Glossary
21stCentury - An unquantifiable notion of time not accepted (on pain of death) by employees of Mootronix. Or the expiry date of our system (we're not sure which).
algorithm - a mechanical procedure for solving a problem
available flight - a flight operated by Dairy Air that is not booked at greater than 115% of capacity
backups - secure copies of information that are protected from accidental change or deletion
boarding pass - a document granting the holder the right to board an aircraft, assigning the holder to a specific seat aboard that aircraft
booking agent - individual responsible for processing passenger reservations for Dairy Air using UDDERS
button - a graphical image, that, when clicked, performs some action
click - a user action characterized by pressing a mouse button, generally the left one
client-server - a specific type of network setup which facilitates the distribution of data
data object - a specific chunk of information that can be represented in a computer and possesses attributes
data structure - a specific chunk of information that can be represented in a field and possesses attributes
database - a digital representation of information that can be related to other information
digital storage - a representation of information in a digital fashion--usually used to refer to floppy disks, hard disks, CD-ROM, or magnetic tape
distributed - refers to a system where the data is not stored in one central location, but is instead scattered throughout the system
field - a specific chunk of information
flight - any trip made by Dairy Air that passengers can make reservations on
flight insurance - insurance purchased from Dairy Air allowing a reservation to be cancelled by a passenger
GUI - acronym for Graphical User Interface, referring to the method of user interaction with the computer which is characterized by highly visual data
integrity - to maintain the integrity of data is to ensure that a database is never in a state where it could provide incorrect information
location - a destination city or departure airport for Dairy Air (i.e., one which is served by a Dairy Air flight)
Mootronix NTLIKLE - New hardware system to employ hyperspace links in communications
network - multiple computers linked via wires of some sort
passenger - an individual who makes a reservation with Dairy Air, or, in some cases, an individual on board a flight operated by Dairy Air
plane - in this context, refers to a passenger-carrying airborne vehicle operated by Dairy Air
record - a composite object within a table that comprises several fields
reservation - a tentative commitment by a passenger to fly a specific Dairy Air flight
seat - refers to a place on a plane for a passenger of Dairy Air, or a data entity within UDDERS
sensitive information - proprietary or confidential information, or information not intended for wide dissemination
server - a computer with primary data-storage responsiblity
specified users - Those users authorized to use various UDDERS subsystems
table - a specific form of database representation named for its similarities to a table on a piece of paper
ticket - a paper document which is a representation of a passenger reservation with Dairy Air, sometimes synonymous with reservation
time offset - the number of hours "ahead" or "behind" with respect to Calgary a particular location is
user - an individual performing tasks using UDDERS
UDDERS - Unified Dairy-Air Digital Electronic Reservation System