIG in text or references. Click here for a current listing. Use “is a member of the ACM” in bios.
acronyms: See the Acronyms and Abbreviated Terms section for general style guidelines.
ACS: Australian Computer Society
ActiveX: software technology from Microsoft
A/D: analog/digital
Ada: a programming language (named for Augusta Ada Lovelace) developed by the US Defense Department
ADAPSO: Association of Data Processing Service Organizations; renamed as Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) in 1991
ADC: analog-to-digital converter
add-in board
Addison-Wesley or Addison Wesley Longman; Addison-Wesley Professional
add-on (adj)
address mode (n): the way the processor is addressed; includes sequential, forward, and backward addressing, among other modes; hyphenate when used as an adjective
ADSL: asymmetric digital subscriber line (for fast Internet access)
AEA: American Electronics Association
AEC (adj): architecture-engineering-construction; no hyphens in the acronym
AES: Advanced Encryption Standard; NIST standard for symmetric key encryption
AFCET: Association Française pour la Cybernétique Économique et Technique
AFIPS: American Federation of Information Processing Societies (no longer exists)
*AI: artificial intelligence; acceptable on first reference if context makes it clear
AIAA: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
AIChE: American Institute of Chemical Engineers
AIIM: Association for Information and Image Management
AIM: advanced instruction module
AIP: American Institute of Physics
Ajax: Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.
A K Peters: Publisher (note: no periods after initials)
Algol: stands for algorithmic language
ALPG: algorithmic pattern generator (hardware and software)
Al Qaeda
ALU: arithmetic logic unit
*a.m.: ante meridiem “before noon” (also includes 12:00 midnight). See also p.m.
ampersand: retain symbol in proper names when the name owner uses it that way; otherwise avoid
Amazon.com
AMS: American Mathematical Society
AMU: Association of Minicomputer Users
analog: not analogue
and/or: avoid this construction
ANOVA: analysis of variance; a statistical test
*ANSI: American National Standards Institute
Ansys: finite-element analysis software by Swanson Analysis Systems
anti-: not hyphenated as a compound modifier unless root word is a proper noun or begins with “i,” for example, antialiasing, anti-intellectual
apa: all points addressable
APDA: Apple Programmers and Developers Association
*API: application programming interface
*APL: A Programming Language
appendices: not appendixes
Apple IIe, IIgs; Macintosh IIc, IIcx, IIfx, and so on
Arcnet: Attached Resource Computer Network; developed by Datapoint Corp.
ARO: after receipt of order; Army Research Office (preceded by US if spelled out)
ARPA: Advanced Research Projects Agency, a part of the US Defense Department; DARPA is the preferred usage.
Arpanet: the oldest of the networks on the Internet; initial capital only
artificial intelligence: AI is acceptable on first reference if the context makes it clear. The term loosely includes expert systems, knowledge bases, natural-language interfaces, pattern recognition (voice, image, and signal), and neural networks.
ASC: American Society for Cybernetics
ASCI: Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative
ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASIC: application-specific integrated circuit
ASIS: American Society for Information Science and Technology
ASME: American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ASP: application service provider; application-specific processor; Active Server Pages
ASPLOS: Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems; the name of a conference
ASQ: American Society for Quality
assembly language (lowercase; not assembler): a computer language that assembles the assembly-language code, as a compiler compiles high-level code
ASTI: Association for Science, Technology, and Innovation
ATE: automatic test equipment
ATM: asynchronous transfer mode
ATPG: automatic test-pattern generation
AutoCAD: software from Autodesk Inc.; exception to normal style because of common usage
Autoprobe
avatar: graphical image that represents a person
Awk: a language based on the authors’ names—Aho, Weinberger, and Kernighan
AWC: Association for Women in Computing
B
B2B: business-to-business
B2C: business-to-consumer
bachelor’s degree
back end (n), back-end (adj)
backplane (n): an electronic circuit board containing circuitry and sockets into which additional electronic devices on other circuit boards or cards can be plugged; generally synonymous with or part of a computer motherboard
backup (n, adj): for example, the system served as a backup; a backup copy
back up (v): as in, you can back up the database
bandwidth
bar code
Basic: a programming language; allegedly stands for “beginner’s all-purpose symbolic instruction code,” but this is etymologically suspect
BasicA: Microsoft advanced Basic; known as “GW-Basic” on non-IBM, MS-DOS computers
baud (singular, plural): transmission speed in units per second, originally used to measure telegraph transmission. In computing, the units are usually bits, hence the common practice of using baud and bps interchangeably. However, this is technically inaccurate because the unit in a baud can be any discrete element; see also bps.
BCS: British Computer Society
BEEP: Blocks Extensible Exchange Protocol
Beijing: the Pinyin form used instead of “Peking”
benchmark: a standardized problem, test, or suite of tests that serves as a basis for the repeatable, objective comparison of hardware or software; examples include Dhrystone, Mflops, Sim, Whetstone
beta site: the secondary (hence beta) site
Beta-spline (n, adj): not the same as a B-spline
beta test (n, v)
Bezier: no accent mark on the first syllable
BFL: buffered field-effect transistor logic
BIFS: binary format for scenes
BGP: Border Gateway Protocol
“Big Blue”: informal name for IBM
BIOS: basic input/output system; operating system software that handles communications with devices, including monitors, keyboards, disk drives, processors, and ports
Birkhaüser Boston: North American branch of the Swiss publisher, Birkhaüser Publishing
BIST: built-in self-test
bit: a binary digit, 0 or 1; the basic element making up digital data
-bit (suffix): adjectives formed with numbers and bit are hyphenated, for example, 64-bit processor
bitblt: Previous CS Style Guide versions defined this term as “bit block-level transfer,” but some authors insist on “bit block transfer.”
bitline
bitmap: digital representation of an image in which bits are mapped into pixels; in color graphics, a different bitmap is used for each red, green, and blue value
bitmapped graphics
Bitnet: communications network between universities and research centers. Although it’s reputed to stand for “Because It’s Time Network,” the term is not a true acronym.
bit rate
bit-slice processor
bit-sliced (adj)
bitstream (n, adj)
bitwise (n): dealing with bits rather than a larger structure such as a byte; bitwise operators are programming commands or statements that work with individual bits
black-and-white (adj)
black box: a complicated electronic device whose internal mechanism is usually hidden from or mysterious to the user
BLAS: basic linear algebra subroutines
blog: a shared online journal
Blu-ray
BNF: Backus-Naur Form, a metalanguage
boldface: strictly limit use as an emphasis technique; italic type is preferred and should be used whenever possible
Boolean: from George Boole; spelling with a capital B is preferred
bootup (n), boot up (v): more commonly just boot
botnet: jargon term for a collection of software robots, or bots, that run autonomously
bottom-up design: design that starts at the system level as opposed to top-down design, which starts at the logic level and works down. In middle-out design, design starts at the middle level and proceeds up or down.
boundary scan: a self-test technique; not synonymous with scan
BPEL4WS: Business Process Execution Language for Web Services
bpi: bits per inch, for example, 1,600-bpi magnetic tape unit; 1,600 bpi
BPML: Business Process Modeling Language
bps: bits per second, as in, 1,200 bps; see also baud
BPSS: Business Process Specification Schema
BRDF: bidirectional reflectance distribution function
B-rep: boundary representation
broadband (n): technique for high-speed data transmission
broadcast bus: sends a single data item to all bus destinations in a unit of time
brute-force attack
BSA: Business Software Alliance
Bsafe: encryption software
BSD: Berkeley Software Distribution, an extended and modified version of AT&T Unix from the University of California, Berkeley
B-spline (n, adj): not the same as a Beta-spline
Bsquare
b-trieve: random-access search technique used in databases
burn-in (adj, n); burn in (v)
bus, bused, busing, buses: The s is not doubled.
byte: an eight-bit string that a processor reads as a group; generally, one byte equals one alphanumeric character
bytecode: one word
C
C: a programming language
C++: a programming language based on C and extended to include object-oriented features (++ is not super- or subscripted)
C3: command, control, and communications
C3I: command, control, communications, and intelligence
Cx: (x is an integer or an algebraic representation of an integer); a mathematical notation referring to the continuity of a function and therefore its differentiability (in calculus) because derivatives are undefined where functions are discontinuous. Less formally, continuity refers to the “smoothness” of a function or curve. C0 means the function is continuous but its derivatives are not. C1 means both the function and its first derivative are continuous, but the second derivative might not be. More complicated forms, such as CK-1, also occur. Some authors make the C calligraphic, but this is not necessary.
*CAD: computer-aided design
CADAM: computer graphics augmented design and manufacturing system
*CAD/CAM: computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing
CADD: computer-aided design and drafting
CAE: computer-aided engineering
CAGD: computer-aided geometric design
CAI: computer-assisted instruction or computer-aided instruction
CalArts: California Institute of the Arts; abbreviated term acceptable only on second reference
Calcomp, Calcomp IGS-500, Calcomp 960 plotter
CALM: Common Assembly Language for Microprocessors
Caltech: California Institute of Technology
CAM: contact addressable memory
CAM-I: Computer-Aided Manufacturing International
Carnegie Mellon University: The Pittsburgh-based university removed the hyphen from its name in 1986.
Cartesian: initial capital
CASE: computer-aided software engineering
CASA/SME: Computer and Automated Systems Association of the Society of Mechanical Engineers
CAT: computer-aided testing (not “computerized axial tomography”); see CT
CAVE: Cave Automatic Virtual Environment
CavernSoft: note internal cap
CBEMA: Computer Business Equipment Manufacturers Association
CCALI: Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction
CCD: charge-coupled device
CCIA: Computer and Communications Industry Association
CCITT: Comité Consultatif International de Télégraphique et Téléphonique (International Consultative Committee for Telegraphy and Telephony), a Geneva-based division of the International Telecommunications Union, a New York-based United Nations organization; rarely spelled out. Now ITU-T, see listing in the “I” section.
CDA: DEC’s compound document architecture
CD-I: compact disc-interactive
CDMA: code division multiple access—a wireless communications technology
*CD-ROM: compact-disc read-only memory; preferred spelling is with the hyphen
Cedar: a Xerox programming language
Cedex: a French postal pickup station, used in addresses
cel: clear acetate sheet onto which animators’ drawings are traced and painted for photographing
cell phone
century: use symbol for ordinal numbers, for example, 20th century. Note: CMS spells out the century (twentieth century).
CerDIP: trademark name for a ceramic dual in-line package
CERN: Centre Européen des Recherches Nucléaires (European Center for Nuclear Research)
CERT Coordination Center: CERT/CC, a center of Internet security expertise, located at the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
CGA: color graphics adapter (or array); an IBM color-display standard allowing eight colors
CGI: common gateway interface
CGS: Computer Graphics Society
child: one of several family words used to describe relationships among nodes in databases; the terms are legitimate—don’t edit them out
chipset
CHMOS: Intel’s CMOS
CIDR: classless interdomain routing
CIE: International Commission on Illumination (Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage)
CIE LUV: perceptually based color space
CIM: computer-integrated manufacturing
ciphertext: no hyphen; i not y
CIPS: Canadian Information Processing Society
CISC: complex-instruction-set computing
CLB: configurable logic block
cleanup (n, adj), clean up (v)
cleartext (n)
client-server: use hyphen, not slash
clk: clock
clock cycle: the time it takes the CPU to fetch and execute an instruction; do not substitute clock
closed-loop (adj)
CLUT: color lookup table
CMM: Capability Maturity Model, Levels 1-5
CMOS: complementary metal-oxide semiconductor
co-: Compounds formed with this prefix are generally not hyphenated. Exceptions are compounds that result in a double o (co-op, co-official) and a compound such as co-edition that could be confusing or suggests infelicitous reading. However, this does not apply to words such as coincidence or cooperate where the first two letters, through long-standing use, are viewed more as an integral part of the word than as prefixes. See Webster’s and CMS Table 7.90 for other examples.
Co.: abbreviated when used in text as part of a company name; avoid using unless a company’s name might not be clear without it, for example, Data Co.
Cobol: Common Business-Oriented Language; Cobol on all references
CoCom: an informal abbreviation for Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Expert Controls
*Cocomo: Cost Constructive Model, a project-estimation system developed by Barry Boehm
Codasyl: Conference on Data Systems Languages, an obsolete organization devoted to developing a universal data system language for business; active from 1959 to about 1971
Codiac: centralized operation deterministic interface access control
colocate: locate together, as in putting two things close together to share common facilities
COM: Component Object Model
compiler: a program that translates code in a high-level language into instructions a machine can execute
complex-instruction-set computing: also CISC
compute: resist the tendency to use as an adjective or adverb. Use computationally intensive instead of compute-intensive and computation server instead of compute server.
Computer (magazine): not IEEE Computer
Computer Science Press: an imprint of W.H. Freeman; spell out the name to avoid confusion with CS Press.
Computer Society: Use the IEEE Computer Society on first reference; Computer Society without IEEE is acceptable on second reference.
Computer Society Press: CS Press is acceptable only if context makes association with IEEE Computer Society clear; use IEEE CS Press in reference lists.
Coons patch: a geometric term
copyleft: a general method for making a software program free and requiring all modified and extended versions of the program to be free software as well
copyright, ©: See the Copyrights, Trademarks, and Image Permissions section.
Corba: common object request broker architecture; initial cap only is recommended, but some periodicals use CORBA
Corp.: abbreviated when used in text as part of a company name; spelled out when used in a byline or biography. Generally used only if a company’s name might not be clear without it, for example, Logic Corp.
Cosmic Cube: supercomputer at the University of Illinois
cost-effective: always hyphenated
COTS: commercial off-the-shelf
counter-: prefix, not hyphenated
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences: an institute at New York University
CPA: Computer Press Association
CP/M, CP/M-86: two of many early operating systems
cpi: characters per inch
cpl: characters per line; spell it out
cps: characters per second, as in 125-cps printer
*CPU: central processing unit; plural is CPUs
Cray-1, Cray-2, Cray X-MP/24, Cray X-MP/48, Cray-MP: parallel processors from Cray Research (now Cray Inc.)
cross-assembler, cross-compiler: an assembler or compiler that assembles/ compiles code on one machine for use on another, normally incompatible, machine
crossbar (adj)
cross-hair cursor
cross section (n), cross-section (adj)
Crosstalk: communications software
cross validation (n), cross-validation (adj)
*CRT: cathode-ray tube; acceptable on first reference; use VDT when talking about video displays in general
CS: informal acronym for IEEE Computer Society; rarely used alone in publications
CSCW: computer-supported cooperative work
CSE: computational science and engineering; also, “computer science and engineering”
CSG: constructive solid geometry
CSI: Computer Security Institute
CSIC: customer-specific integrated circuit; pronounced “seasick”
CSMA/CA: carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance
CSnet: Computer Science Network. A network established to connect institutions that have Arpanet to each other and also to those that don’t. Merged with Bitnet in 1989.
CS Press: accepted abbreviation for IEEE Computer Society Press in references; must be preceded by IEEE
CSS: cascading stylesheets
CT: computerized tomography; a 3D-scanning technique (not CAT)
CURE: an algorithm
CUT: circuit under test
cyberattack, cybersecurity
* Denotes entries for which it is okay to use acronym or abbreviated term on first use
