Spelled Out…
Early ’90s Networked-Communications Acronyms
The following guide on the Elon University/Pew Internet Imagining the Internet site is a brief look at definitions for some of the early 1990s acronyms associated with the Internet and networked communications. It is not complete, but it represents the most-used acronyms of that period. Click on the beginning letter of any particular acronym you may be seeking in order to take a short-cut to the information you desire:
A
AAT: Average Access Time
ABR: Available Bit Rate
ACD: Automatic Call Distribution
ACDI: Asynchronous Communications Device Interface
ACE: Access Control Encryption/Entry OR Advanced Computing Environment
ACIS: American Committee for Interoperable Systems
ACM: Association for Computing Machinery
ADA: Automatic Data Acquisitions OR the programming language named after Augusta Ada Lovelace
ADC: Adaptive Data Compression
ADP: Automatic Data Processing
ADU: Automatic Dialing Unit
AES: Advanced Encryption Standard
AFI: Authority and Format Identifier
AFII: Association for Font Information Interchange
AFIRM: Automated Fingerprint Image Reporting and Match
AFIS: Automated Fingerprint Identification System
AFTP: Advanced/Anonymous File Transfer Protocol
AGA: Advanced Graphics Adapter
AGP: Accelerated/Advanced Graphics Port
AGU: Address-Generation Unit
AI: Analog Input OR Artificial Intelligence
AIIM: Association for Information and Image Management
AIM: AOL Instant Messenger
AIP: Application Infrastructure Provider
AoIR: Association of Internet Researchers
AIS: Automated Identification System (NCIC) OR Automated Information Systems
AISB: Association of Imaging Service Bureaus
AISP: Association of Information Systems Professionals
ALGOL: Algorithmic-Oriented Language
ALIWEB: Archie-Like Indexing in the Web
ALN: Asynchronous Learning Network
AMASS: Archival Management and Storage System
AMD: Active Matrix Display OR Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
ANI: Automatic Number Identification
ANN: Artificial Neural Network
ANSI: American National Standards Institute
AOL: America Online
AP: Application Processor OR Adjunct Processor
APA: All Points Addressable OR Adaptive Packet Assembly
APCUG: Association of PC User Groups
APDU: Application Protocol Data Units
API: Application Program Interface
APNIC: Asia-Pacific Network Information Center
APOP: Authenticated Post Office Protocol
APPI: Advanced Peer-to-Peer Internetworking
APPs: Applications
APRP: Adaptive Pattern Recognition Processing
APS: Asynchronous Protocol Specification
APSE: ADA Programming Support Environment
APT: Automatically Programmed Tools OR Address Pass Through OR Advanced Parallel Technology
ARCA: Advanced RISC Computing Architecture
ARCNET: Attached Resource Computer Network
ARM: Annotated Reference Manual OR Asynchronous Response Mode
ARMA: Association of Records Managers and Administrators
ARPANET: Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
ARPL: Adjust Requested Privilege Level
ARQ: Automatic Repeat Request
ASAP: As Soon As Possible OR Automatic Switching And Processing
ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASIC: Application-Specific Integrated Circuit
ASIT: Advanced Security and Identification Technology
ASN: Abstract Syntax Notation OR Autonomous System Number
ASO: Automated Systems Operations
ASP: Active Server Page OR Association of Shareware Professionals
ASR: Automatic Speech Recognition
ASYNC: Asynchronous
ATC: Advanced Transfer Cache
ATG: Advanced Technology Group
ATL: Active Template Library
ATM: Asynchronous Transfer Mode OR Automated Teller Machine
AUDIT: Automated Data Input Terminal
AUTOEXEC: Automatic Execution
AV: Audio/Video OR Audiovisual OR Authenticity Verification
AVD: Alternating Voice and Data
AVR: Automatic Voice Recognition
AVT: Applied Voice Technology
AVVID: Architecture for Voice, Video & Integrated Data
AWE: Advanced Wave Effects
AWK: Unix language named after its authors, Al Aho, Peter Weinberger and Brian Kernighan
AX: Architecture Extended OR Automatic Transmission
B
BACP: Bandwidth Allocation Control Protocol
BAL: Basic Assembly Language
BAPI: Business Application Programming Interface
BASIC: Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
BAT: Block Address Translation
B2B: Business-To-Business
BBS: Bulletin Board System
B2C: Business To Consumer
BCC: Blind Carbon Copy
BCL: Batch Command Language
BCP: Best Current Practice OR Bulk Copy Program
BCPL: Basic Computer Programming Language
BCR: Byte Count Register
BCS: Bar Code Sorter
BDC: Backup Domain Controller
B2E: Business To Employees
BER: Basic Encoding Rules OR Bit Error Rate
BFT: Binary File Transfer
BFTP: Batch FTP
BGP: Border Gateway Protocol
BI: Binary Input
BIFF: Binary Interchange File Format
BIND: Berkeley Internet Name Domain
BINHEX: Binary Hexadecimal
BIS: Business Information System
BISDN: Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network
BIST: Built-In Self-Test
BIT: Binary Digit
BITNET: Because It’s Time Network
BITNIC: Bitnet Network Information Center
BIX: Byte Information Exchange
BMP: Basic Mapping Support OR Batch Message Processing Program
BNS: Backbone Network Service
BOF: Beginning Of File
BOM: Beginning Of Message
BOND: Bandwidth On Demand
BOPS: Billion Operations Per Second
BOS: Basic Operating System
BPI: Bits Per Inch
BPP: Bits Per Pixel
BPS: Bits Per Second OR Bytes Per Second
BSC: Binary Synchronous Communication
BSI: British Standards Institute
BTP: Batch Transfer Program
BUF: Buffer
BYTE: Binary Element String
C
C: C Programming Language
CAD: Computer-Aided Design
CADE: Client/server Application Development Environment
CAE: Client Application Enabler OR Common Applications Environment OR Computer-Aided Engineering
CAG: Column Address Generator
CAI: Computer-Aided Instruction
CAIRN: Collaborative Advanced Interagency Research Network
CAL: Computer Aided Learning
CALS: Computer-Aided Acquisition in Logistic Support
CAM: Common Access Method OR Contents Addressable Memory
CAP: Computer-Aided Publishing
CAR: Computer-Assisted Reporting (journalism)
CARL: Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries
CASE: Computer-Aided Software Engineering
CASS: Computer-Assisted Search Service
CASSIS: Classified and Search Support Information System
CAT: Computer Adaptive Test OR Computer-Aided Testing
CATS: Computer-Assisted Training System
CAVE: Computer Automatic Virtual Environment
CBDS: Connectionless Broadband Data Service
CBEMA: Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association
CBI: Computer-Based Instruction/Instrumentation
CBL: Computer-Based Learning
CBMS: Computer-Based Mail System
CBT: Computer-Based Training
CC: Carbon Copy
CCD: Charged-Coupled Device
CCI: Common Client Interface
CCITT: Consultative Committee for International Telegraph and Telephone
CCL: Connection/Cursor Control Language
CCP: Certified Computing Professional
CCTLD: Country Code Top-Level Domain
CDC: Connected Device Configuration OR Control Data Corporation
CDE: Common Desktop Environment OR Complex Data Entry
CD-I: Compact Disk – Interactive
CDIA: Certified Document Imaging Architect
CDL: Computer Design Language
CDOS: Concurrent Disk-Operating System
CDPD: Cellular Digital Packet Data
CD-RAM: Cached RAM
CD-ROM: Compact Disk – Read-Only Memory
CD-RTOS: Compact Disk – Real-Time Operating System
CD-RW: Compact Disk – Rewritable
CDSA: Common Data Security Architecture
CE: Cache Enable OR Chip Enable OR Convert Enable
CEC: Certified E-Commerce Consultant
CEMS: Constituent Electronic Mail System
CERN: The European Particle Physics Laboratory; initials stand for Conseil Europien pour la Recherche Nucliaire – where the World Wide Web was invented
CERT: Computer Emergency Response Team
CFML: ColdFusion Markup Language
CFR: Computerized Facial Recognition
CFS: Caching/Common File System
CFV: Call For Votes, first used on Bitnet
CGI: Computer-Generated Images OR Computer Graphics Interface
CGI-BIN: Common Gateway Interface – Binary
CHAR: Character
CHAT: Conversational Hypertext Access Technology
CHDIR: Change Directory
CHIPS: Clearinghouse Interbank Payments System
CHRP: Common Hardware Reference Platform
CHTML: Compressed HTML
CI: Component Interface
CIA: Current Instruction Address
CIDR: Classless Inter-Domain Routing
CIFS: Common Internet File System
CIO: Chief Information Officer
CIOCS: Communication Input/Output Control System
CIP: Command Interface Port OR Common Indexing Protocol
CIS: Client Information System OR CompuServe Information Service OR Computer Information System/s
CISC: Complex Instruction Set Computing
CIT: Computer-Integrated Telephony
CIVR: Computer and Interactive Voice Response
CIX: Commercial Internet Exchange OR Compulink Information Exchange
CLAR: Channel Local Address Register
CLASS: Client Access to Systems and Services OR Cooperative Library Agency for Systems and Services OR Custom Local-Area Signaling Services
CLEC: Competitive Local Exchange Carrier
CMC: Computer-Mediated Communication
CNIDR: Clearinghouse for Network Information and Discovery and Retrieval
CMIP: Common Management Information Protocol
CMIS: Common Management Information Services/System
CML: Conceptual Modeling Language OR Computer-Managed Learning
CNAPS: Co-Processing Node Architecture for Parallel Systems
CNIDR: Clearinghouse for Networked Information and Discovery and Retrieval
COBOL: Common Business-Oriented Language
CODASYL: Conference on Data System Languages, the group that designed COBOL
CODE: Client-Server Open Development Environment
CODEC: Coder/Decoder OR Compression/Decompression
COMDEX: Computer Dealers Exposition
COMSAT: Communications Satellite Corporation
CONFIG: Configuration
COREN: Corporation for Research and Enterprise Network
COS: Compatible Operating System
COSMIC: Computer Software Management and Information Center
CPAN: Comprehensive PERL Archive Network
CPC: Cost Per Click
CPI: Characters Per Inch OR Clock Per Instruction OR Common Programming Interface
CPO: Chief Privacy Officer
CPS: Characters Per Second OR Cycles Per Second
CPU: Central Processing Unit
CREN: Computer Research Education Network OR Corporation for Research and Education Networking
CRM: Customer Relationship Management
CROM: Control Read-Only Memory
CRUD: Create, Retrieve, Update, Delete
CSFI: Communication Subsystem For Interconnection
CSI: Command Sequence Introducer OR CompuServe Incorporated
CSL: Computer Sensitive Language
CSLIP: Compressed Serial Line Interface Protocol
CSMS: Customer-Support Management System
CSNET: Computer Science Network
CSO: Central Services Organization
CSP: Commercial Service Provider
CSPDN: Circuit-Switched Public Data Network
CSS: Cascading Style Sheet OR Content Scrambling System
CSSM: Client-Server Systems Management
CSTA: Computer-Supported Telephony Applications
CTCP: Client-To-Client Protocol
CTI: Computer-Telephony Integration
CUI: Character-Oriented User Interface OR Common User Interface [IBM]
CUSIP: Committee for Uniform Security Identification Procedures – U.S. Treasury
CVIA: Computer Virus Industry Association
CWIS: Campus-Wide Information Service/System OR Community-Wide Information Service/System
D
DAA: Data Access Arrangement
DAB: Digital Audio Broadcasting
DAI: Distributed Artificial Intelligence
DAPIE: Developers Application Programming Interface Extensions
DARI: Database Application Remote Interface
DAVIC: Digital Audio-Visual Council
DB: Database OR Data Buffer
DBIS: Dun & Bradstreet Information Services
DBM: Database Manager
DBMS: Database Management System
DBS: Database Server
DBV: Digital Broadcast Video
DBWR: Database Writer
DC: Data Collection OR Data Communication OR Data Control
DCA: Digital Communications Associates OR Document Content Architecture
DCC: Data Country Code OR Digital Command Control
DCI: Display Control Interface
DCML: Dynamic Configuration Markup Language
DCS: Data Collection System OR Data Control System OR Distributed Control System
DCU: Data-Cache Unit
DDE: Direct Data Entry OR Dynamic Data Exchange
DDM: Distributed Data Management
DDN: Defense Data Network
DDNS: Dynamic Domain-Naming System
DEA: Data Encryption Algorithm OR Disposable E-mail Address
DEC: Digital Equipment Corporation
DEFRAG: Defragment
DEK: Data Encryption Key
DEL: Delete
DER: Distinguished Encoding Rules
DES: Data Encryption Standard OR Data Entry Sheet
DFS: Distributed File System
DFU: Data File Utility
DGIS: Direct Graphics Interface Standard
DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DHTML: Dynamic HTML
DIA: Document Interchange Architecture
DIB: Device Independent Bitmap OR Directory Information Base
DIME: Direct Internet Message Encapsulation
DIN: Deutsche Industrie Norm, the German equivalent of EIA
DIP: Dialup Internet Protocol OR Digital Imaging Processing
DIX: Digital-Intel-Xerox the original Ethernet standard
DMA: Direct Memory Access/Addressing OR Document Management Alliance
DMACS: Distributed Manufacturing Automation & Control Software
DML: Data Manipulation Language
DMPC: Distributed Memory Parallel Computer
DMS: Data Management Software OR Data/Document Management System
DMTF: Desktop Management Task Force
DMY: Day-Month-Year
DNIC: Data Network Identification Code
DNIS: Dialed-Number Identification Service
DNS: Domain Naming System
DOS: Disk-Operating System
DPMA: Data Processing Management Association
DQL: Data Query Language
DRAM: Dynamic Random-Access Memory
DRI: Digital Research Incorporated
DRM: Digital Rights/Distributed Resource Management
DRS: Document Registration System
DSA: Digital Signature Algorithm OR Directory System Agent
DSIS: Distributed Support Information Standard
DSL: Digital Subscriber Line
DSS: Decision Support System OR Digital Signature Standard
DSSSL: Document Style Semantics and Specifications Language
DTC: Desktop Conferencing
DTVC: Desktop Video Conferencing
DUN: Dial-Up Networking
DUNCE: Dial-Up Network Connection Enhancement
DVD: Digital Video Disk
DVD-R: Digital Video Disk-Recordable
DVE: Digital Video Effect
DVMRP: Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol
E
EAP: Extensible Authentification Protocol
EARN: European Academic Research Network
EB: Exabyte, which is 1,024 petabytes or one billion billion characters of information
EBOOK: Electronic Book
EBT: Electronic Benefits Transfer
EC: Electronic Commerce OR Error Control
ECHO: European Commission Host Organization [Internet]
ECMA: European Computer Manufacturers Association
ECN: Electronic Communications Network
EDGAR: Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval
EDGE: Enhanced Data-Rates for Global Evolution
EDI: Electronic Data Interchange OR Electronic Document Interchange
EDIF: Electronic Design Interchange Format
EDIFACT: EDI for Administration Commerce and Transport
EDP: Electronic Data Processing
EDS: Electronic Data Systems, the corporation
EEM: Extended Memory Management
EEMAC: Electrical & Electronic Manufacturers of Canada
EEMS: Enhanced Expanded Memory Specification
EEPROM: Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EFF: Electronic Frontier Foundation
EFI: Electromechanical Frequency Interference
EFIGS: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish
E-FORM: Electronic Form
EFS: Encrypting File System
EFTS: Electronic Funds Transfer System
EGA: Enhanced Graphics Adapter
EGP: Exterior Gateway Protocol
EIA: Electronic Industries Association
EIS: Executive Information System
EISA: Extended Industry Standard Architecture
ELAN: Emulated Local Area Network
ELC: Embedded Linking and Control
ELD: Electronic License Distribution
ELEC: Enterprise Local Exchange Carrier
EMA: Electronic Mail Association
E-mail: Electronic Mail
EMCC: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Company, the world’s first computer company, founded by Presper Eckart and John Mauchly, who invented and built the first UNIVAC
EMS: Electronic Mail System OR Electronic Message Service
ENIAC: Electronic Numerical Integrator Analyzer and Computer, the first fully electronic digital computer.
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
ERIC: Educational Resources Information Center
ERR: Error
ESN: Electronic Security/Serial Number
ESS: Electronic Switching System
E-TEXT: Electronic Text
ETF: Enriched Text Format
EUI: End-User Interface
EULA: End-User License Agreement
EWAN: Emulator Without A Good Name
E-zine: Electronic Magazine
F
FAC: File Access Code
FAP: File Access Protocol
FAQ: Frequently Asked Question
FARNET: Federation of American Research Networks
FBC: Find By Content
FCB: File Control Block
FCC: Federal Communications Commission
FCCSET: Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and Technology
FEP: Front-End Processor
FIF: Fractal Image Format
FIFO: First-In, First-Out
FILO: First-In, Last-Out
FIP: File Processor Buffering
FIPS: Federal Information Processing Standard
FIRST: Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams
FITS: Flexible Image Transport System
FIX: Federal Internet Exchange
FLOPS: Floating Point Operations Per Second
FMS: Forms Management System
FMV: Full-Motion Video
FOCUS: Forum of Control Data Users
FOG: First Osborne Group
FOIP: Fax Over Internet Protocol
FORTH: Programming language
FORTRAN: Formula Translator, a programming language
FQDN: Fully Qualified Domain Name
FRAG: Fragment OR Fragmentation
FRC: Functional Redundancy Checking
FSF: Free Software Foundation
FSN: Full-Service Network
FSP: File-Service Protocol
FSR: Free System Resources
FTAM: File Transfer, Access and Management OR File Transfer and Access Method
FTL: Flash Transition Layer
FTP: File Transfer Protocol
FTPD: File Transfer Protocol Daemon
FTS: Federal Telecommunication System
FTX: Fault Tolerant Unix
FUI: File Update Information
FUNC: Function
FWIW: For What It’s Worth
FXP: File Exchange Protocol
FYI: For Your Information
G
Gb: Gigabit, which is 1,024 megabits OR one billion bits of information
GB: Gigabyte, which is 1,024 megabytes OR one billion characters of information
GBN: Global Business Network
GDDM: Graphics Data Display Manager
GDG: Generation Data Group
GDI: Graphical Device Interface
GENIE: General Electric Network for Information Exchange
GEOS: Graphic Environment Operating System
GFI: General Format Identifier
GGP: Gateway-Gateway Protocol
GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out
GII: Global Information Infrastructure
GILS: Government Information Locator Service
GIMP: GNU Image Manipulation Program
GINA: Graphical Identification and Authentication
GIS: Geographic Information System
GIX: Global Internet Exchange
GL: Graphics Language
GLIS: Global Land Information System of the U.S. Geological Survey
GLOBE: Global Learning by Observations to Benefit the Environment
GMDI: Gigabit Media-Dependent Interface
GML: Generalized Markup Language
GMS: Global Management System
GMT: Greenwich Mean Time
GNN: Global Network Navigator
GNU: Gnu’s Not Unix, an operating system.
GOSIP: Government Open Systems Interconnection Profile
GPI: Graphics Programming Interface
GPRS: General Packet Radio Service
GPU: Graphics Processing Unit
GSR: Gigabit Switch Router
GSTN: General Switched Telephone Network
GTL: Gunning Transceiver Logic
GUI: Graphical User Interface
GUID: Globally Unique Identifier OR Global Universal Identifier
GVT: Global Virtual Time
GW-BASIC: Gee Whiz BASIC
H
HAL: Hard Array Logic OR Hardware Abstraction Layer OR House-Programmed Array Logic OR Heuristically Programmed Algorithmic – origin of the name of the computer from the 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
HAP: Host Access Protocol
HCSS: High-Capacity Storage System
HCU: Home Computer User
HDF: Hierarchical Data Format, used by the NCSA
HDL: Hardware Description Language
HDLC: High-Level Data Link Control
HDSS: Holographic Data Storage System
HLL: High-Level Language
HMI: Human-Machine Interface
HMMP: Hyper-Media Management Protocol
HMP: Host Monitoring Protocol
HP: Hewlett-Packard (Company)
HPCC: High-Performance Computing Communications
HPFS: High-Performance File System
HPUX: Hewlett-Packard Unix
HRIS: Human Resource Information System
HRG: High Resolution Graphics
HRMS: Human Resource Management System
HSM: Hierarchical Storage Management
HSSI: High-Speed Serial Interface
HTML: HyperText Markup Language
HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol
HTTP-NG: HTTP Next Generation
HTTPS: HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure
HYTELNET: Hypertext-browser for Telnet Accessible Sites
I
IAB: Internet Architecture Board of the Internet Society (in an earlier version, the Network Working Group had an IAB that was called the Internet Activities Board)
IAEC: International Address Element Code
IAG: Instruction Address Generation
IAL: International Algebraic Language, the initial name for ALGOL
IANA: Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
IAP: Internet Access Provider
IAS: Internet Access Server
IAT: Import Address Table
IAUP: Internet User Account Provider
IBM: International Business Machines (Corporation)
ICANN: International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
ICAS: Intel Communicating Applications Specifications
ICB: Internet Citizen’s Band
ICCP: Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals
ICD: International Code Designator
ICE: Integrated Computing Environment, Langley Research
ICES: Interference-Causing Equipment Standard
ICMP: Internet Control Message Protocol
ICQ: I Seek You (messaging program)
ICR: Intelligent Character Recognition
ICU: Instruction-Cache Unit OR ISA Configuration Utility
IDA: Integrated Digital Access OR Intelligent Disk (or Drive) Array
IDAPI: Integrated Database Application Programming Interface
IDC: Internet Data Center
IDE: Interface Design Enhancement OR Imbedded Drive Electronics
IDEA: International Data Encryption Algorithm
IDEN: Integrated Data Enhanced Network
IDI: Initial Domain Identifier
IDL: Interactive Data Language OR Interface Definition Language
IDM: Integrated Document Management
IDMS: Integrated Data Base Management System
IDP: Integrated Data Processing
IDR: Intelligent Document Recognition
IE: Internet Explorer the Internet browsing software published by Microsoft
IEC: International Electrotechnical Commission
IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IEMSI: Interactive Electronic Mail Standard Identification
IEN: Internet Engineering Notes
IETF: Internet Engineering Task Force
IESG: Internet Engineering Steering Group
IFSM: Information Systems Management
IGA: Integrated Graphics Array
IGES: Initial Graphics Exchange Standard
IGMP: Internet Group Multicast Protocol
IGP: Interior Gateway Protocol
II: Information Infrastructure
III: Interstate Identification Index through NCIC
IIOP: Internet Inter-ORB Protocol
IITA: Information Infrastructure Technology and Applications
IITF: Information Infrastructure Task Force
ILE: Integrated Language Environment
IM: Instant Messenger
IMAP: Internet Message Access Protocol
IMDB: In-Memory Database
IMG: Image
IMP: Information/Interface Message Processor
IMPP: Internet Messaging and Presence Protocol
IMR: Internet Monthly Report
IMS: Information Management System
IMSP: Internet Message Support Protocol
INFS: Internet Network File System
INM: Integrated Network Management
INND: Internet News Daemon
INS: Integrated Network Server
InterNIC: Internet Network Information Center
IP: Internet Protocol OR Intellectual Property
IPCP: Internet Protocol Control Protocol
IPDC: Internet Protocol Device Control
IPI: Intelligent Peripheral Interface
IPL: Information Programming Language
IPM: Images Per Minute
IPNG: Internet Protocol, next generation
IPP: Internet Printing Protocol
IPR: Intellectual Property Rights
IPSE: Integrated Project Support Environment
IPSEC: Internet Protocol Security
IPTC: International Press Telecommunications Council
IPX: Internetwork Packet Exchange
IQL: Interactive Query Language
IRC: Internet Relay Chat
IRL: Interactive Reader Language
IRM: Information Resource Management
IRTF: Internet Research Task Force
IS: Information System
ISA: Industry Standard Architecture
ISAKMP: Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol
ISD: Instructional Systems Design
ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network
ISL: Interactive System Language
ISOC: Internet Society
ISO: International Organization for Standardization
ISP: Internet Service Provider
ISPF: Interactive System Programming Facility
ISR: Information Storage and Retrieval
ISS: Internet Sharing Software
ISSN: International Standard Serial Number
IT: Information Technology
ITB: Information Technology Branch
ITC: International Typeface Corporation
ITN: Identification Tasking and Networking
ITP: Internet Transaction Processing
ITR: Information Technology Research (National Science Foundation) OR Internet Talk Radio
ITU: International Telecommunication Union
ITUG: International Telecommunications User Group
ITU-TIES: ITU-Telecom Information Exchange Services
ITU-TSS: ITU-Telecommunication Standards Section
IUAP: Internet User Account Provider
J
JANET: Joint Academic Network
JAR: Java Archive, a file format
JCA: Java Cryptography Architecture
JCL: Job Control Language
JDBC: Java Database Connectivity
JEDEC: Joint Electronic Devices Engineering Council
JEIDA: Japanese Electronics Industry Development Association
JEPI: Joint Electronic Payment Initiative
JFIF: JPEG File Interchange Format
JIPS: JANET Internet Protocol Service
JIT: Just-In-Time (compiler)
JLIP: Joint Level Interface Protocol
JMAPI: Java Management Application Program Interface
JMS: Java Message Service
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group
JPL: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
JSP: Java Server Page
JSS: Java-Script Style Sheet
JUGHEAD: Jonzy’s Universal Gopher Hierarchy Excavation and Display
JVM: Java Virtual Machine
K
Kb: Kilobit
KB: Kilobyte, or 1,024 bytes
KBE: Knowledge-Based Engineering
Kbps: Kilobits Per Second
KBps: Kilobytes Per Second
KIF: Knowledge Interchange Format
KIS: Knowbot Information Service
KPI: Kernel Programming Interface
KQML: Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language
KRS: Knowledge Retrieval System
KSDS: Keyed Sequential Data Set
L
LAN: Local Area Network
LANACS: Local Area Network Asynchronous Connection Server
LANDP: LAN Distributed Platform
LANE: Local Area Network Emulation
LAP: Linux Application Platform
LAWN: Local Area Wireless Network
LCP: Link Control Protocol
LDA: Logical Device Address
LDC: Lotus Development Corporation
LEAF: Law Enforcement Access Field
LEC: Local Exchange Carrier OR Local Area Network Emulation Client
LEM: Language Extension Module
LEN: Low-Entry Networking
LES: Local Area Network Emulation Server
LIAS: Library Information Access System
LIEP: Large Internet Exchange Packet
LIFO: Last In, First Out
LILO: Last In, Last Out
LIM: Lotus/Intel/Microsoft
LIMS: Library Information Management System
LINUX: An operating system named after Linus Torvalds
LIP: Large Internet Packet
LISP: List Processing, a language
LISTSERV: List Server
LIU: LAN Interface Unit
LMOS: Leave Mail On Server
LOCIS: Library of Congress Information System
LOGO: a programming language
LON: Local Operating Network
LPAR: Logic Programming and Automated Reasoning
LPDU: Logical Protocol Data Unit
LSAPI: License Services Application Program Interface
LUI: Local User Input
LUIS: Library User Information Service
M
MADE: Manufacturing and Automated Design Engineering
MAGMA: Minimal Architecture for Generalized Markup Applications
MAI: Multiple Applications Interface
MAPI: Mail/Messaging Applications Programming Interface
MARC: Machine Readable Cataloging
MARVEL: Machine-Assisted Realization of the Virtual Electronic Library (Library of Congress)
MB: Megabyte, which is 1,024 kilobytes
MBASIC: Microsoft BASIC language
MBCS: Multi-Byte Character Set
MBONE: Multicast Backbone on the Internet
Mbps: Megabits Per Second
MBps: Megabytes Per Second
MBX: Mailbox
MCAD: Mechanical Computer Aided Design
MCI: MCI Communications Corporation; the name comes from the initials of original company – Microwave Communications, Inc
MDI: Memory-Display Interface OR Multiple-Document Interface
MDR: Metadata Repository
MEG: Megabyte
MERCI: Multimedia European Research Conferencing Integration
MFLOPS: Million Floating-Point Operations Per Second
MGCP: Media Gateway Control Protocol
MGML: Minimal Generalized Markup Language
MIME: Multimedia Internet Message Extensions OR Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions
MIPS: Million Instructions Per Second
MIS: Management Information System
MLAPI: Multilingual Application Programming Interface
MLM: Mailing List Manager
MMA: Microcomputer Managers Association
MMU: Memory Management Unit
MOHLL: Machine-Oriented High-Level Language
MOO: MUD, Object-Oriented
MOP: Maintenance Operations Protocol
MOPS: Million Operations Per Second
MPEG: Moving Picture Experts Group
MPMD: Multiple Processor/Multiple Data
MS: Microsoft Corporation OR Millisecond
MS-DOS: Microsoft Disk-Operating System
MSDR: Multiplexed Streaming Data Request
MSG: Message
MSN: Microsoft Network
MSO: Multiple-Systems Operator
MTS: Message Transfer Service/System
MUA: Mail User Agent
MUD: Multi-User Dialogue/Dimension/Domain/Dungeon
MUG: Multi-user Game
MUSE: Multi-User Shared Environment
MX: Mail Exchanger on the Internet
N
NAC: Network Adapter Card
NACD: National Association of Computer Dealers
NACS: National Advisory Committee on Semiconductors
NANO: One thousand-millionth
NAP: Network Access Point
NAPLPS: North American Presentation Level Protocol Syntax (for graphics)
NAS: Network Access Server OR Network Application Support OR Network-Attached Storage
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASDAQ: National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation
NASI: NetWare Asynchronous Services Interface
NAT: Network Address Translators
NAU: Network Addressable Unit
NCC: Network Control Center
NCD: Network Computing Device
NCGA: National Computer Graphics Association
NCIC: National Crime Information Center
NCOS: Network Computer Operating System
NCP: NetWare Core Protocol OR Not Copy Protected OR Network Control Processor/Program/Protocol
NCR: National Cash Register, the company
NCSA: National Center for Supercomputing Applications
NCSC: National Computer Security Center
NCSI: Network Communications Services Interface
NDIS: Network Device/Driver Interface Specification
NDL: Network Data Language
NDMP: Network Data Management Protocol
NDP: Numeric Data Processor
NDS: NetWare Directory Service
NEC: Nippon Electric Company
NEMA: National Electrical Manufacturers Association
NEP: Network Entry Point
NES: National Education Supercomputer
NEST: Novell Embedded Systems Technology
NetBIOS: Network Basic Input/Output System
NGI: Next-Generation Internet
NHR: National Handwriting Recognition
NIA: Next Instruction Address
NIC: Network Information Center OR Network Interface Card
NII: National Information Infrastructure
NIR: Network Information Retrieval
N-ISDN: Narrowband ISDN OR National ISDN
NISO: National Information Standards Organization
NISP: Networked Information Services Project
NIST: National Institute for Standards and Technology
NITC: National Information Technology Center
NIU: Network Interface Unit
NLP: Natural-Language Processing
NLSFUNC: National Language Support Function
NN: Network Node OR No News
NNI: Network-to-Network Interface
NNM: Network Node Manager
NNTP: Network News Transfer Protocol
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOC: Network Operations Center
NOS: Network Operating System
NPI: Network Printer Interface
NPTN: National Public Telecomputing Network
NRC: National Research Council, in Canada
NREN: National Research and Education Network
NRM: Network Resource Manager
NS: Nanosecond, which is one-billionth of a second
NSA: National Security Agency
NSAP: Network Service Access Point
NSERC: National Sciences and Engineering Research Council, in Canada
NSF: National Science Foundation
NSFNET: National Science Foundation Network
NSI: NASA Science Internet
NSLOOKUP: Name Server Lookup
NSP: Network Service Provider
NSTC: National Science and Technology Council
NSTL: National Software Testing Labs
NTIA: National Telecommunications and Information Administration
NTIS: National Technical Information Service
NTP: Network Time Protocol
NTSC: National Television Standards Committee
NUI: Network User Interface or Network User Identification
NVP: Nominal Velocity of Propagation
NWG: Network Working Group
O
OAB: One-to-All Broadcast
OAG: Official Airline Guide
OAI: Open Applications Interface
OCE: Open Collaborative Environment
OCL: Operation Control Language OR Object Constraint Language
OCR: Optical Character Recognition
ODA: Open Document Architecture
ODAPI: Open Database Application Programming Interface
ODBC: Object-Oriented Database Connectivity
ODBMS: Object-Oriented Database Management System
ODIF: Open Document Interchange Format
ODL: Object Definition Language
ODM: Object Data Manager OR Optimized Distribution Model
OHCI: Open Host Controller Interface
OIDL: Object Interface Definition Language
OIS: Office Information System
OLAP: Online Analytical Processing
OLCP: Online Complex Processing
OLE: Object Linking and Embedding
OLTP: Online Transaction Processing
OM: Object Manager
OMA: Object Management Architecture
OME: Open Messaging Environment
OMF: Open Media Format OR Open Message Format
OMG: Object Management Group
OMI: Open Messaging Interface
OML: Object Manipulation Language
OMR: Optical Mark Recognition
ONC: Open Network Computing
ONU: Optical Network Unit
OOAD: Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
OODB: Object-Oriented Database
OOL: Object-Oriented Language
OOOS: Object-Oriented Operating System
OOPL: Object-Oriented Programming Language
OOPS: Object-Oriented Programming and Systems
OPAC: Online Public Access Catalog
OPCODE: Operational Code
OPM: Operations Per Minute
OQL: Object Query Language
OROM: Optical Read-Only Memory
OS: Operating System
OSA: Open Scripting/System Architecture
OSF: Open Software Foundation
OSP: On-Screen Programming OR Optical Storage Processor
OSQL: Object-Structured Query Language
OSS: Open-Source Software
OUI: Organizational Unique Identifier
OURS: Open Users Recommended Solutions
OWL: Object/Open Windows Library
P
P3P: Platform for Privacy Preferences Project
PACS: Picture Archiving and Communication System
PACS-L: Public Access Computer Systems List (Internet)
PAD: Packet Assembler/Disassembler
PAIH: Public-Access Internet Host
PAIS: Public-Access Internet Site
PAL: Programmed Array Language OR Paradox Applications Language OR Programming Assembly Language
PAP: Packet-level Procedure OR Password Authentication Protocol OR Printer Access Protocol
PARC: Palo Alto Research Center for Xerox Corporation
PASCAL: A programming language named for philosopher Blaise Pascal
PAX: Portable Archive Exchange
PC: Personal Computer
PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect/Interface
PCL: Printer Command Language OR Process Control Language
PCMCIA: Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
PCMIM: Personal Computer Media Interface Module
PCN: Personal Computer Network
PCNFS: Personal Computer Network File System
PD: Public Domain
PDA: Personal Digital Assistant
PDD: Physical Device Driver OR Portable Digital Document
PDF: Portable Document Format OR Portable Document File
PDIAL: Public Dialup Internet Access List
PDL: Page Description Language OR Program Description Language OR Program Design Language
PDM: Product Data Management
PDN: Public Data Network
PDP: Programmable Data Processor OR Parallel Data Processing
PDS: Packet Driver Specification OR Portable Document Software
PDU: Protocol Data Unit
PEM: Privacy-Enhanced Mail
PEP: Packet Exchange Protocol
PERC: Power Edge RAID Controller
PERL: Practical Extraction and Report Language
PGML: Precision Graphics Markup Language
PGP: Pretty Good Privacy the name of an early Internet encryption program
PHIGS: Programmers’ Hierarchical Interactive Graphics Standards
PIA: Peripheral Interface Adapter
PIC: Personal Information Carrier OR Priority Interrupt Controller OR Program Interrupt Controller
PICS: Platform for Internet Content Selection
PICT: Picture
PID: Process Identification Number OR Product ID OR Proportional, Integral, Derivative
PIER: Procedures for Internet/Enterprise Renumbering
PIF: Picture Interchange Format File OR Program Information File
PILOT: Programmed Inquiry Learning Or Teaching
PIM: Personal Information Manager OR Primary Interface Module
PIN: Personal Identification Number
PINE: Program for Internet news & e-mail
PING: Packet Internet Grouper
PIXEL: Picture Element
PJPEG: Progressive JPEG
PLATO: Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations
PMD: Packet Mode Data
PN: Processing Node
PNA: Programmable Network Access
PNG: Portable Network Graphics
PNNI: Private Network-to-Network Interface
PNP: Plug And Play
POP: Post Office Protocol OR Publishing On Demand
P2P: Peer-To-Peer OR People-To-People
PPM: Pages Per Minute
PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol
PPPOE: Point-to-Point Protocol Over Ethernet
PPS: Packets Per Second
PRACSA: Public Remote Access Computer Standards Association
PRAM: Parallel Random-Access Machine OR Parameter Random Access Memory
PSDN: Packet-Switched Data Network
PSDS: Packet-Switched Data Service
PSN: Packet Switching Network Processor Serial Number
PSPDN: Packet-Switched Public Data Network
PTI: Packet Type Identifier
Q
QA: Quality Assurance
QBE: Query By Example
QBF: Query by Form
QC: Quality Control
QDA: Qualitative Data Analysis
QDO: Quick-and-Dirty Operating System
QFA: Quick File Access
QFE: Quick-Fix Engineering
QOS: Quality Of Service
QSAM: Queued Sequential Access Method
R
RACF: Resource Access Control Facility
RAD: Rapid Application Development
RADIUS: Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service
RADSL: Rate Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line
RAG: Row Address Generator
RAID: Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks OR Redundant Arrays of Independent Drives
RALU: Register Arithmetic Logic Unit
RAM: Random-Access Memory
RAMP: Remote-Access Maintenance Protocol
RAP: Rapid Application Prototyping
RAS: Random-Access Storage OR Remote-Access Service
RBBS: Remote Bulletin Board System
RCP: Remote Control Panel OR Remote Copy
RCS: Records Communications Switching System
RD: Receive Data OR Remove Directory
R&D: Research and Development
RDA: Remote Database Access
RDB: Receive Data Buffer OR Relational Database
RDBMS: Relational Database Management System
RDO: Remote Data Object
RDR: Remote Data Recovery
RDSR: Receiver Data Service Request
REQ: Request
RES: Resolution OR Remote Execution Service OR Reset
RETR: Retrieve
RF: Radio Frequency
RFC: Request For Comments
RFD: Request for Discussion
RFI: Request for Information
RFP: Request for Proposal
RFQ: Request for Quotation
RFS: Remote File Sharing OR Remote File System
RFU: Reserved For Future Use
RGB: Red-Green-Blue (color model)
RIAA: Recording Industry Association of America
RIME: RelayNet International Message Exchange
RIP: Raster Image Processor OR Remote Imaging Protocol OR Routing Information Protocol
RIPS: Raster Image Processing System
RISC: Reduced Instruction Set Computing
RLOGIN: Remote Login
RM: Reset Mode
RMB: Right Mouse Button
RMDIR: Remove Directory
RMI: Remote Messaging Interface
RMS: Record Management Services
RMW: Read-Modify-Write
RND: Random
RNG: Random Number Generator
RNP: Regional Network Provider
R-O: Read Only
ROI: Return On Investment
ROLAP: Relational On-Line Analytical Processing
ROM: Read-Only Memory
ROOM: Real-Time, Object-Oriented Modeling
ROP: Raster Operation OR RISC Operation
RPT: Repeat
RPQ: Request for Price Quotation
RSAC: Recreational Software Advisory Council
RSCS: Remote Spooling Communications System
RSD: Route Server Daemon
RSI: Repetitive Strain (or Stress) Injury (carpal tunnel syndrome and other physical problems)
RSPX: Remote Sequenced Packet Exchange
RSVP: Resource Reservation Protocol
RT: Real Time OR RISC Technology OR Run Time
R/T: Receive/Transmit
RTAM: Remote Terminal Access Method
RTC: Real-Time Clock
RTDM: Real-Time Data Migration
RTEL: Reverse Telnet
RTF: Rich-Text Format
RTMP: Routing Table Maintenance Protocol
RTOS: Real-Time Operating System
RTP: Rapid-Transport Protocol OR Real-Time Protocol OR Real-Time Transport Protocol
RTS: Remote Takeover System OR Request To Send
RTSP: Real-Time Streaming Protocol
RTX: Run Time Extension
RVA: Relative Virtual Address
R/W: Read/Write
RWM: Read-Write Memory
S
SAM: Serial Access Memory OR Sequential Access Method
SAN: Storage/System Area Network
SAP: Systems, Applications and Products, category given to companies that handle these tasks
SAPI: Speech Application Program Interface
SAS: Sales Accounting System OR Single Attached Station OR Single Audio System OR Statistical Analysis System
SATAN: Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks
SBCS: Single-Byte Character Set
SCAM: SCSI Configuration Automatically
SCCP: Simple Conference Control Protocol
S-CDMA: Synchronous Code-Division Multiple Access
SCI: Scalable Coherent Interface OR Serial Communications Interface
SCI.: Science, a USENET mailing list newsgroup category
SCIL: Serial Control Interface Logic
SCSI: Small Computer Systems Interface
SD: Send Data OR Super Density
SDH: Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
SDL: Specification and Description Language
SDLC: Synchronous Data Link Control (protocol)
SDM: System-Development Multitasking
SDMI: Secure Digital Music Initiative/Interface
SDMMC: Secure Digital Multi Media Card
SDMS: SCSI Device Management System [NCR]
SDNS: Secure Data Network Service
SDR: Streaming Data Request
SDRAM: Synchronous DRAM
SD-ROM: Super-Density ROM
SDS: Sysops Distribution System
SDXF: Structured Data Exchange Format
SEPP: Secure Encryption Payment Protocol
SETEXT: Structure Enhanced Text
SFQL: Structured Full-text Query Language
SGCP: Simple Gateway Control Protocol
SGI: Silicon Graphics, Inc., a U.S. corporation
SGML: Standard Generalized Markup Language
SGRAM: Synchronous Graphics RAM
SHTML: Server-Side Include HyperText Markup Language
S-HTTP: Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol
SIC: Standard Industrial Code
SID: Security Identifier OR Serial Input Data
SIDF: System-Independent Data Format
SIFT: Stanford Information Filtering Tool
SIG: Special Interest Group
SIGCAT: Special Interest Group on CD-ROM Applications and Technology
SIM: Simulator OR Simulation
SIMD: Single Instruction, Multiple Datastream (processor)
SIMM: Single In-line Memory Module
SIP: Session Initiation Protocol
SISNET: Signal In Space Through The Internet
SIU: System Interface Unit
SKIP: Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocols
SLIM: Structured Language for Internet Markup
SLIP: Serial Line Interface Protocol
SLMR: Silly Little Mail Reader
SLOT: Scanned Laser Output Terminal
SLP: Service Location Protocol
SLSI: Super Large-Scale Integration
SLU: Spoken Language Understanding
SMART: Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology
SMDS: Switched Multimedia/Multi-Megabit Data Service
SMIF: Standard Mechanical Interface
SMIL: Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language
S-MIME: Secure MIME
SML: Standard Meta Language
SMPC: Share- Memory Parallel Computer
SMRAM: System Management Random-Access Memory
SMTP: Simple Mail-Transfer Protocol
SNA: Systems Network Architecture
SNAP: Sub-Network Access Protocol OR Sub-Network Attachment Point
SNEWS: Secure News Server
SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol
SOAP: Simple Object Access Protocol
SOE: Standard Operating Environment
SOL: Simulation-Oriented Language
SPA: Secure Password Authentication OR Software Publishers Association
SPAN: Space Physics Analysis Network
SPARC: Scalable Processor Architecture
SPI: Service Provider Interface
SPID: Service Profile/Provider Identifier
SPLD: Simple Programmable Logic Device
SPOOL: Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On Line
SPP: Sequenced Packet Protocol OR Standard Printer Port
SPREAD: Systems Programming, Research, Engineering and Development
SPS: Secure Packet Shield
SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, software used to crunch numbers.
SPX: Sequenced Packet Exchange
SQE: Signal Quality Error
SQL/DS: Structured Query Language/Data System
SRAM: Shadow Random-Access Memory OR Static Random-Access Memory
SRD: Screen Reader System
SRDRAM: Self-Refreshed DRAM
SRO: Sharable and Read Only
SRPI: Server-Requester Programming Interface
SRQ: Service Request
SSA: Serial Storage Architecture
SSAD: Structured System Analysis and Design
SSPI: Security Service Provider Interface
SSRP: Simple Server Redundancy Protocol
STAR: Self-Defining Text Archival
STX: Start of Text
SVN: Switched Virtual Network
SVR: Server
SWAIS: Simple Wide-Area Information Server
SWAP: Shared Wireless Access Protocol
SWIG: Simplified Wrapper and Interface Generator
SWISH: Simple Web Indexing System for Humans
SWP: Simple Web Printing
SYSADMIN: System Administrator
SYSGEN: System Generator
SYSLOG: System Log
SYSMOD: System Modification
SYSOP: System Operator
SYSREQ: System Request
T
TACS: Total Access Communication System
TAD: Telephone Answering Device
TAG: Technical Advisory Group
TAPI: Telephony Applications Programming Interface
TAS: Telephone Access Server
TAXI: Transparent Asynchronous Transceiver/Receiver Interface
TB: Terabyte – 1,024 gigabytes or one thousand billion characters of information
TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
TD: Transmit Data
TDI: Transport Device Interface
TDMS: Terminal Display Management System
TDP: Tag Distribution Protocol
TELCO: Telephone Company
THOMAS: Initial name of the U.S. House of Representatives access system
TIA: Telecommunications Industry Association
TIFF: Tagged-Image File Format
TIIAP: Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program, part of the National Information Infrastructure
TIMS: Text Information Management Systems
TINA: Telecommunication Information Networking Architecture
TIP: Terminal Interface Processor OR Transaction Internet Protocol
TLD: Top-Level Domain – in Internet parlance, a domain is a name
TLI: Transport Layer Interface
TLS: Transport Layer Security
TMP: Temporary
TMS: Traffic Management System
TOD: Time Of Day
TOP: Technical and Office Protocol
TOS: Terms Of Service
TPC: Transaction-Processing Performance Council
TPL: Table Producing Language OR Transaction Processing Language
TPM: Transactions Per Minute
TPS: Transactions Per Second OR Transaction Processing System
TQM: Total Quality Management
TSA: Technical Support Alliance OR Telephony Services Architecture
TSP: Telephony Service Provider
TSS: Task State Segment OR Time-Sharing System
TTS: Text-To-Speech OR Transaction Tracking System
TUI: Text-Based User Interface
TWAIN: Technology Without Any Interesting Name, generally refers to a connection between an application and scanner software
TXT: Text
U
UAM: User Authentication Method
UAS: User Application Software
UBR: Unspecified Bit Rate
UCE: Unsolicited Commercial E-mail
UCL: Universal Communications Language
UCS: Universal Character Set
UCT: Universal Coordinated Time
UDB: Universal Data Base
UDC: Universal Decimal Classification OR User-Defined Commands
UDD: User Data Document
UDDI: Universal Description, Discovery and Integration
UDF: Universal Disk Format OR User-Defined Functions
UDG: User-Defined Gateway
UDT: Uniform Data Transfer OR User-Defined Type
UFS: Unix File System
UG: User Group
UHCI: Universal Host Controller Interface
UHL: Universal Hypertext Link
UI: Unix International OR User Interface
UIC: User Identification Code
UID: User Identifier
UIMS: User-Interface Management System
ULSI: Ultra Large-Scale Integration
UML: Unified Modeling Language
UNC: Universal Naming Convention
UNCOL: Universal Computer-Oriented Language
UNEP: Unbundled Network Platform
UNI: User-Network Interface
UNII: Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure
UNIX: An AT&T Bell Laboratories operating system
UNSPSC: Universal Standard Products and Services Classification
UPL: User Program Language
UPM: Unix Programmer’s Manual OR User Profile Management
URI: Uniform Resource Identifier
URL: Uniform Resource Locator, also known as a “Web address”
URN: Uniform Resource Name/Number
USENET: User’s Network, an Internet-based discussion group
USERID: User Identification
USR: U.S. Robotics (corporation)
USSA: User-Supported Software Association (United Kingdom)
UT: User Terminal
UTC: Coordinated Universal Time
UTI: Universal Text Interchange/Interface
UUCP: Unix-To-Unix Copy Protocol
UUDECODE: Unix-To-Unix Decoding
UUENCODE: Unix-To-Unix Encoding
UUI: User-To-User Information
UUID: Universal Unique Identifier
V
VA: Virtual Address OR Visual Age
VAST: Variable Array Storage Technology
VAX/VMS: Virtual Address Extension/Virtual Memory System
VBNS: Very High-Speed Backbone Network Service
VBR: Variable Bit Rate
VDE: Video Display Editor OR Visual Development Environment
VDI: Virtual Device Interface
VDT: Video Display Terminal
VEMM: Virtual Expanded-Memory Manager
VERONICA: Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-Wide Index to Computer Archives
VESA: Video Electronics Standards Association
VHSIC: Very High-Speed Integrated Circuit
VIA: Virtual Interface Architecture
VIE: Virtual Information Environment
VIS: Viewable Image Size OR Voice Information System
VLAN: Virtual Local Area Network
VLINK: Visited Link [HTML]
VM: Virtual Machine OR Virtual Memory
VMA: Virtual Memory Address
VML: Vector Markup Language
VMS: Virtual Memory System OR Voice Message System
VNA: Virtual Network Architecture
VNOS: Visual Network Operating System
VOD: Video On Demand
VOIP: Voice-Over Internet Protocol
VOS: Verbal/Voice Operating System
VP: Virtual Path
VPD: Virtual Printer Device OR Vital Product Data
VPDN: Virtual Private Data Network
VPL: Virtual Programming Language
VPN: Virtual Private Network OR Virtual Page Number
VPS: Voice-Processing System
VR: Virtual Reality
VRAM: Video Random Access Memory
VRD: Virtual Retinal Display
VRM: Vendor Relationship Management
VRML: Virtual Reality Modeling Language
VROOMM: Virtual Real-time Object-Oriented Memory Manager
VRU: Voice-Response Unit
VS: Virtual Storage
VSAM: Video Surveillance and Monitoring OR Virtual Storage Access Method
VSM: Virtual Shared Memory OR Virtual Storage Management
VSN: Volume Serial Number
VSOS: Virtual Storage Operating System
VTNS: Virtual Telecommunications Network Service
VUI: Video-User Interface
VWM: Virtual Window Manager
VXML: Voice Extensible Markup Language
V&V: Verification and Validation
W
W3: World Wide Web
W3A: World Wide Web Applets
W3C: World Wide Web Consortium
WAI: Web Accessibility Initiative OR Web Application Interface
WAIS: Wide-Area Information Server
WAITS: Wide-Area Information Transfer System
WAN: Wide-Area Network
WAP: Wireless Application Protocol
WATS: Wide-Area Telecommunications Service
WBEM: Web-Based Enterprise Management
WEA: Web-Enabled Application
WELL: Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link, a bulletin board “community”
WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy
WFM: Wired For Management
WHC: Workstation Host Connection
WMC: Workflow Management Coalition
WML: Wireless Markup Language
WMP: Windows Media Player
WMRM: Write Many, Read Many
WORM: Write Once, Read Many
WOS: Workstation Operating System
WOW: Window On Windows
WP: Write Processing OR Word Processing OR Word Perfect
WPHD: Write-Protect Hard Disk
WPM: Words Per Minute
WRAM: Windows Random Access Memory
WS: WordStar OR Workstation
WSAPI: Web Site Application Program Interface
WSDL: Web Services Definition/Description Language
WSH: Windows Scripting Host
WSUI: Web Services User Interface
WTLS: Wireless Transport Layer Security
WWIS: World Wide Information System
WWW: World Wide Web
WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get
X
XA: Extended Architecture OR Extended Attribute
X2B: Hexadecimal to Binary
XCHG: Exchange
XCMD: External Command
XCOPY: Extended Copy
X2D: Hexadecimal to Decimal
XDF: Extended Density Format
XDR: Extended/External Data Representation
XFCN: External Function
XFDL: Extensible forms Description Language
XGA: Extended Graphics Array
XHTML: Extensible HyperText Markup Language
XLL: Extensible Link Language
XMIT: Transmit
XML: Extensible Markup Language
XOFF: Transmitter Off
XON: Transmitter On
XRT: Extensions for Real-Time
XSL: Extensible Style Language
XUL: Extensible User-Interface Language
Y
YAM: Yet Another Modem
YAHOO: Yet Another Hierarchically Officious Oracle
Y2K: Year 2000
YTD: Year To Date
Z
ZD: Ziff-Davis (publishers of online and traditional publications)
ZDS: Zenith Data Systems