John Cletheroe's
PC And Internet Hints

PC And Internet Glossary - Including File Extensions - X

x

A wild card, representing any digit or number. For example "80x86" means any Intel processor (80286, 80386, 80486) and "Win9x" means Windows 95 or Windows 98.

X

File extension. DirectX file. X files can be ASCII text files or tokenised binary files - both types having the same extension, unfortunately. X files define 3D geometries (consisting of meshes of triangles, together with cameras, lights, etc). X files can be imported into programs (and probably HTML files) which use the DirectAnimation component of DirectX. X files have a complicated hierarchy of templates which define types of items and commands which use these templates to define specific items. I don't think that X files can contain viruses.

X.25

The most popular packet-switching protocol for LAN's. Ethernet, for example, is based on the X.25 standard.

X.400

The universal protocol for email. X.400 defines an "envelope" for email messages so that all messages have a standard format.

X.500

An extension to X.400 that defines addressing formats so all email systems can be linked together.

X2

See V.90.

x86

A 286, 386, 486 or Pentium processor. Also called 80x86. The "x" indicates "any digit".

XA

See CD-ROM and CD-ROM XA.

XCF

File extension. GIMP image (editable version with layers). GIMP is a freeware image creation and editing program with similar facilities to PhotoShop.

Xerox PARC

See PARC.

XL

Often used as a synonym for Excel, Microsoft's spreadsheet program. See Excel.

XLA

File extension. Excel 97 add-in.

XLK

File extension. Excel 97 backup file.

XLL

File extension. Excel 97 add-in.

XLS

File extension. Excel 97 spreadsheet file. XLS files can contain viruses in macros.

XLT

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

XMirage

I think this is a browser add-on which displays the contents of XML files. Presumably Mirage and XMirage are similar if not identical.

XML

Extensible Markup Language. Yet another variant of HTML (yawn). XML appears to be a curious mixture of tightly controlled syntax (similar to HTML) and the inventions of each individual programmer (similar to Microsoft's INI files). XML files are plain text ASCII files, which can be viewed and edited in text editor programs such as Notepad.

So far I have only found three programs that use XML files:

Irate Radio, a program which automatically selects and downloads legally free music tracks. The program's track database is held as an XML file.
RSS - see that entry for details.
Windows Update, the facility in Windows 98 and later which downloads and installs Microsoft patches (hotfixes).

XON/XOFF

A method of controlling the flow of information between two devices over an RS-232 connection. Special control characters called XON and XOFF are sent by the receiving device to start and stop transmission. Using XON/XOFF allows less wires to be used in the cable which connects the two devices but it can be very tricky to set the system up and make it reliable. The data being sent must not itself include the special XON and XOFF characters, which is a problem with binary files (non-text files such as programs, image files and sound files). See also RTS/CTS.

XP

Microsoft's name for some specific versions of Windows, Microsoft Office, etc.
Experience points, a system found in many RPG's (role-playing games). Experience points are usually gained when a character defeats an enemy. In most cases, when sufficient experience points have been gained a character is promoted to the next level, giving them additional powers and capabilities.

XSD

File extension. XML Schema Definition file. Related to XML. Also sometimes called a DataSet.

XSL

File extension. Extensible Stylesheet Language file. Related to XML.

XSLT

File extension. According to one source: "a file used to transform XML documents".

XSS

Cross Site Scripting. The abbreviation CSS is also sometimes used, but CSS is much more frequently taken to mean Cascading Style Sheets.

XT

As a suffix after the model number of an ATI video board, this indicates a board much more powerful than the normal board. The full range of suffixes is SE (much less powerful than standard), LE (much less powerful than standard), no suffix (standard), Pro (more powerful than standard), XT (much more powerful than standard) and XT PE (very much more powerful than standard).

XT PE

As a suffix after the model number of an ATI video board, this indicates a board very much more powerful than the normal board. The full range of suffixes is SE (much less powerful than standard), LE (much less powerful than standard), no suffix (standard), Pro (more powerful than standard), XT (much more powerful than standard) and XT PE (very much more powerful than standard). PE stands for "Platinum Edition".

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Most recently modified 20-Nov-07