....GLOSSARY_TEXT


AMIGA DOS -- The "Disk Operating System" (DOS), or just "Operating
System" (OS) for the Amiga® computer.  The Multitasking OS is derived
from the "Tripos" OS of Cambridge University, England.  Thirty
developer versions existed before the first release version "1.0".
Other release versions were 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 2.0.  There were many
interim release modifications and developers versions.  The DOS
includes both the "Workbench" icon interface, and the "Command Line
Interface" (C.L.I.).  The Tripos OS included the CLI for free, or
otherwise, CBM-Amiga had no plans to include one.  Many CLI commands
kept the same name through many modifications, yet work somewhat
differently, (hopefully better).  DOS is the means whereby all user
input is processed, and all result output is processed.  Most programs
use the DOS as a convenience, but exceptions exist.  The OS is stored
partially in "Read Only Memory" (ROM) and partially is loaded from
"Mass Storage" such as floppy disks or hard drive as needed.

ADOBE SYSTEMS, INC. -- The creators and owners of "Postscript®" page
description language.  Adobe is a capitalist corporation in business
for profit, therefore keeping some secrets to itself.  In order to
profit from its "Postscript" language, Adobe has had to publish a
considerable amount of information about both the language and about
the typeface data files.  It continues to retain some measure of
private information, which means that Adobe brand typeface software
may perform differently in identical circumstances to the results
obtained by non-Adobe typeface software.  "Hinting" is one instance of
Adobe secrets.

ADOBE ENCODING -- The translation of numbers resulting from each
keypress into assignment of a character or symbol to be printed.  Each
key has a number value assigned by each computer manufacturer.  Each
key-number is assigned a character.  These assignments differ from
computer manufacturer to computer manufacturer.  The Amiga is closer
to the Macintosh in some respects in its numbering, and Macintosh
encoding is more often useful when using Postscript typeface software
on the Amiga.  The Macintosh does not use the same ANSI keyboard
system as the Amiga, and therefore the Mac encoding is not totally
correct for Amiga.  (SEE "AFM")

ADOBE FONT METRICS -- AFM, or the relative width values or a
particular set of characters of a particular postscript typeface.

AFM -- Adobe Font Metrics.  Also the name of a particular data file
required by PageStream software, and as input into becoming a
Professional Page Metrics binary file.  AFM files are ASCII.  The
contain the width of each character, plus any defined "Kerning Pairs".
Macintosh stores the AFM information inside the "FOND" resource
inside the bitmap screen font.  Most Mac software finds the AFM
information in the bitmap font, thereby ignoring the AFM.  For this
reason, many Mac postscript typefaces are missing the AFM file.  Every
Amiga software requires the information from the AFM file, because
AmigaDOS bitmap fonts are ignorant about metrics and kerning pairs.
PageStream uses the ASCII AFM file directly; Professional Page
requires the ASCII AFM to be converted to their binary metric format.

ANSI -- American National Standards Institute.  ANSI is both an
organization and the standards promulgated by the organization.  Its
most significant application to the Amiga is the ANSI keyboard codes.
The Amiga ANSI keyboard defines 256 switch codes which represent
letters, numbers, punctuation, accented characters, assorted symbols,
and computer control functions (such as carriage return, tab, space,
linefeed, and pagefeed).  Other computers, such as Macintosh® and
IBM-PC® may not use the ANSI codes, thereby creating errors when
outputting typeface characters designed from files employed by those
other computers if used with Amiga.

ARP -- AmigaDOS Replacement Project.  Freeware replacements to the
normal Tripos Amiga DOS CLI commands, with enhanced wildcards, a
library resource, and a standardized file requester.  Available from
Fred Fish library, user groups, and may telecommunications services.

ASCII -- American Standard Code for Information Interchange.  The
first 128 codes used by most computer keyboards and teletypes.  As the
name implies it is the American Standard Code.  Foreign languages use
the second 128 codes, which are not standard from computer model to
computer model.  ANSI includes the ASCII portion, and extends the
codes for an higher-level standard.  Neither Adobe, Macintosh, nor
IBM-PC have standardized on the ANSI standard, and Adobe departs from
it in the "Tilde" (~) character as far as ASCII encoding goes.

ASSIGN -- In Amiga DOS, the ASSIGN command is the method for creating
logical devices, which emulate hardware devices through software.
ASSIGNing is also the process of making resources globally available
to the entire array of simultaneously running multitasking softwares.
For a complete discussion of ASSIGN see the file "INSTALLATION_TEXT",
with examples.

AUTOTRACE -- Computer routines to automatically detect and outline the
edges of a graphical object.  Available in more sophisticated software
to create structured drawing objects out of bitmaps.  Used in creating
postscript typefaces out of bitmap templates of the characters, the
quality of autotracing varies widely in software products from
different makers.  Poor quality autotrace software will result in
postscript typeface data files with too many control points and
unnecessarily large and slow data files.  Overly complex characters
may not render correctly in PageStream, and may exceed the 1,500
turnpoints limit in postscript level one.

BINARY -- is the mathematical system which has only two digits: 0 and
1.  Binary is the only language computer electronics can process.  All
other languages require some translation into binary before they can
be processed by the computer.  The binary mathematical system is
absolute and universally identical, but each computer has its own
codes interpreting the meaning of binary numbers.  Some work with 8
bits, some 16 bits, some 32 or more bits at a time.  A bit is the
smallest unit in the binary system, being either 0 or 1.  Eight bits
is a "byte" (computer nerd humor), four bits is a "nybble", sixteen
bits is a "word", and thirty-two bits is a "long-word".  Bytes are
often translated into "Hexadecimal", another mathematical system
easier for programmers to read and understand than binary.  Binary
files are data files in a form ready to be used by a particular
computer operating system.

BITMAP -- is the use of a grid metaphor to describe a graphical image.
 Each location on the grid is described by a unique vertical unit and
a unique horizontal unit.  Each intersection of vertical and
horizontal units is a bit of information.  The grid is the map of the
information.  The presence or absence of bits on the map compose the
bitmap.  Bitmaps are best understood by observing mosaic pictures
using rectangular tiles of black or white.  "Columns", as in columns
supporting a building, are the vertical units; while "rows", as in
rows of chairs in a theater, are the horizontal units.  Some bitmaps
use the millenia-old "cartesian" coordinates system counting from
lower left going higher as one progresses up or right.  (Cartography,
or mapmaking, is named after the inventor of the cartesian coordinate
system.)  Postscript pages use the cartesian coordinate system.  Amiga
used a system counting from the top-left of the screen, progressing
higher as one proceeds down or right.  Amiga screen fonts are fixed
bitmap images of each letter stored in a font size file.  It requires
a new bitmap file for each size.

C.L.I. -- Command Line Interface.  Computers "understand" only
electricity in discrete units.  Either the electrical voltage is there
or it is not.  This can be represented by the binary math system of
0=none, 1=voltage present.  Humans have a lot of difficulty using
binary extensively.  Interfaces are binary computer programs which
translate human actions into binary information for the computer to
process.  A command line interface is a program to receive electrical
codes produced by each keypress, translate that into characters to
type to the screen so the user can see what they are typing, and
ultimately to process the information typed one line at a time.  Upon
completion of a line of typing, the return key, or enter key, begins a
series of translations by the DOS into actions requested by the user.
 The CLI or SHELL programs are command line interfaces as alternatives
to the "Workbench" icon interface.  The CLI is closer to DOS than the
Workbench, and therefore more powerful in some respects.  Some
functions never had any icon interface prepared for them and can only
be performed through a command line.

COMPUTER -- any aid to performing mathematical functions.  In modern
times, a digital electronics device capable of performing multiple
functions according to preset instructions of programs.  Since digital
computers actually do only one thing, which is add positive or
negative numbers according to the rules of binary mathematics, it is
still correct to call Amiga a computer even when it is apparently
doing word-processing, music, or graphics.  Computers operate at the
speed of light, or the speed of electromagnetic waves, so the math
functions are well hidden from the average user.  Nevertheless, those
who have learned some binary and hexadecimal math have an advantage in
making educated guesses whenever they encounter a new situation in
computing.

COMPUTER LANGUAGE -- a means of creating electromagnetic data in a
structured format for a particular digital electronic computer and
particular operating system to process.  Languages vary widely, from
"low-level" (machine language) to "high-level" (human language).  Of
particular interest here is the Postscript Language required by a
printer-computer with the Postscript Language Interpreter (or OS).
 Amiga programs have to translate your words and graphics into the
Postscript language before the postscript printer-computer can process
the program and produce the page.  A language specifically designed
for printer-computers is called a "Page Description Language" (PDL).

COPY -- The AmigaDOS command for making a duplicate of computer data,
be it files, directories, or whole disks full.

CPU -- The Central Processor Unit, or the main electronic device which
is the heart of the microcomputer.  The Amiga uses a 68000 series
Motorola chip, or its larger versions.

DIGITIZE -- The process of converting data from the real world to
binary math of the computer world.  Digitize is often used to produce
computer graphics from video input, or tracing from a digitizing
tablet.

DIR -- A AmigaDOS command to see contents of directories in the Amiga
filesystem.

DIRECTORY -- A storage compartment to contain data files and/or
additional directories.  A disk can be compared to an Apartment
building.  The entrance is the "root" directory whereby everything
else can be accessed.  Each directory is a door, and behind the door
may be occupants in a room, and other doors to other rooms with
additional doors and occupants.  You (or someone) is the architect who
takes a blank disk and creates the rooms (directories) and fills them
with occupants (programs and other data files).

DIRS -- A synonym sometimes used for directories.

DOS -- Disk Operating System.  The fundamental program which starts
the computer and permits the startup of any user programs.
 Additionally, the DOS creates and deletes directories and files on
mass storage devices (usually disks) which survive after the power is
turned off.

DRAWER -- A term particular to the Workbench icon interface, as a
metaphor for a storage compartment.  A synonym for directory.

FILE -- A collection of electronic binary data which may be ASCII,
machine language, program or user data.

FILEPATH -- The full correctly spelled name of the address where a
file or directory is located by DOS.  The disk name comes first,
always separated by a colon, then any dir(s) each separated by a slash
(/), and finally a filename.  If there are any space characters (" ")
the entire filepath name must be enclosed in doublequotes (").
 Example:  "Root Dir:First Dir/Second Level dir/Target File".

FLOPPY DISK -- The primary medium for sale and transportation of
computer software.  A thin plastic cookie coated on both sides with
iron oxide magnetic receptive material.  The cookie is floppy and
requires a protective covering.

FONT -- For hundreds of years, deriving from the manufacture of cast
iron letters in metal foundries, one size only of a typeface.  The
term font comes from foundt from the foundry.  In present times the
ignorance of many has polluted the word to mean the same as a
typeface, or every possible size obtainable from particular software.
 AmigaDOS bitmap files are "fonts" as each file is one size only.
 Compugraphic intellitype and Postscript typeface files are programs
which generate "fonts" at will in any requested size.  It is an error
to describe these computer programs as "fonts".  Welcome to the tower
of babble where nobody can be sure what anyone else is saying, because
words don't have their historic or any fixed meaning.

FONT METRICS -- Postscript typefaces are scalable.  That means that
their height or width can be stretched or squeezed, making various
sizes of output characters.  The main typeface file stores the master
templates describing the shape of each character, but some additional
file is required to describe the normal width of each character, the
bounding box which encloses the character and defines its normal
proximity to the characters to its left and right, and "kerning
pairs".  The Adobe Systems, Inc., uses an "AFM" or Adobe Font Metrics"
file as this additional file.  Macintosh merges this information into
its bitmap screen fonts file, and the existence of this metric
information is hidden from most users.  PageStream uses the AFM file
directly, but Professional Page requires a binary from ASCII
conversion into its own metric file format.

FORMAT -- Preparing a mass storage device to be used by the DOS.

GRAPHICS -- Visual information, as in drawing, pictures, digitized
images.  For centuries the printing trades have been called "graphic
arts" even when producing pages or books of pure text.  Text, composed
of some font(s) is derived from glyphs of images stylized in
characters of the alphabet.

HARD DRIVE -- A steel disk (as opposed to floppy plastic) coated on
both sides with iron oxide magnetic receptive material for mass
storage.  Each disk is called a platter, and there may be several
platters inside a casing, which then is called the hard drive.

HARDWARE -- The physical components portion of a computer system, such
as CPU, ROM, RAM, floppy/hard drives, keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.

HEXADECIMAL -- A mathematical system which used sixteen digits.  Some
basic familiarity with hex is necessary to make intelligent and
educated guesses when encountering the unknown in computing.

HINTING -- Adobe has published four books, plus numerous technical
bulletins, about their Postscript language.  One thing they kept to
themselves is the hinting of their typeface files.  Postscript is all
mathematics up until the moment it gets to putting the dots onto the
paper, and then it becomes "dot-matrix" or bitmapped pages.  Most
postscript printers have 300 dots per inch, so the output doesn't look
bitmapped except with powerful magnifying glass.  At printed sizes of
about 12 points or less, laser printers produce bitmapped characters
that look a bit heavier if not hinted, than hinted typeface files
produce.  Hinting is extra code in the postscript typeface file which
makes an improved appearance on laser printed pages in the small
sizes.  Hinting has been reverse-engineered by some companies who sell
their own hinting code to typeface editor program makers, so most
typeface today add hinting, not just typefaces sold by Adobe.  Hinting
requires a postscript brand printer, and hinted typefaces will not be
hinted on non-postscript machines.  On imagesetters using ultra high
resolution of over 1,000 dpi there is no distinction between hinted
and non-hinted typefaces.

IMAGE SETTER -- A very high precision device using lasers to expose
optically sensitive chemicals coating paper or film.  The chemical
coating allows laser dots of much smaller diameter than laser
printers, thus more detail, more grey tones, and smoother curves can
be produced.  The higher precision requires much more memory, and some
pages which can be printed on low resolution laser printers may be
unprintable on image setters.  The very ornamental typefaces, the
decorative initials, have not been tested on imagesetters, and are not
guaranteed to work on a particular model.

INITIALIZE -- A Workbench synonym for format.

INSTALL -- To put every required operating element into the required
position before operation.  Installing these typefaces may require
prior installation of other program software.

KERNING PAIR -- A term applied to customizing the fitting together of
two characters to improve the look or readability of the pair.
 Kerning always comes in pairs, so it is typographical ignorance to
define the left offset of a letter as "kern" as CBM did when creating
their screen bitmap standard.  Mac bitmap fonts also have left offset,
but they also have true kerning pairs ever since 1988.

KEYBOARD -- Mechanical switches which produce an electric number in
the binary math system when pressed.  Each computer maker assigns
their own meaning to the numbers produced by key presses.

KEYMAP -- A software translation table which takes a number from the
keyboard hardware and converts it to another number before the DOS
ever sees it.  Instead of many keyboards for various languages,
different keymaps can translate from one keyboard into other
languages.

LANGUAGE -- In computers, the means whereby a program is created.  A
program then is a structured sequence of commands to be processed in
binary or electrical form which the electronics of the computer
responds to.

LASER -- A tightly focused beam of electromagnetic (usually optical
waveband) radiation, all of the same frequency.  In laser printers or
laser imagesetters, lasers are micro electronic devices emitting a
tiny pinpoint of light, fast on/off switching.  Either the laser moves
across the width of the paper, or more likely, a moving mirror device
reflects the laser in a line across the paper.  Laser devices are
commonly in the 300-2,500 dpi range.

LASER PRINTER -- Any of a number of devices which use lasers to cause
an electrostatic charge effect where they strike.  The electrostatic
charge holds toner dust particles until they are transferred to a
statically charged paper.  Laser printers can be dumb, without any
computer memory or programming language, totally controlled by the
connecting computer.  Postscript printers are smart, being computers
in their own right.  Postscript imagesetters may be equipped with up
to eight megabytes of RAM and 80 megabyte hard drives, making them
more powerful than most stock Amiga computers.

LIBRARY -- in AmigaDOS, a library is a partial program of useful
instructions stored on disk until needed.  Any program can use a
library in RAM, meaning two multitasking programs can save some memory
by both using the same program code loaded once as a library.
 Libraries are stored in the "Libs:" drawer, where DOS expects to find
them.

LIST -- An AmigaDOS command to investigate the contents of a
directory, and give information about file sizes and other details.

MAKEDIR -- An AmigaDOS command to create a new directory

MASS STORAGE -- A hardware device to hold programs and data and retain
it through power shutoffs.

METRICS -- A term used in computer typefaces to describe the
information of a characters bounding box, left offset, right offset,
and any kerning pairs associated with each character.

MPU -- MicroProcessing Unit.  Sometimes a synonym for CPU.  Sometimes
the cluster of parts including a CPU, we sometimes otherwise call the
"motherboard".

OPERATING SYSTEM -- The necessary software which brings any computer
to life when the electricity is turned on.  The OS is a program which
is always running until the power is turned off.  All other programs
depend upon the OS for many operations.

PAGE -- The output product of a printer.  The video analogy of a
printed page for preview before printing.

PAGE DESCRIPTION -- A series of instructions required to produce a
printed page.

PAGE DESCRIPTION LANGUAGE -- A computer language especially designed
for printing pages.  Instructions are interpreted, or processed,
putting each letter, each word, each picture, each drawing, all in
their correct position for printing.  Postscript requires the page
description to be in its language in ASCII.

PAR: -- The name of the parallel port of the Amiga.

PARALLEL -- In Amiga, eight data lines plus control lines, each as a
separate wire conducting electrical pulses in a cable, connected to
PAR:, the parallel port.  Much much faster than serial.

PIXEL -- Picture element.  The smallest size of a dot in a bitmap, or
dot in a raster.

POINT SIZE -- A particular size, different from every other size.  In
modern times 1/72 of an inch, or 72 points per inch.  A typeface in 12
point is one sixth of an inch tall.  The size is the total height of a
line of characters, including the tallest parts ascending above the
baseline, the lowest parts descending below the baseline, and any
blank space built into the typeface design either above the ascenders
or below the descenders.  Designers put blank space into typeface
design to make lines of type more legible.  Two typefaces printed at
the same postscript point size may have different size visible
characters because of the invisible "whitespace" or blank space that
may be present.

PORT -- A connector into and/or out of any computer device.

POSTSCRIPT -- A trademarked name owned by Adobe Systems, Inc., of
Mountain View, California.  The name of a page description language,
primarily used for printed output, but sometimes used on video
terminal screens for visual output.

POSTSCRIPT PAGE -- A postscript language program which, when input
into a postscript printer computer will be interpreted into a printed
page of output.

POSTSCRIPT PRINTER -- A computer capable of receiving and interpreting
postscript language commands, and outputting printed pages.

POSTSCRIPT PROGRAM -- A series of ASCII text instruction, written in
the required Postscript computer language.

POSTSCRIPT TYPEFACE -- A partial program, ineffectual by itself, but
capable of being used by a postscript program in rendering characters
in any size or orientation by a postscript interpreter.  Postscript
typeface files do not have to be just letters of some alphabet, but
may be pictures, logos, or other graphic elements which can be
accessed by a keyboard just like type.

PROCESS -- The sequential flow of binary electronic information
through the CPU/MPU to accomplish some result.

PROCESSOR -- Any electronic device which processes.  The Amiga has the
CPU, but it also has microprocessors which handle the various hardware
devices, and the keyboard even has its own microprocessor built in.

PRT: -- A name for a software module designed to accept the
standardized output from a program, translate that into the particular
binary electronic codes required for a particular make and model
printer.  Works with, and requires a printer driver (another software
module) to produce pages on dumb printers.

RAM -- Random Access Memory.  Electronic storage compartments holding
one charge of electricity per cell.  The presence or absence of an
electrical charge produces binary math results.  Millions of these
cells are in each computer today, and they hold programs, data, and
DOS software.

RASTER -- A line of dots.  Term taken from the tiny dots on TV screens
making up one line, it now is applied to lines of dots on laser
printers as well.  A raster is 1/300th tall on an inch on the standard
laser printer, with eight inches length, or 300 times 8 = 2,400 dots,
or pixels, or bits, per raster.

RASTER IMAGE PROCESSOR -- Imagesetters have up to 2,500 dpi, or 28,750
dots per raster.  They have such huge volumes of bits to manage that
they require a separate computer besides the postscript computer to
process all the information.  During page composition millions of
bytes of raster information has to be stored on hard drive.  It can
take 20 megabytes of data for the largest size tabloid page, just to
hold the rasters, plus working, computation, typefaces and incoming
program space.

ROM -- Read Only Memory.  While both RAM and ROM can be accessed
randomly to retrieve data from memory, only RAM can be changed, or
written to.  RAM is then random in choosing to read or write.
(Example: read, read, write, read, write, write, read, write, write
...)  ROM can only be read.  (Example: read, read, read, read, ...).
 ROM stores the permanent OS memory and the program required every
time the machine power is turned on

SCAN -- The name of a particular type of digitizing process which
inputs rasters from a device.  Usually paper is fed into, or laid upon
a scanner.  The scanner either senses the moving paper, or the scan
mechanism moves itself past the paper, and a composited image of all
the rasters is produced.

SCAN LINE -- The RGB monitor is composed of electronics which
illuminate the screen one line at a time, 525 lines per frame, 30
frames per second.  These fast moving electronics are twinkling on and
off pixels at the rate of 3.5 million per second for a regular
monitor.  Each scan line is a raster in TV speak.

SER: -- The name of the Amiga serial port.

SERIAL -- A means of communication between two devices with one
electrical line carrying pulses of electricity.  Morse code on a
telegraph wire is serial communication.  A very slow way to send your
pages to a Postscript printer.

SHELL -- A Command Line Interface program with many convenience
options.

SHOWPAGE -- The ASCII word to make a Postscript printer emit a page.
 To discover if a problem exists with your cable, or the printer, you
could issue the following command on a CLI: Prompt> Echo >par:
"Showpage".  It assumes the printer is on the parallel port.  If a
page comes out, your problem is not the cable or the printer, and you
better check your program's settings, installation procedures, and
other troubleshooting.

SOFTWARE -- The name for the intangible part of computing, the binary
sequences which cause the hardware to do anything worth doing.

STRUCTURED DRAWING -- A description using computer mathematical
formulas to store graphic data.  Ultimately, structured drawings are
translated into bitmap graphics, either to the screen, or to the dots
of a laser printer, but the mathematical formulas allow enlargement or
reduction to any scale with the minimum "jaggies" on the curves that
the output device allows.

TEXT -- Data in human language as words, punctuation, numerals, etc.

TRACE -- To follow the outlines of a shape.

TRIPOS -- The name of the parent to the AmigaDOS multitasking
operating system, owned by Cambridge University, England.

TROUBLESHOOTING -- The methodical elimination of probable causes for
computer malfunction in the hardware and/or software.

TURNPOINTS -- Postscript has no curves when it gets to the dot-matrix
raster output.  All curves are made by short straight lines
overlapping in near proximity.  Each of these straight line segments
is a turn point.  This is not a matter of any concern to anyone,
except when using a high precision imagesetter.  There is a limit of
1,500 turn points per character in a type-1 typeface under postscript
level one (most common, but recently upgraded to level two).  That
means very ornamental characters with many curves may exceed the
number of turn points allowed using the same typeface which prints
fine on a low resolution 300 dpi laser printer.

TYPE 1 TYPEFACES -- A form of postscript language data file containing
a vary compact, often encrypted, series of commands used in producing
characters of a particular design.  This form is required by
PageStream for screen preview of the pages, as well as output to
non-postscript preferences printers.

TYPE 3 TYPEFACES -- Another form of typeface file which allows more
features than type 1.  However, type 3 typefaces are usually much
larger, requiring more printer memory, more storage space, and are
often much slower to produce the results.

TYPEFACE -- A typeface is like a human face.  It is distinctly
recognizable as being different from other faces.  Whether you are
close (so it appears larger) or distant (so it appears smaller) it is
still recognizable as the same face.  A typeface includes all fonts
(sizes) of the typeface.  Typefaces may come in families, which have
family resemblances, such as bold, italic, bold-italic, etc.  Some
typeface families may have over 30 individual typeface members
including condensed, wide, etc.  Each family member is a separate
typeface.

WORKBENCH -- The brand name for the icon interface used on the Amiga.
 The workbench is a program, which translated mouse actions into
AmigaDOS commands, that are then issued to the OS for processing.