Browse Definitions by Alphabet

  • 4 P's marketing mix - The marketing mix, also known as the four P's of marketing, refers to the four key elements of a marketing strategy: product, price, place and promotion.
  • Facebook - Facebook is a social networking website that was founded in February 2004 by Harvard University students Chris Hughes, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg.
  • Facebook Connect - Facebook Connect is a single sign-on application which allows users to interact on other websites through their Facebook account.
  • Facebook page - A Facebook page is a public profile specifically created for businesses, brands, celebrities, causes, and other organizations.
  • FaceTime - FaceTime is a proprietary video and audio calling service developed by Apple Inc.
  • facial recognition - Facial recognition is a category of biometric software that maps an individual's facial features to confirm their identity.
  • fact table - In data warehousing, a fact table is a database table in a dimensional model.
  • FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) - FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) is an amendment to FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act ) that was added, primarily, to protect consumers from identity theft.
  • fail fast - Fail fast is a philosophy that values extensive testing and incremental development to determine whether an idea has value.
  • failover - Failover is a backup operational mode in which the functions of a system component are assumed by a secondary component when the primary becomes unavailable.
  • failover cluster - In computing, a failover cluster refers to a group of independent servers that work together to maintain high availability of applications and services.
  • Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) - The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is United States federal legislation that promotes accuracy, fairness and privacy for data used by consumer reporting agencies.
  • Fair Information Practices (FIP) - FIP (Fair Information Practices) is a general term for a set of standards governing the collection and use of personal data and addressing issues of privacy and accuracy.
  • falsifiability - Falsifiability is the capacity for some proposition, statement, theory or hypothesis to be proven wrong.
  • fan-out - In digital circuitry, fan-out is a measure of the maximum number of digital inputs that the output of a single logic gate can feed without disrupting the circuitry's operations.
  • Faraday cage - A Faraday cage is a metallic enclosure that prevents the entry or escape of an electromagnetic field (EM field).
  • Fast Guide to acronyms used in manufacturing - The following glossary or acronyms are those most used in internal communications within the manufacturing industry.
  • fault injection testing - Fault injection testing is a software testing method that deliberately introduces errors to a system to ensure it can withstand and recover from error conditions.
  • fault management - Fault management is the component of network management that detects, isolates and fixes problems.
  • fault tolerance - Fault tolerance is the capability of a system to deliver uninterrupted service despite one or more of its components failing.
  • fax - A fax -- short for 'facsimile' and sometimes called 'telecopying' -- is the telephonic transmission of scanned-in printed material, including text or images.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) - The FDA (U.S.
  • FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) - FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) is a network standard that uses fiber optic connections in a local area network (LAN) that can extend in range up to 200 kilometers (124 miles).
  • FDISK - FDISK is a disk utility included in all versions of MS-DOS, Windows and Linux for formatting or partitioning a hard disk drive, or to delete different portions of it.
  • feature flagging - Feature flagging is a simple programming design pattern that allows developers to turn application features on or off without having to redeploy or change code already in production.
  • Feature Manipulation Engine (FME) - The Feature Manipulation Engine (FME) is a platform that streamlines the translation of spatial data between geometric and digital formats.
  • feature-driven development (FDD) - Feature-driven development (FDD) is an Agile software development framework that organizes work around product features.
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is a United States government agency with the purpose to coordinate aid and respond to disasters around the nation when local resources are insufficient.
  • Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) - ): The Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) is United States legislation that defines a framework of guidelines and security standards to protect government information technology operations from cyberthreats.
  • fediverse - The fediverse is a collection of independently hosted interconnected server instances.
  • Fedora - Fedora, also known as Fedora Linux, is a popular open source Linux-based operating system (OS).
  • fee-for-service (FFS) - Fee-for-service (FFS) is a payment model in which doctors, hospitals, and medical practices charge separately for each service they perform.
  • feedback loop - A feedback loop is the part of a system in which some portion (or all) of the system's output is used as input for future operations.
  • femtech - 'Femtech' is a term that refers to diagnostic tools, products, services, wearables and software that use technology to address women's health issues, including menstrual health, reproductive health, sexual health, maternal health and menopause.
  • Fermi paradox - The Fermi paradox is the apparent conflict between the fact that humans have found no evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life despite the probablity that it exists, given what we know about the universe.
  • FFIEC compliance (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council) - FFIEC compliance is conformance to a set of standards for online banking issued in October 2005 by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC).
  • FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) - Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) is an interoperability standard for electronic exchange of healthcare information.
  • fiber optics (optical fiber) - Fiber optics, or optical fiber, refers to the technology that transmits information as light pulses along a glass or plastic fiber.
  • fiber to the home (FTTH) - Fiber to the home (FTTH), also called fiber to the premises (FTTP), is the installation and use of optical fiber from a central point to individual buildings to provide high-speed internet access.
  • Fibonacci sequence - The Fibonacci sequence is a set of integers (the Fibonacci numbers) that starts with a zero, followed by a one, then by another one, and then by a series of steadily increasing numbers.
  • Fibre Channel - Fibre Channel is a high-speed networking technology primarily used for transmitting data among data centers, computer servers, switches and storage at data rates of up to 128 Gbps.
  • Fibre Channel (FC) port types - A Fibre Channel port is a hardware pathway into and out of a node that performs data communications over an FC link.
  • Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) - Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FcoE) is a storage protocol that enables Fibre Channel (FC) communications to run directly over Ethernet.
  • Fibre Channel switch (FC switch) - A Fibre Channel (FC) switch is a networking device that's compatible with the FC protocol and designed for use in a dedicated storage area network (SAN).
  • FIDO (Fast Identity Online) - FIDO (Fast Identity Online) is a set of technology-agnostic security specifications for strong authentication.
  • field - A field is an area in a fixed or known location in a unit of data such as a record, message header, or computer instruction that has a purpose and usually a fixed size.
  • field of view (FOV) - Field of view (FOV) is the open, observable area a person can see through their eyes or via an optical device, such as a camera.
  • field-effect transistor (FET) - A field-effect transistor (FET) is a type of transistor commonly used for weak-signal amplification (for example, for amplifying wireless signals).
  • field-replaceable unit (FRU) - In electronic hardware, particularly computer systems, a field-replaceable unit (FRU) is a circuit board or part that can be easily removed and replaced by the user or technician without having to send the product or system to a repair facility.
  • file extension (file format) - In computing, a file extension is a suffix added to the name of a file to indicate the file's layout, in terms of how the data within the file is organized.
  • file server - A file server is a computer responsible for the storage and management of data files so that other computers on the same network can access the files.
  • file sharing - File sharing is the public or private sharing of files or folders on a networked computer.
  • file synchronization (file sync) - File synchronization (file sync) is a method of keeping files that are stored in several different physical locations up to date.
  • file system - In computing, a file system -- sometimes written filesystem -- is a logical and physical system for organizing, managing and accessing the files and directories on a device's solid-state drive (SSD), hard-disk drive (HDD) or other media.
  • File Transfer Access and Management (FTAM) - File Transfer Access and Management (FTAM) is an OSI application Layer 7 protocol that standardizes how files are accessed and managed in a distributed network file system.
  • filter (computing) - The term filter in computing can mean a variety of things, depending on the technology or technical discipline in question.
  • filter bubble - A filter bubble is an algorithmic bias that skews or limits the information an individual user sees on the internet.
  • finite state machine - Finite state machine (FSM) is a term used by programmers, mathematicians and other professionals to describe a mathematical model for any system with a limited number of conditional states of being.
  • FinTech - FinTech (a portmanteau of financial tech) is the use of new technology and delivery models to complement or compete with traditional financial service delivery processes.
  • FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) - FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) are a set of standards that describe document processing, encryption algorithms and other information technology standards for use within non-military government agencies and by government contractors and vendors who work with the agencies.
  • FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) - FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) is a lifestyle, also referred to as a movement, aimed at reducing expenditures and increasing investing in order to quickly gain financial independence and the possibility of retirement at an early age.
  • Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) - Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), formerly called Google Cloud Messaging (GCM), is a free cloud service from Google that allows app developers to send notifications and messages to users across a variety of platforms, including Android, iOS and web applications.
  • Firefox - Firefox is a free, open source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation in 2004.
  • firewall as a service (FWaaS) - Firewall as a service (FWaaS), also known as a cloud firewall, is a service that provides cloud-based network traffic analysis capabilities to customers as part of an overall cybersecurity program.
  • first-order logic - First-order logic (FOL) refers to logic in which the predicate of a sentence or statement can only refer to a single subject.
  • fishbone diagram - A fishbone diagram, also known as an Ishikawa diagram, or a cause-and-effect diagram, is a visualization tool for categorizing the potential causes of a problem.
  • fist to five (fist of five) - Fist to five, or fist of five, is a consensus-building technique used by Agile software development teams to poll team members and come to an agreement.
  • FIX protocol (Financial Information Exchange protocol) - The Financial Information Exchange (FIX) protocol is an open specification intended to streamline electronic communications in the financial securities industry.
  • fixed wireless - Fixed wireless networking refers to the operation of wireless devices in fixed locations such as homes and offices.
  • fixed-length subnet mask (FLSM) - A fixed-length subnet mask (FLSM) refers to a type of enterprise or provider networking where a block of IP addresses is divided into multiple subnets of equal length (i.
  • fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) - Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) is the trend towards seamless connectivity between fixed and wireless telecommunications networks.
  • flaky test - A flaky test is a quality assurance (QA) test that fails to produces consistent results.
  • flash memory - Flash memory, also known as flash storage, is a type of nonvolatile memory that erases data in units called blocks and rewrites data at the byte level.
  • flash memory card - A flash memory card -- sometimes called a storage card -- is a small storage device that uses non-volatile semiconductor memory to store data on portable or remote computing devices.
  • flash solid-state drive (SSD) - A flash solid-state drive (SSD) is a non-volatile storage device that stores persistent data in flash memory.
  • flash storage - Flash storage is any type of drive, repository or system that uses flash memory to write and store data for an extended period.
  • flat file - A flat file is a collection of data stored in a two-dimensional database in which similar yet discrete strings of information are stored as records in a table.
  • floating gate transistor (FGT) - A floating gate transistor (FGT) is a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology capable of holding an electrical charge in a memory device that is used to store data.
  • floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) - Floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) is a measure of a computer's performance based on the number of floating-point arithmetic calculations that the processor can perform within a second.
  • flooding (network) - In a computer network, flooding occurs when a router uses a non-adaptive routing algorithm to send an incoming packet to every outgoing link except the node on which the packet arrived.
  • flow (psychology) - Flow, in the context of psychology, is a state of intense engagement, focus and contentment in the present moment and current activity.
  • flow control - Flow control is a technique used to regulate data transfer between computers or other nodes in a network.
  • flow routing - Flow routing is a network routing technology that takes variations in the flow of data into account to increase routing efficiency.
  • flux - In physics, flux is a measure of the number of electric or magnetic field lines passing through a surface in a given amount time.
  • FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) - FMEA (failure mode and effects analysis) is a step-by-step approach for collecting knowledge about possible points of failure in a design, manufacturing process, product or service.
  • font - The word 'font' refers to a set of printable or displayable typography or text characters in a specific style and size.
  • footprinting - Footprinting is an ethical hacking technique used to gather as much data as possible about a specific targeted computer system, an infrastructure and networks to identify opportunities to penetrate them.
  • foreign key - A foreign key is a column or columns of data in one table that refers to the unique data values -- often the primary key data -- in another table.
  • forensic image - A forensic image (forensic copy) is a bit-by-bit, sector-by-sector direct copy of a physical storage device, including all files, folders and unallocated, free and slack space.
  • form factor - In computing, form factor refers to the size, configuration, shape, weight or physical arrangement of a computing device.
  • Fortran - Fortran is an imperative programming language used for more than 60 years to create powerful, efficient and accurate applications, particularly in scientific fields.
  • forward chaining - Forward chaining is the logical process of inferring unknown truths from known data and moving forward using determined conditions and rules to find a solution.
  • forward error correction (FEC) - Forward error correction (FEC) is a method for obtaining error control in data transmission in which the source (transmitter) sends redundant data and the destination (receiver) recognizes only the portion of the data that contains no apparent errors.
  • four-factor authentication (4FA) - Four-factor authentication (4FA) is the use of four types of identity-confirming credentials, typically categorized as knowledge, possession, inherence and location factors.
  • FPV drone (first-person view drone) - An FPV drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a camera that wirelessly transmits video feed to goggles, a headset, a mobile device or another display.
  • FQA (frequently questioned answers) - FQA (frequently questioned answers) are conventions or mandates scrutinized by individuals or groups who doubt their validity.
  • frame relay - Frame relay is a packet-switching telecommunications service designed for cost-efficient data transmission for intermittent traffic between local area networks (LANs) and between endpoints in wide area networks (WANs).
  • fraud detection - Fraud detection is a set of activities undertaken to prevent money or property from being obtained through false pretenses.
  • free cooling - Free cooling is an approach to lowering the air temperature in a building or data center by using naturally cool air or water instead of mechanical refrigeration.
  • freeware - Freeware (not to be confused with free software) is a type of proprietary software that is released without charge to the public.