Glossary
ac adapter
A connector that provides external power (not battery power) to your HP Jornada.
ACC XML file
An XML file that is used as input with the theme building tools to supply detailed information about the theme and its bitmaps. With ACC XML files, the theme building process no longer relies on information stored in the registry.
ACC-basic XML file
An XML file used during the theme building process that supplies detailed information about the theme. It is based on an ACC XML schema that arranges theme information, such as properties of a theme and the style properties associated with each control under a theme, into a document structure that is used by the theme compositor tools to generate an ACC-extended XML file and one or more composite bitmaps.
ACC-extended XML file
An XML file used during the theme building process that supplies detailed information about the theme and its bitmap chips. It includes the information originally in the ACC-basic XML file, plus additional XML elements that reference the composite bitmaps that were created by the theme compositor. It is used by the theme compiler to generate a theme (.thm) file.
ACCEL data structure
A data structure that defines an accelerator key used in an accelerator table.
accelerator editor
A resource editor that allows you to add, delete, change, or browse the shortcut key assignments for your project.
accelerator table
A Windows CE resource that contains a list of shortcut keys and the command identifiers associated with them.
Access Point Name (APN)
Name of the ISP, Operator WAP gateway or company intranet.
Access profile
A set of parameters for an employee or group of employees that determines the allowable access to data on the enterprise.
action button
A hardware navigation control on a Palm-size PC that functions like the ENTER key on a keyboard.
Active Channel
A Web site that has been enabled for Webcasting to information-receiving applications.
active control
In an environment capable of displaying multiple on-screen controls, the control that will be affected by current cursor movements, commands, and text entry.
Active Desktop
A technology delivered in Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer that allows you to include HTML documents, ActiveX controls, and Java language applets on your desktop.
active grammar
The subset of grammars created for your application that are available for a specific context.
active matrix display
A type of flat-panel display in which the screen is refreshed more frequently than in conventional passive-matrix displays. The most common type of active-matrix display is based on a technology known as TFT (thin film transistor). The two terms, active matrix and TFT, are often used interchangeably.
active notification
The state of a user notification from the time the user is notified until the user handles the event.
active project
In Platform Builder, the project that will be built when you use the Build or Rebuild All commands.
Active Server Pages (ASP)
An open application environment in which HTML pages, scripts, and ActiveX components are combined to create Web-based applications.
Active Template Library (ATL) for Windows CE
The Windows CE version of a C++ template library used to create ActiveX servers and other Component Object Model (COM) objects. ActiveX controls created with ATL are generally smaller and faster than those created with the Microsoft Foundation Classes. ATL for Windows CE supports most of the standard version of ATL, and includes additional items specific to Windows CE.
active window
In an environment capable of displaying multiple on-screen windows, the window containing the display or document that will be affected by current cursor movements, commands, and text entry.
ActiveSync
Software from Microsoft that manages data synchronization between your HP Jornada and desktop PC. You can specify the type of data you want to synchronize.
ActiveX
A set of technologies that enable software components to interact with one another in a networked environment, regardless of the language in which the components were created. ActiveX, which was developed as a proposed standard by Microsoft in the mid 1990s and is currently administered by the Open Group, is built on Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM). Currently, ActiveX is used primarily to develop interactive content for the World Wide Web, although it can be used in desktop applications and other applications. ActiveX controls can be embedded in Web pages to produce animation and other multimedia effects, interactive objects, and sophisticated applications.
ActiveX client
An application or tool that calls an ActiveX object.
ActiveX object
An exposed object of the Component Object Model (COM).
adaptable control
A type of control that can be built into the user interface of an automotive application and will be displayed differently on various WCEfA devices depending on the UI theme that is set by the automotive supplier.
Add-On Pack
The delivery vehicle for the DirectX and XML components. Installs on top of Platform Builder.
address card
The fundamental unit of record in the Contacts database. Each address card contains information about an individual, such as name and address.
address mask
A number that, when compared by the computer with a network address number, will block out, or mask, all but the necessary data. For example, bits in the address corresponding to one in the mask are used, but bits corresponding to zero are ignored.
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
A TCP/IP protocol for determining the hardware address, or physical address, of a node on a local area network connected to the Internet, when only the IP address, or logical address, is known. An ARP request is sent to the network, and the node that has the IP address responds with its hardware address. Although ARP technically refers only to finding the hardware address, and RARP, Reversed ARP, refers to the reverse procedure, ARP is commonly used for both senses.
Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA)
ANSI group X3T10's official name for the disk drive interface standard commonly known as Integrated Device Electronics (IDE). Also called an AT Attachment.
alpha channel
The opacity of an image defined by an alpha value per pixel interleaved with the color components (for example, ARGB), an alpha value per pixel stored in a separate alpha surface, or a constant alpha value for the entire surface.
alpha color component
The portion of a 32-bit color that determines its opacity. In this case, the alpha value per pixel is interleaved with the color components (for example, ARGB). Less commonly, this term can also refer to an image with an alpha value per pixel stored in a separate alpha surface.
alpha constant
A level of opacity (alpha value) applied to an entire surface.
alpha edge blend
A particular use of alpha blending, and alpha channel information, to reduce aliasing by blending edges based on pixel coverage information.
ambient light
A light source that illuminates everything in a scene, regardless of the orientation, position, and surface characteristics of the objects in the scene. Because this illuminates a scene with equal strength everywhere, the position and orientation of the frame it is attached to are inconsequential. Multiple ambient light sources are combined within a scene.
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
A voluntary, nonprofit organization of U.S. business and industry groups formed in 1918 for the development of trade and communication standards. ANSI is the American representative of the International Standards Organization and has developed recommendations for the use of programming languages including FORTRAN, C, and COBOL.
American Standard Code for Information Exchange (ASCII)
A coding scheme using 7 or 8 bits that assigns numeric values to up to 256 characters, including letters, numerals, punctuation marks, control characters, and other symbols. ASCII was developed in 1968 to standardize data transmission among disparate hardware and software systems and is built into most minicomputers and all personal computers.
Analog Digital Converter (ADC)
A device that converts an analog signal, such as a sound or voltage, to binary code for use by an automotive computing device. An Analog Digital Converter is a component of the media architecture that converts streams of analog multimedia data into digital format and routes the data to the ring buffer for further processing.
analog-to-digital converter (ADC)
A device that converts an analog signal, such as sound or voltage, to binary code for use by a computer.
anisotropic filtering
A mipmap filtering mode that compensates for anisotropy, which is the distortion visible in the texels of a 3-D object whose surface is oriented at an angle with respect to the plane of the screen. The anisotropy is measured as the elongation (length divided by width) of a screen pixel that is inverse-mapped into texture space.
anisotropy
The distortion visible in the image of a 3-D object whose surface is oriented at an angle with respect to the viewing plane.
annunciator
An icon placed onto the taskbar to indicate that a user notification is active. Although taskbars can contain multiple annunciator icons for different applications, only one instance of an icon for any given application is displayed at one time.
apartment threading model
A threading model that can be used only on the thread that created it.
APCCORE
A WCEfA project configuration that includes a base set of features that can be built into an automotive platform. With APCCORE, an automotive supplier can build a smaller WCEfA image by adding features to a minimal configuration, rather than by subtracting features from a maximum configuration.
APCMAX
The default WCEfA platform configuration. When you create a new platform, your platform should be based on the APCMAX platform.
apogee
The point within the orbit of a satellite where the satellite is farthest from the earth.
application notification
An application notification starts an application at a specified time or when a system event occurs. When an application starts as the result of a notification, the system specifies a command-line parameter that identifies the event that has occurred.
Application Programming Interface (API)
A set of routines used by an application to direct the performance of procedures by a computer's operating system. For computers running a graphical user interface, an API manages an application's windows, icons, menus, and dialog boxes.
Application Specific Standard Product (ASSP)
A validation process to determine whether or not a processor supports a given version of Windows CE. The ASSP validation process is designed to certify that Windows CE runs the same way on an ASSP as it does on an internally tested processor.
application switch
A hardware navigation control intended to launch or reactivate software applications.
application wizard
A wizard that automatically creates a set of starter files for a new component in a Platform Builder platform. Examples include the WCE Console Application Wizard and the Static Library Wizard.
application-defined message
A message created by an application to be used by its own windows or to communicate with windows in other processes. If an application creates its own message, the window procedure that receives the message must interpret it and provide the appropriate processing.
application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)
An integrated circuit designed to perform a particular function by defining the interconnection of a set of basic circuit-building blocks drawn from a library provided by the circuit manufacturer.
appointments
A program that stores the date and times for appointments. You can often view appointments for each day or even each week.
architecture
A blueprint that describes the way that a set of files, code components, and other computing elements interact in order to create a computing system.
argument of the perigee
The angle, as measured from the center of the earth, between the perigee and the ascending node of orbit of a satellite. The argument of the perigee must be a value between 0 and 2 pi radians.
ascending node
The point within the orbit of a satellite where the satellite crosses the earth's equatorial plane while travelling from south to north.
asynchronous operation
1. A process in a multitasking system whose execution can proceed independently, or in the background. Other processes may be started before the asynchronous process has finished.
2. A data transmission method that allows characters to be sent at irregular intervals over a line by preceding each character with a start bit and following it with a stop bit. Compare synchronous operation.
ATAPI
The interface used by the IBM PC AT system for accessing CD-ROM devices.
ATL for Windows CE
The Active Template Library for Windows CE.
attach
To connect multiple DirectDrawSurface objects into complex structures, like those needed to support 3-D Page Flipping and Back Buffering with z-buffers. Attachment is not bidirectional, and a surface cannot be attached to itself. Emulated surfaces, in system memory, cannot be attached to nonemulated surfaces. Unless one surface is a texture map, the two attached surfaces must be the same size.
audio application
An automotive application bundled with Windows CE for Automotive that adjusts audio output and enables users to control balance, fade, bass, tremble, center channel, subwoofer, surround sound, crossover filters, and equalizer settings.
audio driver model
The basic interface layer between the audio device drivers and the upper-layer application programming interfaces (APIs) and applications.
audio manager API
An API that enables you to coordinate communication with audio devices and control the flow of data from audio sources.
audio system
A full-featured, digital audio system. Compared to a conventional car audio system, the automotive audio system has more audio sound input sources, including an AM/FM radio tuner, a compact disc (CD) player, OS output, a microphone, USB, phone, and auxiliary input devices.
audio/tuner test tool
A tool in the AAK that provides audio and tuner tests intended to test the Audio API and the Tuner API.
Authenticated access
Access to data that is allowed only after the user has been identified by a password or other security measure.
authentication
1. The process of verifying that a message comes from its stated source.
2. The process of verifying the identity or access level of a user, computer, or application.
auto indent
A Platform Builder feature that indents your source code using the default tab and indent sizes set on the Tabs tab.
auto PC
A computing device installed in the dashboard of an automobile that provides an advanced multimedia, information, communications, and safety solution to the automobile driver.
Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS)
Integration of hardware and software that allows you to automatically track moving objects (such as vehicles, people, and weather) in real time using maps displayed on your computer monitor. The hardware side of APRS requires an Amateur Radio station, a packet radio TNC, and a computer to run the APRS software. For accurate APRS operation, many APRS stations also include a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver in their station.
automatic update
An operating system image update mechanism, provided by the dial-up boot loader, that is designed to be used by users and field technicians. The operating system image is downloaded using a modem connection.
automation
A technology based on the Component Object Model (COM) that enables interoperability among ActiveX components.
Automotive Adaptation Kit (AAK)
The automotive adaptation kit is the packaged set of WCEfA OS components, tools, sample code, and documentation that is delivered to the automotive supplier, providing the automotive supplier with all the required elements for building a WCEfA platform for an automotive computing device.
automotive common controls
A packaged set of services and COM objects that make it easy for both the automotive supplier and the application developer to design and implement a graphical and speech interface for an automotive computing device.
automotive event code
A soft-coded value that tells the system what should happen when a user presses a graphical control or a faceplate key on the bezel. Automotive event codes are used by various system and user interface components to flag and handle key events.
automotive graphical controls
A packaged set of services and COM objects that make it easier for both the automotive supplier and the application developer to design and implement a user interface of an automotive computing device.
automotive media system
A system that includes the set of components and media technologies that provide the architecture to support full-featured multimedia services on an automotive computing device.
automotive platform
The generic term referring to the operating system of an in-vehicle computing device. The Microsoft version of an automotive platform is Windows CE for Automotive. WCEfA is based on the earlier Windows CE operating system, but is customized to support features specific to the automotive environment.
automotive speech controls
A packaged set of services and COM objects that enable an application developer to build an integrated, cross-application speech system for an automotive computing device.
autoscroll
The action of navigating a graphical list when "focus" moves down from the first or last item. Autoscroll allows the user to navigate list items without being required to move "focus" to a scrolling control.
Auxiliary Function Driver (AFD)
The Windows CE communication protocol manager.