John Cletheroe's
PC And Internet Hints

PC And Internet Glossary - Including File Extensions - D

DAC

  1. "Dack". Data Access Components. Also called MDAC (Microsoft Data Access Components). A Microsoft software component, part of Windows.

  2. "Dack". Digital Audio Converter. A program which converts audio CD tracks into files (usually WAV files). Also called a CD Ripper.

DAO

(Microsoft) Data Access Object. This appears to be closely related to the JET database engine. Microsoft KnowledgeBase article 190463 has some information on this and related subjects. DAO is also the Microsoft KnowledgeBase article title prefix for articles relating to Data Access Object.

Dash

- (see that entry).

DB

Database.

DBA

Database Administrator. A person responsible for the overall design, organisation and maintenance of a database.

DBM

A web page file. Same as HTM but probably produced automatically (from a database?).

DBMS

Database Management System. A database program.

DCA

File extension. Visual BASIC V6 Active Designer cache file. I do not know whether DCA files can contain viruses or not.

DCBS

Double-byte character set. A character encoding system which uses two bytes per character instead of the traditional single character.

DCC

Direct Cable Connection. A means of connecting two PC's via their parallel printer ports that simulates a network connection. Available with Windows 95 or later. DCC is not designed for use as a permanent network connection and it can sometimes be tricky to configure and tends to be unreliable. However, it can be useful for copying files between computers.

DCMI

The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative. See Dublin Core.

DCOM

Distributed Component Object Model. A protocol that enables software components (ActiveX controls, scripts, Java applets, etc) to communicate with each other over a network. Previously called Network OLE. Now replaced by .NET.

DDE

Dynamic Data Exchange. Explanations of DDE are almost impossible to find. It appears to be the means by which two currently running programs can communicate with each other, for example a front-end database input program communicating with an internal database engine. See also ActiveX and OLE, which appear to be related subjects.

DDF

File extension. Diamond Directive File. Visual BASIC V6 Package and Deployment Wizard CAB information file. I do not know whether DDF files can contain viruses or not; being text files it seems unlikely.

DDK

Device Driver Kit.

DDoS

Distributed Denial Of Service. A method of attacking a web site or other Internet server by simultaneously sending numerous requests from multiple computers. Some modern viruses distributed as email attachments perform DDoS attacks.

DDR

A type of memory (RAM), specifically a type of SDRAM. SDRAM modules have 168 pin connectors. DDR SDRAM modules have 184 pin connectors. DDR2 SDRAM modules have 240 pin connectors.

DDR Numbers

A means of specifying DDR memory.

DDR200PC-1600 or PC1600100MHz
DDR266PC-2100 or PC2100133MHz
DDR333PC-2700 or PC2700166MHz
DDR400PC-3200 or PC3200200MHz
DDR533PC-4200 or PC4200266MHz

Some manufacturers and retailers quote double these frequency figures, which is misleading.

See also "CL Numbers" and "PC Numbers".

de

The Internet top-level domain for Germany.

Debian

A version of the Linux operating system.

Defrag, Defragmentation

The process of moving the physical location of files on a hard disk so as to make the free space a physically contiguous area, therefore improving the chances of new files being recorded in sequential contiguous blocks, and therefore improving the speed at which they can be read. Some defragmentation routines also attempt to make previously existing files contiguous. Unless a directory corruption is found and fixed as part of the process, defragmentation will never create any more free disk space.

I found this interesting comment on a web site: "The good news is that Win98's Disk Defragmenter does a much better job than its Win95 predecessor. The bad news is that it takes a lot longer to do its job; run times of over an hour are not unusual, especially the first time you use it."

See also LGC, LGD, LGE, etc.

Opinion: Many Windows 95/98 users seem obsessed with defragmenting their hard disks. In my opinion defragmenting has no perceptible effect on system performance and only needs to be once every six to twelve months, if then. These users' time and effort would be far better invested in making regular backup copies of their data files on exchangeable disks, I feel.

Del and Delete Keys

See Left Delete Key and Right Delete Key.

Demo

  1. A demonstration version of a product.

  2. A meeting, exhibition, etc, at which a product is demonstrated.

  3. A computer program with the following attributes:

    Occasionally the definition can be extended to include games, provided the other criteria are met.

    Demos are also sometimes called "Intros". I do not understand the distinction between the two terms.

    Most demo creators seem to be from Germany, France, Switzerland and Eastern European countries such as Hungary.

DEP

  1. File extension. Visual BASIC V6 Package and Deployment Wizard dependency file. Microsoft KnowledgeBase article 178354 has more information on the subject. I do not know whether DEP files can contain viruses or not; since they are plain text files it seems very unlikely.

  2. Data Execution Prevention. A security feature of Windows XP SP2 which is intended to prevent data being obeyed as instructions.

Deprecated

No longer favoured, no longer approved of, obsolete, replaced, no longer in fashion, may be withdrawn shortly. Cynically: now sufficiently tested and bug-fixed to be of practical value.

DER

Distinguished Encoding Rules. Associated with ASN.1 (see that entry).

Derive

In the sense of deriving a class, see "Inheritance".

DES

Data Encryption Standard. A US government standard.

Desktop

The background which appears in Windows 95 when no windows are open.

Developer

Programmer.

Development Environment

Programming environment. A program in which programs in a particular language can be written, edited, run and/or compiled (as appropriate for the language).

Development Kit

Microsoft KnowledgeBase article 824684 includes the following definition of this term as used by Microsoft: "A development kit is software that is designed to help developers to write new programs. Development kits typically include a visual builder, an editor, and a compiler."

Device Driver

A piece of software which converts general commands to devices (such as a command to a printer to print a capital letter A in Arial at 12 point) into the specific commands required for that precise model. This avoids programs having to contain the detailed commands for every conceivable device. However, the device driver system is a constant source of problems with Windows, especially as many devices and programs install drivers.

Device Name

A disk drive letter or other device name, always terminated by a colon. LPT1: is the printer, COM1: and COM2: are the communications (RS-232 ports).

DFP

Digital Flat Panel, in other words an LCD screen.

DFS

Distributed File Service. Purely from the name, I guess this might be associated with the equally mysterious Active Directory. (For British readers, I can't resist adding "Sale now on - must end Sunday" [grin])

DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. A method of dynamically allocating IP addresses to devices on the Internet. Most ISP's dynamically and automatically allocate IP addresses to their subscribers as they connect by means of DHCP. On the other hand, servers permanently connected to the Internet tend to have fixed IP addresses.

DHTML

Dynamic HTML, a Microsoft-specific variant of HTML.

Dial-Up Connection

A connection between two computers via a phone line in which the phone line is only in use while the connection is active, and one computer (or its user) specifies the phone number to dial. Examples include not only conventional modem usage over normal public voice telephone lines but also the higher speed ISDN and (I think) ADSL systems. Dial-up is the opposite of leased line/private circuit.

Dialler (US spelling: Dialer)

A malicious program which uses your modem to make international phone calls, supposedly to provide access to pornographic web sites. The company responsible for the dialler receives the long distance phone call charges. A dialler program can be installed surreptitiously when you visit a web site, by means of an ActiveX download or by disguising itself as an image or video file. Once installed, the dialler will create registry entries that cause it to start whenever Windows starts. Diallers disable the modem speaker. With internal modems where the LED's are not normally visible the action of a dialler is often not detected until a huge phone bill is received. Programs such as Spybot Search And Destroy can be used to scan a computer for diallers and remove them if found.

Dialog Box

A small window which pops up, allowing you to specify some parameters for an operation, usually in response to a menu option or toolbar button. Examples include the FILE > OPEN dialog box.

Within a dialog box, press the TAB key to move the cursor to the next field. Press SHIFT/Tab to move the cursor to the previous field. To move to any field, click the mouse within it. Pressing the Return key won't move the cursor to the next field - instead it is usually equivalent to clicking the OK button.

DIB

File extension. Device Independent Bitmap. A graphics file format. Now rarely used. Closely related to BMP, I think. DIB files cannot viruses.

Digital

There are only four words in advertising: "New!", "Free!", "Designer!" and "Digital!".

OK, add "Active!" and "Direct!" to that list.

Digital Certificate

I think this is the same as a digital signature.

Digital Signature

A means of proving who a message was sent from. I think this is done by making use of public key encryption in reverse, the idea being that only the person who owns the relevant private key can have created a message, but anyone can decode it using the public key. See comments under "Certificate", which I think has the same meaning.

DIME

Direct Memory Execute. A feature of AGP graphics boards. Associated with GART (Graphics Address Remapping Table).

DIMM

Dual In-line Memory Module. A small removable printed circuit board with memory chips on both sides. The module has edge connectors and plugs into a special socket on the main system board or an expansion board. DIMM modules normally have connectors with 168 pins (SDRAM), or 184 pins (DDR SDRAM), or 240 pins (DDR2 SDRAM).

DIP

Dual Inline Package. A design of integrated circuits (chips) and other electronic devices designed to be soldered into a printed circuit board, with two parallel rows of pins (hence the name).

DIP Switch

A bank of small rocker or slider switches mounted on a printed circuit board and used to set the device's configuration. The name comes from the fact that the assembly which contains the switches is a DIP. Jumpers are an alternative method of achieving the same result. As configuration is increasingly done by software instead of hardware, DIP switches and jumpers are far fewer in number these days. See also Open and Closed.

Direct3D

One part of DirectX.

DirectAnimation

One part of DirectX, which provides a means for programs to create animated graphical images in two or three dimensions. Visual BASIC V6 programs can include DirectAnimation.

DirectDraw

One part of DirectX.

DirectInput

That part of DirectX which handles joystick input.

DirectMusic

That part of DirectX which handles the playing of music files.

Directory

  1. An area of a hard disk, a floppy disk or an exchangeable disk, etc, containing a set of files. Also, any list or display (as icons, etc) of the files in a directory. Increasingly the synonymous term "folder" is being used instead of "directory". A sub-directory is a directory which lies within another directory; the terms "directory" and "sub-directory" are usually used interchangeably. The top-level directory (or "folder") of a disk is called the root.

  2. The area of a disk in which a record of the location of files and free space on that disk is held; the data contained in that area. If this data becomes corrupted then it can easily become impossible to access any or all of the files on the disk; various utilities exist which attempt to mend such corruptions.

  3. A list of links to web pages on a particular subject, or a collection of such lists, compiled manually rather than automatically as with a search engine. Yahoo is the main example.

  4. Any list or catalogue, for example a list of email addresses, a list of word processor documents, a list of other files, etc.

  5. A method of controlling the flow of data in a network (then sometimes called "Directory Service", or "Directory Services"). This meaning is increasingly being used in the IT trade press (as at summer 1999). I think the "Active Directory" feature of Windows 2000 falls in this category, although meaningful descriptions of it are extremely difficult to obtain.

DirectPlay

One part of DirectX. I think this handles communication between two or more game players on separate computers.

DirectSound

That part of DirectX which handles sound generation and output.

DirectX

A software system which enables Windows programs, especially games, to interact with the hardware rapidly. DirectX is made of various components which include Direct3D, DirectAnimation, DirectDraw, DirectInput, DirectMusic, DirectPlay and DirectSound.

It is extremely difficult to obtain version numbers for DirectX, due to the use of arcane internal version numbers which bear no resemblance to the external version numbers, and the large number of components.

Prior to version 6, DirectX worked well and each version was upwardly compatibly with previous versions. According to reports version 7 of DirectX is not compatible with previous versions, causes very serious problems on many PC's and therefore should be avoided if possible. However, DirectX version 8 works ok for me.

The DXDIAG program, installed as part of DirectX, provides some useful information and diagnostic tests.

DISCO

File extension. A .NET static discovery file.

Discussion Group

See News.

Disk Allocation Unit

See Cluster.

Distribution File(s)

The file or files which contain the final compiled version of a program, and which need to be copied or downloaded in order to obtain the program. For programs downloaded via the Internet, a program usually has one distribution file, normally in the form of a PKZIP file which you need to run PKZIP or WinZip on, or an EXE file which self-extracts, or sometimes the distribution or even the target file. The distribution file may expand to form the installation file (or files) or the target file (or files).

Distro

Distribution. The term is most commonly used to refer to a version of the Linux operating system, complete with installation routine and a collection, often a large collection, of utilities.

Dither

To create an otherwise unobtainable colour by creating a pattern of dots of two or more colours which can be created (dithering in space). Alternatively the colour of each dot may be rapidly changed (dithering in time). Although dithering may be just about acceptable for areas of plain colour, it tends to produce very unacceptable and unreadable results if the foreground or background of text is dithered. See non-dithering colours.

DIZ

File extension. A description file in a zip file. A plain text file, which can be opened in Notepad. Used to describe the contents of the zip file.

DLA

See "Drive Letter Access".

DLC

Data Link Control. A network protocol, it seems.

DLL

File extension. Dynamic Link Library. A file containing subroutines and/or data which can be accessed by various programs. Also called an "in-process ActiveX component". DLL files can contain viruses.

DMA

Direct Memory Address. Some peripherals connected to PC's have the ability to receive or transmit data at a very high speed. In order for this communication to work they must communicate with the PC's memory directly, by-passing the processor. While this is happening the processor must suspend its operations. This system is called DMA and each device which can operate in this manner must be assigned a separate DMA number. In the past each relevant device had DIP switches or jumpers which allowed its DMA number to be set. Discovering a working combination of DMA settings was tricky for PC installers. In an attempt to solve this problem the PnP (Plug and Play) system was developed. See also Input/Output Addresses and IRQ.

Some sources claim that enabling DMA for hard disks and for CD/DVD drives can significantly improve their speed of operation. I have never detected any difference. However, I did have problems copying CD's with DMA enabled and the problems ceased when I disabled DMA. DMA is enabled or disabled in Device Manager. In Windows 95 and Windows ME it is a property of each disk drive whereas in Windows XP it is a property of each IDE channel.

PIO (Programmed Input Output) is a method of data transfer which does not use DMA.

DMCA

Digital Millennium Copyright Act. A law passed in the USA which attempts to preserve copyright in the age of computers and the Internet. It came into force in October 1998.

DMF

  1. Data Migration Facility. Many years ago, a special plug and socket assembly and software which enabled files to be copied from an original IBM PC to an IBM PS/2. If I remember correctly, it used the parallel printer port on each computer.

  2. Distribution Media Format. A special format for floppy disks used by Microsoft with products such as some versions of Microsoft Office, prior to the general use of CD-ROM's. Standard 3.5 inch floppy disks were used but with a format which enabled them to hold 1.7MB instead for the normal 1.44MB. This reduced the number of disks required and made them more difficult to copy. There are various freeware/shareware programs available for copying DMF disks.

DMI

Desktop Management Interface. A component of some versions of Windows, possibly Windows 98 and later, possibly Windows NT, 2000 and XP, possibly only server editions of NT and 2000, possibly an optional item. I think DMI data is held in the Registry, so an error message indicating a problem with DMI data may imply a Registry corruption. I can't find any information on what DMI actually is, but it appears to be related to SNMP.

DMO

Distributed Management Objects. Possibly something associated with SQL.

DMZ

De-Militarised Zone. A term used in networking, with relation to routers. I do not understand what it means. Some sources claim that a DMZ is a desirable feature, others that it is undesirable.

DNS

Domain Name System - see that entry.

DOB

  1. File extension. ActiveX document form file. I do not know whether these DOB files can contain viruses or not.

  2. File extension. Visual BASIC V6 User Document. I do not know whether these DOB files can contain viruses or not.

DOC

"Dock". File extension. Microsoft Word document file. DOC files can contain viruses in macros.

Docu-centric

A style of operating a computer in which a user selects a document (a data file) and the system automatically starts the relevant program needed to open the file, and that program then automatically loads the file. Quite useful, but maintaining the correct associations between file types (extensions) and programs is very tricky. Windows 95 allows shortcuts to data files to be included on its desktop, etc, providing an extremely useful and rapid means of accessing them.

Dogpile

A well known meta search engine.

http://www.dogpile.com

DOM

Document Object Model. I think this refers to the concept of documents, especially web pages, containing objects.

Domain Name

Each server connected to the Internet has a domain name, for example www.widgits.co.uk.

Domain Name System

Also very commonly called DNS. The system which converts an Internet domain name such as www.tacobell.com into an IP address such as 205.180.64.20 (which incidentally is the actual IP address of www.tacobell.com as at Feb-00). This process happens automatically out of sight of normal Internet users and is only of any interest when it fails.

Any program such as a web browser which uses domain names in URL's must connect to a domain name server which has a copy of the domain name to IP address lookup table, enabling the program to discover the required IP address. If a DNS server does not have the relevant entry in its lookup table it automatically obtains it from another DNS server. Each ISP maintains a DNS server. I don't know if it possible to use a different ISP's DNS server. I suspect that connecting to one ISP and then trying to use a different ISP's DNS server may be the cause of some Internet connection problems; it seems to me that this situation could easily arise if several different ISP's software has been installed on the same PC. A related problem is that some ISP's require the IP addresses of their DNS servers to be specified while others provide the information to a PC automatically each time you log in.

In the past the IP address of the primary and secondary (backup) DNS servers were specified in each program which needed them. However, this has now changed and instead the addresses are specified once on the PC and made available to any program which needs them (I suspect this change may have been introduced with Windows 95). However, I have the impression that the method of specifying the addresses may differ depending on the PC's Internet configuration, especially the choice of connection manager/dialler program. In addition, some ISP's allocate their DNS servers' IP addresses dynamically, allowing several servers to share the load.

The DNS servers' IP addresses are specified from a dialog box which is obtainable from the Dial-Up Connection Properties dialog box. Depending on your PC's configuration, you may be able to access the Dial-Up Connection Properties dialog box by any one of the following means in Windows 95 (Windows 98 may well differ):

From the Dial-Up Connection Properties dialog box you can get to the DNS Server IP address dialog box by selecting Server Types > TCP/IP Settings.

Your ISP should be able to supply the correct DNS Server IP addresses that you should use. For dynamic allocation of DNS server IP addresses, select the "Server assigned name server addresses" option in the dialog box.

The dialog box also has fields for WINS servers - see that entry.

Finally, if you ever want to discover an IP address of a server, which is usually of absolutely no interest other than as a curiosity, then you can enter its domain name (host name) as a parameter to the PING command. The PING command must be run in a DOS Prompt session in Windows 95. For example, ping www.tacobell.com

DomainKeys

A anti-spam email system proposed by Yahoo in May 2004. The system is an attempt to prevent the spoofing of the sender's address in messages. Outgoing email messages would include an encrypted digital signature matched to a signature on the server computer that sends the message. Internet Service Providers could check the signatures on incoming messages and block those that do not match.

Dongle

  1. A small device plugged into one of the ports of a computer so as authorise the use of a program, as an anti-piracy measure to prevent illicit copies of the program from being used.

  2. A mobile broadband modem, usually in Britain an HSDPA or HSUPA modem plugged into a USB port. The device handles the connection between the computer and an ISP over a 3G mobile phone network. The term dongle is not normally used to refer to either a USB wireless connection adaptor used for a local connection between a computer and a wireless router, or a USB memory stick, even though all three types of devices are very similar in appearance.

DoS

Denial of Service. A method of disabling an Internet server by overloading it with traffic.

DOS

Disk Operating System. The operating system used on PC's before Windows. DOS had the advantages of being small, fast and fairly reliable. It had the disadvantages of having a command line interface, having an exceedingly complex method of addressing more than 640KB of ram, of making it difficult to transfer data from one program to another, of each program having a different style of user interface and of only being able to run one program at a time.

DOT

File extension. Microsoft Word document template file. Whenever a new document is created in Word, it is formed as a clone of a template file. DOT files are normally stored in a sub-folder of the Word program folder. DOT files, being very similar in nature to DOC files, can contain viruses in macros.

Dot Com

An informal name for the type of company created specifically as an e-commerce operation. Amazon, the e-commerce book retailer, is probably the best known example.

Double click

Clicking the left mouse button twice in rapid succession. The trick is not to move the mouse between the two clicks. Double-clicking usually opens a program or file, etc.

Double quote

" (see that entry).

Down

Inoperative. A computer or network which is down is inoperative.

Download

Copy one or more files from another computer to your PC via the Internet.

DOX

File extension. ActiveX document binary form file. I do not know whether DOX files can contain viruses or not.

DPI

Dots per inch. A measure of the resolution of a printer, scanner, digital camera or monitor.

Drive letter

A single letter, followed by a colon, which specifies the disk drive.

A: is always the floppy disk drive.

B: is a second floppy disk drive if one is fitted. Otherwise B: is simulated on A: with messages appearing telling you when to insert each disk.

C: is the main hard disk, where the computer boots from and where Windows is held.

D:, E: and so on can vary depending on your configuration. They can refer to more hard disks, CD-ROM drives, large exchangeable disk drives such as an Iomega Zip drive, a DVD drive, etc.

Drive Letter Access (DLA)

The name given by Sonic to the packet writing facility in their "RecordNow" CD burning software.

Driver

Microsoft KnowledgeBase article 824684 includes the following definition of this term as used by Microsoft: "A driver is a software component that is designed to support new hardware."

DriveSpace

Microsoft software which administers one type of compressed disks. Also called DrvSpace.

DRM

  1. Digital Radio Mondiale. An experimental system by which digital radio signals can be transmitted on the AM medium wave and short wave bands. There are currently very few DRM receivers available.

  2. Digital Rights Management. Copyright protection systems for digital media such as music and video. Such systems might prevent files being copied or control the number of times they can be played. Usually refers to the specific copyright protection system developed by Microsoft.

DROD

Deadly Rooms Of Death, a superb logic puzzle game (despite its name). For information visit drod.net and Caravel Games (both external links verified Jun-05).

Dropper

A program which when it is run installs another program. A common kind of dropper is a virus dropper, which when run will install a virus in the machine.

Drupal

A CMS (Content Management System).

DRV

File extension. Device Driver file. See device driver.

According to one item of Microsoft documentation, DRV files are a special type of DLL file. DRV files can contain viruses.

DrvSpace

See DriveSpace.

DRW:

Microsoft KnowledgeBase article title prefix for articles relating to the Microsoft Draw.

DSA

Digital Signature Algorithm. A US government standard for digital signatures.

DSL

Digital Subscriber Line. See ADSL.

DSN

Data Service Name or Data Source Name. A term associated with ODBC. A file with an extension of DSN is a very short plain text file which specifies a ODBC data source. I do not know whether these DSN files can contain viruses or not; being plain text files it seems very unlikely.

dsound.vxd

Sometimes spuriously listed as having failed to load in Bootlog.txt. See Microsoft KnowledgeBase article 127970 for details of the various misleading spurious error messages which can appear in Bootlog.txt.

DSP

Delivery Service Partner. Very similar to OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) - see that entry.

DSR

  1. File extension. Active Designer file. I do not know whether these DSR files can contain viruses or not.

  2. File extension. Visual BASIC V6 Designer Module. I do not know whether these DSR files can contain viruses or not.

DSS

  1. Decision Support System.

  2. Digital Signature Standard. A US government standard for digital signatures.

DSX

File extension. Active Designer binary file. I do not know whether DSX files can contain viruses or not.

DU

Distribution Unit. A term used with Java-related software which is automatically downloaded and installed by Internet Explorer.

Dual-ported

Any device which can be accessed through two independent ports. A good example is the ram in a video board - written to by the processor, read by the video electronics in order to create the signal output to the monitor.

Dublin Core

Here is the official definition: "The Dublin Core is a 15-element metadata element set intended to facilitate discovery of electronic resources." Metadata is data about data, for example a card index file which contains information about books in a library. As I understand it, Dublin Core is an attempt to standardise the metadata about web pages and other resources on the Internet. The name comes from the fact that the first workshop held by the group that created the Dublin Core was held in the town of Dublin, Ohio in 1995.

The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) is (according to the official definition) "an organisation dedicated to promoting the widespread adoption of interoperable metadata standards and developing specialised metadata vocabularies for describing resources that enable more intelligent information discovery systems." Would anyone care to attempt translating that into English?

DUN

Dial Up Networking. That part of Windows which handles the connection to the Internet via a conventional phone line and a modem. See also Dial-Up Connection.

DVD

Digital Versatile Disk. An enhanced version of compact disk with a much greater capacity. Most DVD drives can also read conventional CD's, including mass produced CD-ROM's, CD-R and CD-RW disks. DVD writer drives are still very expensive.

DVI

Digital Visual Interface. A graphics card (video board) output standard, for digital flat panel displays. Analogue flat panel displays accept the traditional VGA standard.

DVI-A

A DVI socket with analogue output only.

DVI-D

A DVI socket with digital output only.

DVI-I

A DVI socket with both analogue and digital output.

DWS

File extension. Visual BASIC V6 Deployment wizard script file. I do not know whether DWS files can contain viruses or not.

DX

Long ago floating point processors were separate optional chips. Around the days of the 80286, 80386 or 80486 they were integrated into the main processor but separate versions of the processor were available. The version without a built-in floating point processor had the suffix SX and the version with a built-in floating point processor had the suffix DX. I don't know if SX and DX had any meaning as acronyms. Nowadays all Pentium processors include built-in floating point processors.

Dynamic Pages

The creation of web pages by means of programs running on a server, drawing data from a database. Such pages cannot easily be read by search engines, making them impossible to index. All the pages from the same source are given the same meaningless filename (typically default.asp), giving you the additional pain of having to change the filenames when you save more than one of them to your hard disk. A very good example of a technically clever idea not necessarily being a wise idea.

Dynaset

See View.
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