M
µ: mu; see mu and micro- entries
M: SI prefix for million or mega (40-Mbyte hard disk, 12 Mbytes of memory)
m: one one-thousandth or milli- (18 mm)
mA: milliampere (20-mA current loop, 20 mA)
MAA: Mathematical Association of America
MAC: media access control
MacDraw, MacPaint, MacWrite
Macintosh: computer from Apple
Macro II: Digital Equipment Corp. assembly language
macro- (prefix): not hyphenated when used to form a compound (macroassembler); exception is when a double “o” occurs, for example, macro-object
Macsyma: a symbolic manipulation program developed at MIT
mainframe: a computer housed in a large frame or cabinet, usually used for multiuser applications, which usually requires a temperature-controlled environment and special power supply. Examples are the Digital Equipment Corporation VAX and IBM System 370 computers; saying “mainframe computer” is redundant.
makefile
MAN: metropolitan area network
manet: mobile ad hoc network; in Transactions, MANET
man-hour, man-month, man-year (nouns): try to use a non-gender-specific term, such as staff-hour
man-in-the-middle attack; MITM attack
MAP: Manufacturing Automation Protocol; MAP/TOP: Manufacturing Automation Protocol/Technical Office Protocol; communications standards supported by General Motors and Boeing; both standards follow OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) protocols
market research firm
markup (adj, n)
mashup (n); mash up (v)
master’s degree
master slice (n): a nonmetalized wafer containing arrays of circuit elements interconnected to perform different functions
matrices: preferred over matrixes in a mathematical context; in other contexts such as structural composition, use matrixes; example: matrixes of materials
Matlab
matrix, -es: see matrices
MCM: multichip module
MB: megabyte; use Mbyte (40-Mbyte hard disk, 12 Mbytes of memory)
Mb: megabit; use Mbit or spell out
Mbit: megabit; use Mbit or spell out
Mbps: megabits per second (spell out on first use); Mbps, not MBPS
Mbone: multicast backbone; Internet broadcasting technology
Mbyte: megabyte (40-Mbyte hard disk, 12 Mbytes of memory)
MCAE: mechanical computer-aided engineering
MEMS: microelectromechanical systems
MEPS: millions of events per second
meta- (prefix): not hyphenated when used to form a compound (metarule)
Mflops: megaflops; million floating-point operations per second
MHEG: Multimedia and Hypermedia Experts Group
MHz: megahertz (50-MHz channel, 50 MHz)
micro, micros: acceptable as nouns when referring to microcomputers
micro- (prefix): one-millionth part of a specified unit (microgram); not hyphenated when used to form a compound (microelectronics)
micro-BGA: micro-ball-grid array
microCAD, microCADD: computer-aided design and computer-aided design and drafting performed on a microcomputer—no longer relevant since most CAD/CADD is performed on microcomputers
microelectromechanical: one word, no hyphens or capitals; often seen as microelectromechanical systems, abbreviated as MEMS
micrometer (µm): SI abbreviation for one-millionth part of a meter; accepted abbreviation is µ
micron: millionth part of a meter, but SI term is micrometer; usage varies, for example, micron is used in integrated circuit production; can also be written as µ
microphotograph: small photograph normally magnified for viewing (such as microfilm). The field is called micrographics. Do not confuse with “photomicrograph,” a magnified picture of small things.
microsecond (µs): SI abbreviation is ms; the letter “u” is not a replacement. If a Greek font is not available, spell out as mu. In magazines, spelled-out form is preferred, at least on first reference, except perhaps in tables.
MicroVAX, MicroVAX II, MicroVMS
mid: Check Webster’s for preferred format.
middle-out design
midframe: a computer housed in a small frame or cabinet, usually used for multiuser applications, that does not require a temperature-controlled environment or special power supply; saying “midframe computer” is redundant
*MIDI: musical instrument digital interface
millisecond: abbreviation is ms
Milnet: along with Arpanet, the main constituent of the Defense Data Network (DDN); Minet is the European split-off from Milnet
Mil-Std: military standard; not the same as DoD-Std
MIMD: multiple instruction, multiple data. Pronounced “mimdee” and takes “a” as its article; spell out on first use unless context dictates otherwise; add hyphens when used as a modifier
*MIME: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions
MIMO: multiple input, multiple output
mini- (prefix): not hyphenated when used to form a compound (minicartridges)
MiniDIP: trademark name for a dual in-line package
MINX: Multimedia Information Network Exchange
MIP mapping: multiple texture mapping technique
MIPS: million instructions per second; also, MIPS Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of SGI; use full name when context requires it
*MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; spell out on first use if context dictates
MITI: Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry
MITRE: preferred format for this company’s name (Format/Font/Small Caps)
mL: millilambert
ml: milliliter (5-ml strip, 0.5 ml)
mm: millimeter (35-mm film, 0.5 mm)
MMOG: massively multiplayer online game
MMU: memory management unit
MobiCom: For 1999 and before, the conference acronym format is MobiCom 99; for 2000 and afterwards, the format is MobiCom 2000. The full conference name is, for example, 6th Ann. Int’l Conf. Mobile Computing and Networking (MobiCom 2000), 2000.
mockup: (n, adj)
MODFET: modulation doped field-effect transistor
Modus: Modula-2 Users Assoc.
Moore’s law: a theory predicting that the number of transistors on a chip doubles as technology advances
MOPS: million operations per second
Morgan Kaufmann: publisher
MOS (adj): metal-oxide-semiconductor
MOSFET: metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor
MOSI: Microprocessor Operating Systems Interface, IEEE Standard 855-1990
mother: one of several family words used to describe relationships among nodes in databases; preferred usage is gender-neutral parent; however, do not change without checking with author
motherboard: a circuit board into which various processor boards are plugged
Motorola: do not follow with “Inc.” as there is confusion in the company about whether “Inc.” or “Corp.” is appropriate, even though company stationery uses “Inc.” Use the MC prefix when referring to the specific microprocessor from Motorola, for example, MC68030. Use M68000 when referring to the family of devices that share the M68000 architecture.
Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG): family of standards for coding audio-visual information
*MP3, MP4: audio file formats
*MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-3, MPEG-4
MPI: message passing interface
MPU: microprocessing unit
MPW: an Apple development environment for the Mac
MRI: magnetic resonance imaging
ms: millisecond
*MS-DOS: Microsoft’s version of DOS; see also DOS
MSI: medium-scale integration
MSPS: million searches per second
MTBF: mean time between failures
MTTR: mean time to repair, mean time to restore
MTU: maximum transmission unit
mu (µ): Greek letter used as a symbol for micron
multi- (prefix): Do not hyphenate when used to form a compound, except with “double-i” combinations (multimeter; multi-integral).
Multibus, Multibus II: Intel trademarks; IEEE 796 is the multibus standard
multiplexer (n)
MUT: module under test
mux: multiplexer; muxes (plural): spell out on first reference
MVP: matrix-vector product, the primary operation around which supercomputers are designed
MVS: an IBM mainframe operating system
MW: megawatt (2 MW, 2-MW system)
mW: milliwatt (200 mW, 200-mW system)
Mycin: an expert system that can be programmed with knowledge databases for different domains
N
9/07 Xen: open source virtualization software
9/11; September 11, 2001
n: SI prefix for one billionth or nano (100 ns)
n: variable designation for an integer; italicized
N.: “north” in addresses
NAA: formerly the National Association of Accountants; reincarnated as the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)
namespace
nano- (prefix): one billionth; do not use hyphen (nanoseconds, 100 ns)
narrow band (n), narrow-band (adj): however, according to the IEEE Dictionary of Electrical and Electronic Terms, narrowband or narrow band are used as adjectives in some contexts.
*NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C.
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Dryden Research Center, Edwards AFB, Calif.
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Jet Propulsion Lab, Pasadena, Calif.
Johnson Space Flight Center, Houston
Kennedy Space Flight Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
NASA Massively Parallel Processor
NAT: network address translator
NBS: National Bureau of Standards, an agency of the US Commerce Dept.; obsolete, now known as NIST
NC: numerical control
NCCCD: National Center for Computer Crime Data
NCGA: National Computer Graphics Association
n-channel; n-channel device: insulated-gate field-effect transistor where source and drain are regions of n-type conductivity
NCSA: National Center for Supercomputing Applications
nCube: in preference to nCUBE or nCUBE
NCP: Network-Control Protocol
.NET
NetBIOS: a product that provides basic I/O services for a network; do not use as a synonym for “network BIOS” or “LAN BIOS,” which are generic terms for a BIOS designed for a local area network
Netherlands: not necessary to use the
netlist (n, adj): a list of the pin connections (pin network) that appear on a printed circuit board
newsfeed
Newton-Raphson: a well-known algorithm for solving equations
Next: computer company started by Steve Jobs; do not use logo form, NeXT
NFS: Network File System (from Sun Microsystems’ application, SunSoft)
NGSCB: Microsoft’s next-generation secure computing base
NIST: US National Institute of Standards and Technology; formerly NBS
nm: nanometer
NMOS: n-channel metal oxide semiconductor
no.: abbreviation for number; nos. (plural)
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency in the US Dept. of Commerce; although sometimes pronounced “noah,” it takes an as an article, as if each letter were pronounced (“an NOAA study”)
NoD: news on demand
node: family words—mother, daughter, child—are used to describe relationships among nodes in databases; the terms are legitimate—don’t try to edit them out
non- (prefix): not usually hyphenated; be flexible with words that are difficult to read, for example, non-negligible, non-real-time mode
non–von Neumann: see von Neumann; in this case, an en-dash is recommended over a hyphen
NP-hard; NP-complete: classes of difficult problems
ns: nanoseconds (3,000 ns)
NSA: National Security Agency
NSERC: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council; a Canadian research agency similar to the US National Science Foundation
NSF: US National Science Foundation; NSF is acceptable on second reference or on first reference in the acknowledgment section of a feature when used with grant number
NSFnet
NSPE: National Society of Professional Engineers
NuBus
Numbers and Symbols: see special section and CMS, Section 9
NTSC: National TV Standards Committee; note: committee and standard use same acronym
NURBS: nonuniform rational B-spline
Nvidia
NW: “northwest” in addresses, no periods
NYU/IBM Ultracomputer
O
OASI: Office Automation Society International
OASIS: Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards; www.oasis-open.org
Object Management Group: OMG
Object Modeling Technique: OMT
object orientation
object-oriented (OO): an approach to programming that stresses the creation of functions (objects) that are linked in various relationships, usually in hierarchies, to provide the desired functionality; compare with traditional approaches such as imperative programming, which stresses actions to be taken rather than relationships between objects
Objective-C: a computer language
Occam: language used by Inmos for its transputer chip
OCR: optical character recognition; the machine is an OCR scanner
octree: a tree structure that describes the division of a cubic region into smaller cubes
OCX: optical cross-connect
ODBC: open database connectivity
OEM: original equipment manufacturer
OFDM: orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing
off-chip (adj)
offline: all uses, as in the printer is offline, offline equipment
offload, offscreen, offsite
ohm (n): a unit of electrical resistance
OIL: ontology inference layer; see also DAML+OIL
okay
OLAP: online analytical processing
OLE: object linking and embedding; a Microsoft item
OLED: organic light-emitting diode
OLTP: online transaction processing
OMG: Object Management Group
Omnimax (n, adj): a stereoscopic, eggshell-shaped theater
OMT: object modeling technique
ONA: Open Network Architecture
onboard: all uses, as in onboard regulation
on-chip (adj): as in on-chip logic
online: all uses, as in the printer is online, online equipment
onscreen, onsite
ONR: US Office of Naval Research
OO: object-oriented
op amp: operation amplifier; spell out in text on first use
opcode (n): operation code
OpenGL: a graphics programming language
open-loop (adj): as in an open-loop program
open loop (n): a system in which there is no feedback mechanism for self-correction as there is in a closed loop
open source (n, adj)
order-of-magnitude (adj)
ORB: object request broker
ORSA: merged with the Institute of Management Sciences in 1995 to become the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)
orthogonal: In linear algebra, the term describes a set of vectors that are independent, in that no element is a linear combination of the others. In programming, the term is used more loosely to refer to independent—although possibly related—concepts.
OS: operating system
OSI: open systems interconnection; a concept whereby different vendors’ products work together
OSPF: Open Shortest Path First Protocol
out queue (n), out-queue (adj)
OWL: Web Ontology Language
* OK to use acronym or abbreviation on first reference.
