Posts made by Kai

Extensible is an IT term used to describe something that can be extended or expanded from its initial state. It typically refers to software, such as a program or file format, though it can also be used to describe a programming language itself.
An extensible software program, for example, might support add-ons or plug-ins that add extra functionality to the program. It may also allow you to add custom functions or macros that perform specialized tasks within the application. An extensible file format (like XML) can be customized with user-defined elements.
If a programming language is extensible, it may support custom syntax and operations. These custom elements can be defined in the source code and are recognized by the compiler along with the pre-defined elements. Examples of extensible programming languages include Ruby, Lua, and XL.
While the terms scalable and extensible are sometimes used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. Scalability can refer to hardware, software, or an entire IT system, such as a cloud-based service. Extensibility, on the other hand, is almost always used to describe software and refers specifically to its extendable capabilities. For instance, a software program that supports plugins is extensible, but not necessarily scalable. A server rack that has several empty slots for future use may be considered scalable, but is not extensible.

An exception (short for exceptional event) is an error or unexpected event that happens while a program is running. When an exception occurs, it interrupts the flow of the program. If the program can handle and process the exception, it may continue running. If an exception is not handled, the program may be forced to quit.
Multiple programming languages support exceptions, though they are used in different ways. For example, exceptions are an integral part of the Java language and are often to control the flow of a program. Java includes an Exception class, which has dozens of subclasses, such as TimeoutException, UserException, and IOException. Subclasses like IOException contain more specific exceptions like FileNotFoundException and CharacterCodingException that can be thrown if a file is not found or the character encoding of a string is not recognized.
Other languages only use exceptions to catch fundamental runtime errors, such as failure allocating memory or system-level errors. For example, a C program may throw the bad_alloc exception when memory cannot be allocated and the system_error exception when the operating system produces an error.
A well-written computer program checks for exceptions and handles them appropriately. This means the developer must check for likely exceptions and write code to process them. If a program handles exceptions well, unexpected errors can be detected and managed without crashing the program.
Exceptions are thrown when then occur and are caught by some other code in the program. They can be thrown explicitly using the throw statement or implicitly within a try clause. Below is an example of try / catch syntax in Java. The following code attempts to divide by zero, but throws an ArithmeticException exception and returns 0 as the result.

1. int a = 11; 2. int b = 0; 3. int result = 0; 4. try { 5.   int c = a / b; 6.   result = c; 7. } catch(ArithmeticException ex) { 8.   result = 0; 9. }10. return result;
   An exception is thrown on line 5 (when 11 is divided by 0), so the remainder of the try statement (line 6) is not executed. Instead, the exception is caught on line 7 and a result of 0 is returned.

El Capitan is the 12th version of Apple OS X, also known as OS X 10.11. It was released on September 30, 2015 and succeeded OS X 10.10 Yosemite. It was followed by OS X 10.12 Sierra.
OS X 10.11 was not a significant update to Apples operating system, but it included a number of performance updates. It was the first version to include Metal, a graphics technology developed by Apple that accelerates Core Animation and Core Graphics processing. Metal makes full use of the CPU and GPU, boost system-level rendering by up to 50 percent. El Capitan also added System Integrity Protection (SIP), which protects files and directories from unauthorized modification.
While El Capitan was primarily a performance update to OS X, it did include a few new features. For example, it introduced split view for windows, which snaps a window to half the screens width when you press and hold the green zoom button in the title bar. It also introduced text formatting in the Notes app and improved syncing with Notes and other applications that support iCloud. OS X 10.11 also added support for numerous gestures in Mail, Messages, and Safari. These gestures, such as swiping back or forward with more than one finger can done using the trackpad on a laptop or an external input device, such as Apples Magic Trackpad.
NOTE: El Capitan is a rock formation within Yosemite National Park in California. Apple likely chose this name for OS X 10.11 since El Capitan was designed to be a refinement to Yosemite (10.10), rather than a major update.

Stands for Domain Name System. Domain names serve as memorizable names for websites and other services on the Internet. However, computers access Internet devices by their IP addresses. DNS translates domain names into IP addresses, allowing you to access an Internet location by its domain name.
Thanks to DNS, you can visit a website by typing in the domain name rather than the IP address. For example, to visit the Tech Terms Computer Dictionary, you can simply type techterms.com in the address bar of your web browser rather than the IP address (67.43.14.98). It also simplifies email addresses, since DNS translates the domain name (following the @ symbol) to the appropriate IP address.
To understand how DNS works, you can think of it like the contacts app on your smartphone. When you call a friend, you simply select his or her name from a list. The phone does not actually call the person by name, it calls the persons phone number. DNS works the same way by associating a unique IP address with each domain name.
Unlike your address book, the DNS translation table is not stored in a single location. Instead, the data is stored on millions of servers around the world. When a domain name is registered, it must be assigned at least two nameservers (which can be edited through the domain name registrar at any time). The nameserver addresses point to a server that has a directory of domain names and their associated IP addresses. When a computer accesses a website over the Internet, it locates the corresponding nameserver and gets the correct IP address for the website.
Since DNS translation creates additional overhead when connecting to websites, ISPs cache DNS records and host the data locally. Once the IP address of a domain name is cached, an ISP can automatically direct subsequent requests to the appropriate IP address. This works great until an IP address changes, in which case the request may be sent to the wrong server or the server will not respond at all. Therefore, DNS caches are updated regularly, usually somewhere between a few hours and a few days.

Stands for Double Data Rate 2. DDR2 RAM is an improved version of DDR memory that is faster and more efficient. Like standard DDR memory, DDR2 memory can send data on both the rising and falling edges of the processors clock cycles. This nearly doubles the amount of work the RAM can do in a given amount of time. DDR and DDR2 are also both types of SDRAM, which allows them to run faster than conventional memory.

While DDR and DDR2 have many similarities, DDR2 RAM uses a different design than DDR memory. The improved design allows DDR2 RAM to run faster than standard DDR memory. The modified design also gives the RAM more bandwidth, which means more data can be passed through the RAM chip at one time. This increases the efficiency of the memory. Since DDR2 runs more efficiently than standard DDR memory, it actually uses less power than DDR memory, even though it runs faster. The only downside of DDR2 memory is that it is not compatible with standard DDR slots. So make sure your computer supports DDR2 RAM before upgrading your memory.

There are bullies and then there are cyberbullies. While bullying typically happens at school or work, cyberbullying takes place over cyberspace. This includes both Internet and cell phone communication. Like physical bullying, cyberbullying is aimed at younger people, such as children and teenagers. It may involve harassing, threatening, embarrassing, or humiliating young people online.
Cyberbullying can take many forms. The following are just a few examples:
NOTE: Technically, cyberbullying takes place between two young people. When adults are involved, it may be called cyber-harassment or cyberstalking.

When programmers create software programs, they first write the program in source code, which is written in a specific programming language, such as C or Java. These source code files are saved in a text-based, human-readable format, which can be opened and edited by programmers. However, the source code cannot be run directly by the computer. In order for the code to be recognized by the computers CPU, it must be converted from source code (a high-level language) into machine code (a low-level language). This process is referred to as compiling the code.
Most software development programs include a compiler, which translates source code files into machine code or object code. Since this code can be executed directly by the computers processor, the resulting application is often referred to as an executable file. Windows executable files have a .EXE file extension, while Mac OS X programs have an .APP extension, which is often hidden.

Stands for Compact Disc Recordable. CD-R discs are blank CDs that can record data written by a CD burner. The word recordable is used because CD-Rs are often used to record audio, which can be played back by most CD players. However, many other kinds of data can also be written to a CD-R, so the discs are also referred to as writable CDs.
The data burned onto a CD-R disc is permanent, meaning it can not be altered or erased like the data on a hard drive. Typically, once a CD has been burned, it will not be able to record any more data. Some CD burning programs can record data as sessions, allowing a disc to be written to mulitple times until it is full. Each session creates a new partition on the disc, meaning a computer will read a disc with multiple sessions as multiple discs. CD-RWs, on the other hand, can be erased and completely re-recorded. Like CDs, the data on CD-RWs cannot be altered, meaning the disc has to be completely erased each time you want to add new data.

Useing hate to cover up emotions instead of dealing with them.

The term bespoke comes from England where it originally referred to custom or tailor-made clothing. In recent years, however, the term has been applied to information technology (IT), and refers to custom services or products.
For example, bespoke software is software customized for a specific purpose. Bespoke programs may include custom accounting software for a certain company or a network monitoring tool for a specific network. Because bespoke software is custom-made for a specific purpose, bespoke programs are also considered vertical market software.
Another area where bespoke is used in the computer industry is in reference to websites. A bespoke website is one that is custom-built, often from scratch, to suit the needs of a business or organization. This may include a custom layout, custom database integration, and other extra features the client may require. Because bespoke websites must be individually tailored to a clients needs, they often take longer to develop and are more expensive than websites built from templates.
Finally, bespoke can also be used to refer to hardware. Computer companies, such as Dell, HP, and Apple may provide customers with custom options for the systems they buy. For example, one person may choose to build his system with a high-end graphics card for video production, while another person may choose a basic graphics card, but may add additional RAM so her computer will be able to run several programs at once. These custom configurations are sometimes referred to as bespoke systems.

An assembler is a program that converts assembly language into machine code. It takes the basic commands and operations from assembly code and converts them into binary code that can be recognized by a specific type of processor.
Assemblers are similar to compilers in that they produce executable code. However, assemblers are more simplistic since they only convert low-level code (assembly language) to machine code. Since each assembly language is designed for a specific processor, assembling a program is performed using a simple one-to-one mapping from assembly code to machine code. Compilers, on the other hand, must convert generic high-level source code into machine code for a specific processor.
Most programs are written in high-level programming languages and are compiled directly to machine code using a compiler. However, in some cases, assembly code may be used to customize functions and ensure they perform in a specific way. Therefore, IDEs often include assemblers so they can build programs from both high and low-level languages.

An archive is a single file that contains multiple files and/or folders. Archives may be created by several different file archiving utilities and can be saved in one of several different formats. They may also be compressed to reduce the file size or encrypted for security purposes. The term archive can also be used as a verb, which refers to the process of creating an archive.
Archives are useful for consolidating multiple files and folders into a single file. They are commonly used for backing up data and transferring multiple files between users. For example, a Web developer may save all the HTML, CSS, and image files for a website in a single archive to share with graphic designer. By consolidating all the files in an archive, the developer only needs to send one file to the designer. If the archive is compressed, it will also take less time to transfer online.
In order to open the files in an archive, they must first be extracted from the archive. Compressed archives must also be decompressed before the files can be extracted. Both of these processes can be performed using a compatible file decompression utility, such as WinZip, StuffIt Expander, WinRAR, or 7-Zip. These programs support multiple standard archive formats, as well their own proprietary compressed file types.
Some common archive formats include Zip files, StuffIt archives, and TAR files. Zip files use a standard archive format that is supported by several file decompression programs. StuffIt archives are saved in a proprietary format that can only be opened using StuffIt Expander on Macintosh and Windows systems. TAR files are uncompressed archives that are typically created on Unix systems.
File Extensions: .ZIP, .ZIPX .SIT, .SITX, .TAR, .TGZ, .RAR

One who is brazen, fearless or disregards the consequences of his/her actions. Crazy, Overconfident, Ill.
Origin:Charlotte, NC - the QC - the Queen City