vera.texi

\input texinfo
@c %**start of header
@setfilename vera.info
@settitle V.E.R.A@. --- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms
@setchapternewpage on
@c %**end of header

@c Last edited: 03 June 2006

@c Not used @. cause it results in a 'registered trademark'
@c sign in my Info environment.
@c The following seems not to work in TeX with my emTeX for OS/2
@c Have set @noindent in the textual chapters
@c @paragraphindent none
@paragraphindent 0


@c Variables that (may) change with each edition
@set EDITION Edition 1.17
@set NONGNUEDITION 7.2
@set RELEASE June 2006
@set ACTYEAR 2006
@set ACRONYMCOUNT 11024
@set FOLDOCURL http://foldoc.org/ (as of June 2006)
@set ACTMAINTAINER Oliver Heidelbach
@set MAINTAINEMAIL <ohei [at] snafu . de>
@set AUTHOREMAIL <ohei [at] snafu . de>
@c End of variables

@dircategory Information
@direntry
* VERA:  (vera).        Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms
@end direntry

@ifinfo
This is a special GNU edition of V.E.R.A.,
a list dealing with computational acronyms.@*
Copyright @copyright{} 1993/@value{ACTYEAR} Oliver Heidelbach@*
@value{AUTHOREMAIL} @*
<ohei [at] snafu de>

Please send corrections to @value{ACTMAINTAINER} @value{MAINTAINEMAIL}.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with 
no Back-Cover Texts.
A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU FDL''.

Within the above restrictions the distribution of this
document is explicitly encouraged and I hope you'll find
it of some value.

This dictionary has nothing to do with Systems Science Inc. 
or its products.

@end ifinfo


@titlepage
@sp 10
@c The title is printed in a large font.
@title V.E.R.A.
@subtitle @b{Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms}
@sp 1
@subtitle An overview of
@subtitle common and not so common acronyms
@subtitle in the field of computing
@sp 1
@subtitle @value{EDITION} (Texinfo)
@subtitle Released @value{RELEASE}


@c The following two commands start the copyright page.
@page
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
Special GNU edition of V.E.R.A. @*
Released @value{RELEASE} @*
Currently maintained by @value{ACTMAINTAINER} @value{MAINTAINEMAIL}
@sp 2
   
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with 
no Back-Cover Texts.
A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU FDL''.

This dictionary has nothing to do with Systems Science Inc. 
or its products.

Copyright @copyright{} 1993/@value{ACTYEAR} Oliver Heidelbach
@end titlepage


@iftex
@headings off
@everyheading @thistitle @| @| page @thispage
@everyfooting @value{EDITION} @| @| @today{}
@end iftex


@node Top, 0, (dir), (dir)
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@iftex
@chapter Foreword to the printed edition
@cindex Foreword to the printed edition
@cindex Printed edition, Foreword to the
@cindex Structure of this document (printed version)
@noindent
@strong{V.E.R.A. --- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms}

@noindent
If you had decided to print this document with @TeX{}, you
are probably missing the introduction normally found at this place. 
Because this document is mainly designed to be used online, the
important information, i.e. the acronym list, comes first.

@noindent
Please see @ref{About}, for some kind of introduction to this document.
You will find more information in the following chapters:

@table @asis
@item @ref{Format}.
The systematic approach of the acronym list.
@item @ref{Acronym}.
A definition of the word "acronym".
@item @ref{History}
News, changes, requests and other release related information
@item @ref{Acknowledgments}.
A list of contributors and other credits.
@item @ref{Disclaimer}.
Please read before printing, copying or distributing.
@item @ref{GNU FDL}.
The GNU Free Documentation License.
@end table

@noindent
The @ref{Index}, will of course be an invaluable help if you
ever should be looking for something else than an acronym.

@end iftex
@ifinfo
@cindex Online overview
@cindex Overview, Online
@strong{V.E.R.A. --- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms}
@sp 2
   @ref{0}.   @ref{A}.   @ref{B}.   @ref{C}.   @ref{D}.
@sp 1
   @ref{E}.   @ref{F}.   @ref{G}.   @ref{H}.   @ref{I}.  
@sp 1
   @ref{J}.   @ref{K}.   @ref{L}.   @ref{M}.   @ref{N}.
@sp 1
   @ref{O}.   @ref{P}.   @ref{Q}.   @ref{R}.   @ref{S}.
@sp 1
   @ref{T}.   @ref{U}.   @ref{V}.   @ref{W}.   @ref{X}.
@sp 1
   @ref{Y}.   @ref{Z}.
@sp 1

@c Note: all acronyms nodes go in the first place, so that
@c Info searches do not stop at the examples nodes.
@c This may not be book-like, but is definitely more convenient.
To search for an acronym type @kbd{s ^@emph{ACRONYM}}.

@menu
* About::               What is V.E.R.A.?
* Format::              Systematic approach of the acronym list (if any)
* Acronym::             Definition of the word @emph{acronym}
* History::             News, changes, requests, @dots{}
* Acknowledgments::     List of contributors and other credits
* Disclaimer::          Please read before printing, copying or the like
* GNU FDL::             The full legalese for copying and distributing
* Help on: (info).      Getting used to the Info browsing system
* Index::
@end menu

@flushright
@value{EDITION} (Texinfo)
Released @value{RELEASE}
@end flushright
@end ifinfo


@node 0, A, Top, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- 0 ---
@cindex 0, Acronyms beginning with
@cindex Numbers, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.0


@node A, B, 0, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- A ---
@cindex A, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.a


@node B, C, A, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- B ---
@cindex B, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.b


@node C, D, B, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- C ---
@cindex C, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.c


@node D, E, C, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- D ---
@cindex D, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.d


@node E, F, D, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- E ---
@cindex E, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.e


@node F, G, E, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- F ---
@cindex F, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.f


@node G, H, F, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- G ---
@cindex G, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.g


@node H, I, G, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- H ---
@cindex H, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.h


@node I, J, H, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- I ---
@cindex I, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.i


@node J, K, I, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- J ---
@cindex J, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.j


@node K, L, J, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- K ---
@cindex K, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.k


@node L, M, K, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- L ---
@cindex L, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.l


@node M, N, L, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- M ---
@cindex M, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.m


@node N, O, M, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- N ---
@cindex N, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.n


@node O, P, N, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- O ---
@cindex O, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.o


@node P, Q, O, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- P ---
@cindex P, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.p


@node Q, R, P, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- Q ---
@cindex Q, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.q


@node R, S, Q, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- R ---
@cindex R, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.r


@node S, T, R, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- S ---
@cindex S, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.s


@node T, U, S, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- T ---
@cindex T, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.t


@node U, V, T, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- U ---
@cindex U, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.u


@node V, W, U, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- V ---
@cindex V, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.v


@node W, X, V, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- W ---
@cindex W, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.w


@node X, Y, W, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- X ---
@cindex X, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.x


@node Y, Z, X, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- Y ---
@cindex Y, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.y


@node Z, About , Y, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@unnumbered --- Z ---
@cindex Z, Acronyms beginning with

@include vera.z


@node About, Format, Z, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@chapter About@dots{}
@cindex What is V.E.R.A.?
@cindex V.E.R.A., What is it?
@cindex About V.E.R.A.

@ifinfo
@strong{V.E.R.A. --- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms}

@end ifinfo
@noindent
V.E.R.A. is a free list of acronyms all of which are used in the field
of computing.

@noindent
V.E.R.A. is primarily meant to be used as an online reference,
although some efforts have been taken to make its @TeX{} output
looking acceptable.  However I doubt that somebody would like to print
it.  The original release compiled to 250 pages.

@noindent
This edition is a special contribution to the GNU project
similar to the version @value{NONGNUEDITION} of V.E.R.A.  It contains approximately
@value{ACRONYMCOUNT} acronyms.

@noindent
The idea to make V.E.R.A. available in Texinfo format came after reading
two other Info files both of which are available on the Internet, the
@emph{Standards} and the @emph{Languages} file, both dealing with
antique DEC mainframe environments and both distributed stand-alone;
that is, both are not serving as a software manual like most of Texinfo
files. I thought it would be very handy to have a list of acronyms
available while using Emacs.

@noindent
It may be considered only a very little contribution.  However
I make it to express my appreciation for the GNU project and its
philosophy.  This project does not only make software available free to
everyone, it also seems that it sets the only standard `everyone'
supports nowadays.

@noindent
I started V.E.R.A. around easter 1993.  The ASCII version is being
posted to the German=speaking newsgroups @emph{z-netz.alt.listen} and
@emph{de.etc.lists} every three months.  It is not being posted to an
international newsgroup, because the introduction as well as many
internal references are only available in German.

@noindent
Please note that the original version of V.E.R.A. is not related to the
to the Free Software Foundation or the GNU project at all.

@noindent
The list is far from being complete as dozens of new acronyms evolve
every month.  Also I am not an every day Unix user, so I am pretty sure
that a lot of acronyms from the Unix world are missing.  The same is true
for the Apple world.  Please don't be angry if your field of computing
seems little or not represented at all. Instead please consider
contributing the missing acronyms to let other people share what you
know.

@noindent
The shift from the original format of V.E.R.A. to Texinfo format took a
whole week.  Please forgive any errors which still remain.  For hints
how to submit corrections or to report bugs, please see @ref{History}.

@noindent
For a more in-depth discussion of some of the more common acronyms
contained in this document you may want to consider visiting the
@emph{Free Online Dictionary of Computing (FOLDOC)}, at least if you
have access to the World Wide Web.  It can be found at
@value{FOLDOCURL}.


@node Format, Acronym, About, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@chapter List format
@cindex Acronyms, Common style of
@cindex Approach, Systematic
@cindex Common style of acronyms
@cindex Format used
@cindex German umlauts
@cindex List format
@cindex Systematic approach
@cindex Umlauts, German
@cindex Used format
@ifinfo
@cindex Searching for acronyms (online)
@cindex Acronyms , Searching for (online)

@strong{V.E.R.A. --- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms}

@end ifinfo
@noindent
Some notes on the systematic approach of the acronym list:

@noindent
Because often acronyms are being referenced not very unique in style,
the acronyms in V.E.R.A. do not contain any special characters; only
characters and numbers are used.  Please remember this, when you are
searching for acronyms.

@noindent
German umlauts are expressed with AE, ae, OE, oe, UE, ue and ss.

@noindent
Examples:

@noindent
ASN.1 = ASN1 @*
@noindent
OS/2 = OS2 @*
@noindent
DFUE, Foerderung, Grossforschungseinrichtung, @dots{}

@noindent
What is thought to be the common style can be found at the end of
the line(s) in quotation marks.

@noindent
Examples:

@table @asis
@item ASN1
Abstract Syntax Notation One (OSI), "ASN.1"

@item ATT
American Telephone and Telegraph, "AT&T"

@end table
@sp 2
@menu
* Style::            Style of the acronym expansions.
* Alternatives::     Alternative expansions.
* Explanations::     Additional explanations.
* References::       Reference tags for acronyms.
* Concatenation::    Concatenated acronyms.
* Versions::         Acronyms pointing to versions.
* File extensions::  A note on file extensions.
* Gaps::             Huh --- what is that?
@end menu


@node Style, Alternatives, Format, Format
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@section  Style of the acronym expansions
@cindex Expansions, Style of
@cindex Style of expansions

@noindent
The acronym expansions basically follow their acronyms in style.
Exceptions are made if expansions are containing acronyms themselves.
This often leads to an kind of odd or even wrong orthographical style.

@noindent
Examples:

@table @asis
@item AUX
Apple UniX, "A/UX"

@item XT
eXtended Technology

@item ACL
Advanced CMOS Logic

@end table

@node Alternatives, Explanations, Style, Format
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@section Alternative expansions
@cindex Alternative expansions
@cindex Expansions, Alternative

@noindent
If alternative expansions for the same acronym are known these are
separated by a slash.  However that is not true for acronyms of
basically different meanings.

@noindent
Examples:

@table @asis
@item AE
Apple Events

@item AE
Application Entity / Environment / Engineering (APE)

@end table


@node Explanations, References, Alternatives, Format
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@section Additional explanations
@cindex Additional explanations
@cindex Explanations, Additional

@noindent
Terms in square brackets show additional explanations, of which do not
directly belong to the acronym's expansion, but rather to the acronym's
meaning.

@noindent
Examples:

@table @asis
@item ARM
Annotated [c++] Reference Manual

@item RLL
Run Length Limited [encoding]

@end table


@node References, Concatenation, Explanations, Format
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@section Reference tags for acronyms
@cindex Acronyms, References for
@cindex References for acronyms

@noindent
The terms in parenthesis which often appear behind the expansions are
reference links to certain topics or firms and should help you to get an
idea of in which context an acronym is being used.

@noindent
Examples:

@table @asis
@item WB
WorkBench (Amiga)

@item WYSIWYG
What You See Is What You Get (DTP)

@end table

@noindent
Please note that the original version of V.E.R.A. is meant to be
formatted in a hypertext environment.  Thus some references may seem
redundant in an environment which does not support such links.

@noindent
Examples:

@table @asis
@item API
Application Program Interface (API)

@end table


@node Concatenation, Versions, References, Format
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@section Concatenated acronyms

@noindent
Often-used concatenated acronyms appear without the space or any special
characters between them.

@noindent
Examples:

@table @asis
@item AMTPE
Apple Media Tool Programming Environment (Apple), "AMT PE"

@item RISCOS
RISC Operating System (Acorn), "RISC OS"

@end table


@node Versions, File extensions, Concatenation, Format
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@section Acronyms pointing to versions
@cindex Acronyms pointing to versions
@cindex Versions, Acronyms pointing to 

@noindent
When there is a series of related acronyms differing by a number at the
end, V.E.R.A. usually has just one entry, which omits the number.  For
example, there are many versions of MNP (Microcom Networking Protocol),
distinguished by numbers; but we do not list MNP4, MNP5 or MNP10, only
MNP.

@noindent
So if you look for an acronym that ends in a number, and you don't find
it, try leaving out the number(s).


@node File extensions, Gaps, Versions, Format
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@section File extensions
@cindex File extensions
@cindex Extensions (files)

@noindent
Please note that file extensions are not covered by V.E.R.A. at the
moment, although some exceptions were made. You will not find things 
like EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) or GIF (Graphics Interchange Format).

@noindent
There are many such lists on the Internet if you should be looking
for file extensions.


@node Gaps, , File extensions, Format
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@section Gaps
@cindex Gaps
@cindex Expansions, Missing
@cindex References, Missing
@cindex Missing expansions or references

@noindent
You will probably notice that some acronym expansions or references are
tagged with three question marks (@samp{???}).  This indicates that an
expansion or reference is still missing or uncertain.

@node Acronym, History, Format, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@chapter Acronym
@cindex Acronym, Definition of the term
@cindex Acronyms, Pronunciation of
@cindex Definition of the term acronym
@cindex Pronunciation of acronyms

@noindent
An acronym is a word derived from the initial letters or
groups of letters of several other words.

@noindent
Popular examples are: @*
@ifinfo
@noindent
@emph{Laser}, from "(l)ight (a)mplification by
(s)timulated (e)mission of (r)adiation",
@emph{Radar}, from "(ra)dio (d)etecting (a)nd
(r)anging" or @emph{snafu}, which should politely be rendered
as "(s)ituation (n)ormal, (a)ll (f)ouled
(u)p".
@end ifinfo
@iftex
@noindent
@emph{Laser}, from "@strong{l}ight @strong{a}mplification by
@strong{s}timulated @strong{e}mission of @strong{r}adiation",
@emph{Radar}, from "@strong{ra}dio @strong{d}etecting @strong{a}nd
@strong{r}anging" or @emph{snafu}, which should politely be rendered
as "@strong{s}ituation @strong{n}ormal, @strong{a}ll @strong{f}ouled
@strong{u}p".
@end iftex

@noindent
The word acronym itself derives from the Greek words
@emph{akros} "the highest, the most outer" and @emph{onoma} "name".

@noindent
Please note that acronyms are always pronounced as the
spelling indicates.


@node History, Acknowledgments, Acronym, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@chapter History and other useful information
@cindex Acronyms, How to submit new
@cindex Bugs, How to report
@cindex Call for submissions
@cindex Changes
@cindex Current maintainer
@cindex History
@cindex How to install in the Info environment
@cindex How to report bugs
@cindex How to submit new acronyms
@cindex Info environment, Installation in the
@cindex Installation in the Info environment
@cindex Maintainer, Current
@cindex News
@cindex Release notes
@cindex Reporting bugs
@cindex Requests
@cindex Submissions, Call for

@ifinfo
@noindent
@strong{V.E.R.A. --- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms}

@end ifinfo
@noindent

@strong{Version 7.2} (June 2006)

@noindent
Version 7.2 (Texinfo release 1.17) contains about 405 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about 11025 acronyms.

@strong{Version 7.0} (June 2005)

@noindent
Version 7.0 (Texinfo release 1.16) contains about 106 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about 10620 acronyms.

@strong{Version 6.9} (March 2005)

@noindent
Version 6.9 (Texinfo release 1.15) contains about 262 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about 10514 acronyms.

@strong{Version 6.7} (September 2004)

@noindent
Version 6.7 (Texinfo release 1.14) contains about 92 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about 10252 acronyms.

Until I find out how to put V.E.R.A. back into the GNU system, I
will provide it on my home page at http://home.snafu.de/ohei.
I have repeatedly written to addresses given in postings,
asking for information on how to access the GNU server to
no availability. Those guys must be busy, very busy.

@strong{Version 6.6} (June 2004)

@noindent
Version 6.6 (Texinfo release 1.13) contains about 290 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about 10160 acronyms.

Until I find out how to put V.E.R.A. back into the GNU system, I
will provide it on my home page at http://home.snafu.de/ohei.

@strong{Version 6.5} (December 2003)

@noindent
Version 6.5 (Texinfo release 1.12) contains about 210 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about 9870 acronyms.

Until I find out how to put V.E.R.A. back into the GNU system, I
will provide it on my home page at http://home.snafu.de/ohei.

@strong{Version 6.3} (June 2003)

@noindent
Version 6.3 (Texinfo release 1.11) contains about 150 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about 9660 acronyms.

I had problems finding an proper way to upload the last release
(Texinfo release 1.10) to the GNU server. All seem to have changed,
the old FTP Server is down, my e-mail contact is gone etc.

Until I find out how to put V.E.R.A. back into the system, I
will provide it on my home page at http://home.snafu.de/ohei.

@strong{Version 6.2} (March 2003)

@noindent
Version 6.2 (Texinfo release 1.10) contains about 300 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about 9510 acronyms.

For the log: There neither had been a GNU nor a Non-GNU edition
of V.E.R.A. in September 2002.

@strong{Version 6.0} (June 2002)

@noindent
Version 6.0 (Texinfo release 1.9) contains about 289 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about 9203 acronyms.

Fixed some formatting bugs which had accumulated. Thanks for
reporting those.

There has been a request to add a 'README' file to the
distribution. I added one.

Also added a Perl search routine for V.E.R.A. from 
Andres Soolo <soolo [at] math . ut . ee>. You will find 
it in  the @code{./contrib} directory of the distribution.
For bug reports please contact Andres.

@strong{Version 5.8} (December 2001)

@noindent
Version 5.8 (Texinfo release 1.8) contains about 426 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about 8914 acronyms.

@strong{Version 5.5} (March 2001)

@noindent
Version 5.5 (Texinfo release 1.7) contains about 320 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about 8440 acronyms.

There had been no update of the GNU version for nearly a year,
which was mostly due to the lack of significant increase of
acronyms.

Please note that this is the first GNU edition of V.E.R.A.
to be released under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Please also note that Bob Hilliard <hilliard [at] debian . org>
now maintains the Debian vera package as well as the dict-* packages 
for the Debian GNU/LINUX distribution.

@strong{Version 5.2} (June 2000)

@noindent
Welcome to the first GNU edition of V.E.R.A. in the year 100,
eh, I mean 1900+100 :)

Version 5.2 (Texinfo release 1.6) contains about 500 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about
than 8119 acronyms.

There had been no update of the GNU version for over a year,
which was mostly due to the lack of significant increase of
acronyms.

Thanks to all the supporters, some of which did send huge
lists with new acronyms.

@strong{Version 4.7} (March 1999)

@noindent
Version 4.7 (Texinfo release 1.5) contains about 100 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about
than 7592 acronyms.

Corrected a bug in my script to replace german comments
with the according english terms which led to the comment
brackets being deleted in every line touched by it.

@strong{Version 4.6} (December 1998)

@noindent
Version 4.6 had not been released as Texinfo version,
because there was no significant increase in the count
of acronyms.

@strong{Version 4.5} (September 1998) 

@noindent
Version 4.5 (Texinfo release 1.4) contains about 90 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about
than 7490 acronyms.

@noindent
I also received a lot of spelling corrections for the
acronym expansions as well as for the text of this
Texinfo release. Thanks to the submitters.

@noindent
@strong{Version 4.4} (June 1998)

@noindent
Version 4.4 (Texinfo release 1.3) contains about 250 acronyms 
more than the last release. Now V.E.R.A. knows about more 
than 7400 acronyms.

@noindent
Version 4.2 had accidently been released containing 
ISO 8859-1 characters. I received no complaints, but I
believe not everyone can display these characters as
meant to be, so I switched back to 7 bit with this version.

@noindent
Recently V.E.R.A. ran into copyright/trademark problems. It's
unbelievable how small the name space in the computer field
went over the years. To give you an example there are acronyms
in this list which have five or more different meanings.
However Systems Science Inc. agreed to solve the problem
by including the following sentence into the distribution:
"This dictionary has nothing to do with Systems Science Inc.
or its products."
Please don't wonder if you surprisingly run into this sentence.

@noindent
@strong{Version 4.3} (March 1998)

@noindent
I found no time to release V.E.R.A. 4.3 as Texinfo version
in March 1998 as I was busy with other things. As compiling 
the Texinfo version is always additional work to do, I thought 
of to spare the March version and release the next Texinfo version 
on the next release date (June, 1st).

@noindent
@strong{Version 4.2}

@noindent
Version 4.2 contains about 180 acronyms more than the last release.
I also received a mail from the folks who maintain the GNU catalogue.
This may mean that V.E.R.A. will be included on the GNU CD-ROM
distribution, but I'm not sure.

@noindent
@strong{Version 4.1} (December 1997)

@noindent
Version 4.1 contains about 500 acronyms more than the initial release.
Now V.E.R.A. knows about more than 7000 acronyms.

@noindent
Besides I wrote a script which automagically translates the German
references sometimes to be found behind the acronym expansions in the
original version of V.E.R.A. into the appropriate English terms. 
It also adds `Germany' to German locations. However I still may have 
missed some German terms or locations. 
It is kind of awful to proof-read 7000 acronym expansions.
If you still spot German terms in the references, please let me know
about.

@noindent
@strong{Installation as Info file}

@noindent
If you like to install V.E.R.A. in your Info environment, there are three
steps to do so:

@enumerate
@item
Make an Info file from the Texinfo source, type:

@kbd{makeinfo vera.texi}

@noindent
(The file extension may differ in your environment.)

@item
Copy the files generated by the previous step to the directory
where the Info files reside on your site.

@item
Go to your Info directory and edit the @code{dir} file. Insert a line
like the following where appropriate.

@kbd{* V.E.R.A.:  (vera).        Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms}
@end enumerate

@noindent
@strong{Bugs}

@noindent
This edition of V.E.R.A. has been translated from German and has not
been intensively proofread.  Please report bugs concerning the use of
broken or unsound English used in this document to the current
maintainer of this document.

@noindent
If you spot any faults in the acronym chapters, these will be considered
a bug too.  Please report those bugs to the current maintainer of this
document.

@noindent
@strong{Call for submissions}

@noindent
This acronym list is not and will never be complete.  However if you
feel that something particular is missing, please submit it to the
current maintainer.  Your submission will be included in the next
edition of V.E.R.A.

@noindent
@strong{Current maintainer}

@noindent
The current maintainer of this document is @*
@value{ACTMAINTAINER} @value{MAINTAINEMAIL}


@node Acknowledgments, Disclaimer, History, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@chapter Acknowledgments
@cindex Acknowledgments
@cindex Contributors
@cindex Credits
@cindex People who contributed
@ifinfo
@noindent
@strong{V.E.R.A. --- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms}

@end ifinfo
@noindent
The following people contributed to this document: @*
(In order to block spam-robots all @@ have been replaced with #.)

@format
peterk#cbmger.de.so.commodore.com
Wolfgang Houben <castor#newswire.de>
Hans Fischer <profi#romeo.berlinet.de>
Harald Welte <h.welte#silver.nbg.sub.org>
a.lessmann#link-k.zer
Rainer Frohnhoff <r.frohnhoff#aworld.zer>
Marcus Cai Degler <m.c.degler#ithh.sh.sub.de>
Sven van der Meer <vdmeer#cs.tu-berlin.de>
elmar#peggy.e-technik.uni-dortmund.de
Patrick Hess <patrick.hess#metazoa.de>
Hans-Georg Forster <h.g.forster#parabol.cl.sub.de>
thahn#berg93.in-berlin.de
jochen#wip.mhs.compuserve.com
Stefan Rinne <s_rinne#trashcan.mcnet.de>
Wolfgang Kopp <kopp#naranek.camelot.de>
ismias#wi.uni-muenster.de
smendoza#yeti.dit.upm.es
tms#dame.shnet.org
Alexander Senne <akki#terra-i.rhein-ruhr.de>
Frank Schlueter <frs#frs.in-berlin.de>
Frank-Th. Bonnemeyer <Frank-Thomas.Bonnemeyer#eds.com>
Olaf Naumann <amandus#esrf.fr>
Keith Edgerley <edgerley#ebu.ch>
Kristian Koehntopp <kk#netuse.de>
Andreas Kempf <Andreas_Kempf#sidoun.go.germany-online.de>
Thomas Rexroth <100414.42#compuserve.com>
Christoph Lechner <Lechner#edvz.uni-linz.ac.at>
Timothy Slater <t.slater#link-m.de>
J.P. Lodge <jpl1#doc.ic.ac.uk>
Andre Torrez <andre#frontside.com>
Jeff Jewell <jcjewell#concentric.net>
Peter H. Wendt <phw#compunet.de>
Rene Caspersen <rene#sondagsavisen.dk>
Carsten Schymik <cschy#zedat.fu-berlin.de>
Noah Friedman <friedman#splode.com>
Robert Bihlmeyer <robbe#orcus.priv.at>
Matt Hillman <dhillman#netgate.net>
Claude Gingras <CGingras#telebec.qc.ca>
David Frewen <a-davfre#microsoft.com>
Thorsten 'thh' Hempel <thh#valis.netestate.de>
Bruno Haible <haible#ilog.fr>
Andreas Waibel <Andreas.Waibel#studbox.uni-stuttgart.de>
Martin Zierke <Martin.Zierke#gaia.de>
Leonard <acmeman#myriad.net>
Otto Stolz <Otto.Stolz#uni-konstanz.de>
Wolfgang Borgert
Stefan Hackebeil <stefan#hackebeil.l.uunet.de>
Wolf Ivo Lademann <wil#kiel.netsurf.de>
Werner Henze <beinhart#cs.tu-berlin.de>
Kai Reese <reese#tecs.de>
John L. Sokol <sokol#livecam.com>
Guy Dumais <dumais#rgl.polymtl.ca>
Gerhard Moeller <Gerhard.Moeller#offis.uni-oldenburg.de>
Mike Moxcey <mmoxcey#email.aphis.usda.gov>
Marco Koering <Marco.Koering#swisscom.com>
Olaf Columbus <Olaf.Columbus#nortel-dasa.de>
Craig Menefee <cmenefee#cwia.com>
Kevin L. Burns <kburns#cogswell.edu>
Timm Cordes <tc#Informatik.TU-Cottbus.DE>
Thomas Ludwig <thomas_ludwig#hotmail.com>
Torsten Halter <halter#prokom1.gg.uunet.de>
Dr. Stephan Buehne <SBUEHNE#DE.oracle.com>
H. Kronenberg <kronenberg#imst.de>
Darren Baker <dbaker#tcon.net>
Heiko Degenhardt <Heiko.Degenhardt#rz.tu-ilmenau.de>
Simon Conti <sconti#dircon.co.uk>
Mac Schwarz <mac#phil.uni-erlangen.de>
Sven Heidelbach <Sven.Heidelbach#RegTP.de>
Nicholas Stallard <Snowy#nsstalla.dialup.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de>
Patrick Wibbeler pwibbele#Adobe.COM>
Bastian Schick <elw5basc#gp.fht-esslingen.de>
davint <davint#gensw.com>
'The Lonegunmen' <tlgm#hamburg.crosswinds.net>
Tim <directorSPAMMENOT#sympatico.ca>
Daniel Lynde <Daniel.Lynde#Gateway.com>
Jens Abromeit <jens.abromeit#tcpip-gmbh.de>
Albrecht Schmiedel <atms#alibi.in-berlin.de>
Joachim Nerz <nerz#rz.uni-mannheim.de>
Prognos M. Voedisch <Michael.Voedisch#prognos.com>
Peter A.Henning <P.Henning#FH-Karlsruhe.de>
Ricardo Linden <rlinden#gotec.com.br>
Robert Klemme <klemme#unity.de>
Axel Kielhorn <A.Kielhorn#tu-bs.de>
Mark Heitbrink <m.heitbrink#kamas.de>
Philipp Steinau <Philipp.Steinau#gmx.de>
Pressman AS/400 <STEVE.GIBSON#PRESSMAN-TOY.COM>
Uwe Borchert <borchert#informatik.unibw-muenchen.de>
Georg Oehl <oehlg#yahoo.com>
Thomas Rohde <thomas.rohde#ecrc.de>
Will <broly#online1.magnus1.com>
Knut Kuelsen <Knut_K#kuelsen.de>
Rene Ermler <rene.ermler#informatik.stud.uni-erlangen.de>
Brian Hines <bhines#ppl.plesman.com>
Tomasz Wegrzanowski <maniek#beer.com>
Martin Mueller <martin.mueller#iuct.fhg.de>
Florian Laws <florian#void.s.bawue.de>
Adam Goode <adam#myrealbox.com>
Henning Jonat <henningjonat#home.com>
Norbert Zuber <zbx#topmail.de>
Eckard Wolff Postler <Eckard.Wolff-Postler#Gtsgroup.com>
Tomasz Wegrzanowski <maniek#beer.com>
Jennifer <jenluk#chickmail.com>
Nils <otott.buerotechnik#t-online.de>
Ernst-Guenter Giessmann <ErnstG.Giessmann#telekom.de>
Andreas Krause <andreas.krause#uni-dortmund.de>
j l <jenluk#chickmail.com>
Carsten Leonhardt <leo#debian.org>
Robert D. Hilliard <hilliard#debian.org>
Nils Rennebarth <nils#ipe.uni-stuttgart.de>
Michael Schmitz <michael.schmitz#e-trend.de>
Kerstin Assmus <praktika#bechtle.de>
Michael Vielhaber <michael.vielhaber#fh-hof.de>
Martin Biallas <martin#mbiallas.de>
Joachim Ayasse <Joachim_Ayasse#genua.de>
Arvind Mollin <amollin#cisco.com>
Michael Ruehr <Michael.Ruehr#blb.de>
Stefan Westerkamp <Stefan.Westerkamp#ger.sas.com>
Nils Herzog <Nils.Herzog#DERTOUR.DE>
Thomas Lack <lack#nexgo.de>
Andreas Mock <A.Mock#tuvit.de>
Volker Brune-Flueh <bruneflue#solutionline.com>
Thimo Koenig <thimo.konig#evidian.com>
Jim Scarborough <jims#iname.com>
Falk Hauke <falk.hauke#gmx.de>
Patrick Cowan <patrick#fifthera.com>
Tomasz Wegrzanowski <taw#users.sourceforge.net>
Christoph Probst <chris#cprobst.de>
Tim Bannister <isoma#compsoc.man.ac.uk>
Lutz Hohaus <lutz.hohaus#ruhr-uni-bochum.de>
Ingo Maurer <ingo#maurer.net>
Gerhard Brosig <Gerhard_Brosig#genua.de>
Alois Reisinger <reisi#reisi.com>
Brian Wolf/Dayacorp <brian.wolf.613#mindspring.com>
Steven Duhon <SDuhon#mpea.com>
<Philphillips28#aol.com>
Axel Veil <Axel.Veil#mediaways.net>
Tobias Ueberwasser <tobias.ueberwasser#cerberus.ch>
Karsten Huppert <ed.treppuh-netsrak#karsten-huppert.de>
Felix Schindele <zhamara#atheist.com>
Klaus Juettermann <Klaus.Juttermann#sitel.de>
Cecilie Rise <cecilie.rise#sbb.at>
Jeff Orrok <jeff#rt.com>
Ingo Russmann <ingo#linus.net-market.de>
John E. Hein <jhein#timing.com>
Christian Brandau <christian#cbra.de>
Ben Armstrong <synrg#sanctuary.nslug.ns.ca>
Matthias Kring <automatthias#web.de>
Matthias Hinnah <mhinnah#deloitte.de>
Axel Hornung <A.Hornung#ASC.DE>
Jakob Hirsch <jh#plonk.de>
Matt Zimmerman <mdz#csh.rit.edu>
Stephan Boldt <Stephan.Boldt#epost.de>
Pekka Lampila <medar#kapina.org>
Maurice Leone <Leone.Maurice#swm.de>
Michel Messerschmidt <9messers#informatik.uni-hamburg.de>
Chong Yidong <yidong#stanford.edu>
Jan Neumann <jan.neumann#bln1.siemens.de>
Heiko Reddingius <heiko-stg#reddingius.de>
Christian Griebel <Christian.Griebel#merck.de>
Pedro Izecksohn <izecksohn#yahoo.com>
Boris Masinovsky <boma#cs.tu-berlin.de>
Reinhard Scholz <Reinhard.Scholz#wimi.landsh.de>
Leslie Polzer <leslie.polzer#gmx.net>
Tobias Toedter <t.toedter#web.de>
Dan Avramescu <Dan.Avramescu#t-systems.com>
Martin Meyerspeer <e9325116#stud4.tuwien.ac.at>
Arnaud Giersch <giersch#icps.u-strasbg.fr>
Pierre-Paul Lavoie <ppl#nbnet.nb.ca>
Jutta Wrage <jw#witch.westfalen.de>
Pauli Manninen <pajuma#iki.fi>
Matthew Harris <mharris#litech.org>
David Mohn <david.mohn1#web.de>
Steffen Beyer <sbeyer#reactor.de>
Dr. David Linke" <linke#aca-berlin.de>
Alexander Kemp <Alexander.Kemp#gmx.de>
Hans Thielen <hans.thielen#ipt.fraunhofer.de>
Michael Wegner <michael-wegner#gmx.de>
Vitaly Lipatov <lav#altlinux.ru>
Ralph Bauer <rkhb#gmx.net>
Markus Greil <m.greil#gcd-printlayout.de>
Francesco Potorti <Potorti#isti.cnr.it>


@end format

@format
@group
About 200 acronyms dealing with the ATM subject were taken
from the online collection of the ATM forum.
By courtesy of ATM forum.
@end group

@group
Another batch of acronyms was taken from the freely available
acronym collection "Internet Perls 22" (@emph{iperls22.zip}).
By courtesy of William Hogg <wmhogg#execpc.com>.
@end group

@group
A lot of military related acronyms as well as several others
were taken from the online collection of the DISA Center for
Standards.
By courtesy of DISA Center for Standards.
@end group
@end format

@noindent
Thanks to all of them and everybody who should be missing
accidently.

@noindent
Also thanks to the following people:

@noindent
Richard M. Stallman @*
For his encouraging words to get this edition done and some comments 
on how a Texinfo file should be formatted.
Also for the efforts taken to deal with the Systems Science Inc.
copyright/trademark incident in April 1998.

@noindent
Horst von Brand <vonbrand#sleipnir.valparaiso.cl> @*
For pointing to the inconsistency between the file name in
@code{@@setfilename} (upper case) and the suggested info entry
(lower case).

@noindent
Ricard Torres <root#tamino.udg.es> @*
For pointing to some Un*x install problems in release 1.3.

@noindent
Carsten Leonhardt <leo#arioch.oche.de> @*
For sending in a lot of spelling corrections for the
text of release 1.3. It were 17 if I counted right. 
What a shame.

@noindent
H. Kronenberg <kronenberg#imst.de> @*
For submitting numerous spelling corrections 
for acronym expansions.

@noindent
Henning Jonat <henningjonat#home.com> @*
For sending a long list with acronym expansions which 
were still missing.

@noindent
Alexander Mai <st002279#hrzpub.tu-darmstadt.de> @*
For pointing out a left over ISO character my 
replacing routine had ignored and for suggesting
to add a 'README' file to the distributon.

@noindent
Andres Soolo <soolo#math.ut.ee> @*
For contributing a Perl search routine for V.E.R.A.

@noindent
Leslie Polzer <leslie.polzer#gmx.net> @*
For pointing out that the definition of the word acronym
contained "@emph{onyma}" which is aeolian while it should be
"@emph{onoma}" which is the more common attic form.

@noindent
Vitaly Lipatov <lav#altlinux.ru> @*
For taking the effort to proof-read V.E.R.A. and sending
in 46 spelling corrections.

@node Disclaimer, GNU FDL, Acknowledgments, Top
@c node-name, next, previous, up
@chapter Disclaimer
@cindex Copying policy
@cindex Disclaimer
@cindex Distribution policy
@cindex Legal stuff
@cindex Modifications policy
@cindex Printing policy
@cindex Translations policy

@ifinfo
@strong{V.E.R.A. --- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms}

@end ifinfo
@noindent
This is a special GNU edition of V.E.R.A.,
a list dealing with computational acronyms. It is currently 
maintained by @value{ACTMAINTAINER} @value{MAINTAINEMAIL}.

@noindent
Although V.E.R.A. has been corrected and worked over for
quite a long time, no guarantee can be given for the
correctness of any part of its contents.  Please don't
get it wrong and help to correct any faults you may find.

@noindent
Please send corrections to the current maintainer.

@noindent
The author suggests not to redistribute corrected versions
of this document, but instead to inform the actual maintainer
about corrections you might have.  This would help not to
confuse users because of different versions.

@noindent
For a complete legal disclaimer please read 
@ref{GNU FDL}.

@noindent
Within the above restrictions the distribution of this
document is explicitly encouraged and I hope you'll find
it of some value.

@noindent
Please note that another version of V.E.R.A. exists, which
is not related to the GNU project.

@noindent
This dictionary has nothing to do with Systems Science Inc. 
or its products.

@noindent
Oliver Heidelbach (original author) @*
@noindent
@value{AUTHOREMAIL}

@noindent
Copyright @copyright{} 1993/@value{ACTYEAR}

@node GNU FDL, Index, Disclaimer, Top
@include fdl.texi

@node Index, , GNU FDL, Top
@comment  node-name,  next,  previous,  up
@unnumbered Index
@printindex cp

@c I don't think a full TOC is needed.
@summarycontents

@bye