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AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) - A database of digitized offender fingerprint files. A user can enter a fingerprint and a computer will generate a list of possible matches within minutes. The matches are then examined and verified by a fingerprint expert.
ANSI - American National Standards Institute. See Standards Organizations.
AVL (Automatic Vehicle Locator) - Uses Global Positioning System technology to locate the position of patrol cars on a digital map. This information assists the dispatcher in knowing which calls should be assigned to which officers.
Agency - A governmental unit; in the narrowest sense, a governmental unit of the executive branch.
Architecture - Those characteristics of a network, operating system and/or application program which facilitate information interchange. May refer to either hardware or software or a combination of both.
Asynchronous Communication - A communication pattern in which the two (or more) parties involved are not communicating at the same time. Telephone conversations are an example of synchronous communication: both parties must be on the telephone at the same time. An email message is an example of asynchronous communication: one party can send a message and the other can read it hours or days later.
Authentication - Any of the methods used to assure that the alleged source of the received data is the actual source, and that the message received is the same as the one sent in every respect.
Bios (Basic Input/Output System) - Controls the startup of the machines or computers and other functions such as the keyboard, display, and disk drive. The BIOS is stored on read only memory and is not erased when the computer is turned off. The BIOS on newer machines is stored on flash read-only memory, allowing it to be erased and rewritten to update the BIOS.
Broadband - A general term for high-volume, multiple-channel telecommunications capacity available via a single medium (e.g., a wire or cable). While narrowband (the equivalent of one telephone voice channel) is adequate for the transmission of text and numerical data, broadband connections allow the efficient and reliable delivery of voice, data, and video over one integrated network. Because multimedia content is seen as vital to businesses and consumers alike, electronic networks are increasingly moving to broadband, which in turn will have important long-term implications for commercial development and civic life.
CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) - A computer system which assists 911 call takers and dispatch personnel in handling and prioritizing calls. Enhanced 911 will send the location of the call to the CAD system, which will automatically display the address of the 911 callers on a screen in front of the call taker. Complaint information is then entered into the computer and is easily retrievable. The system may be linked to MDT’s in patrol cars allowing a dispatcher and officers to communicate without using voice. The system may also be interfaced with NCIC, AVL, or a number of other programs.
CDPD (Cellular Digit Packet Data) - A data transmission technology which uses unused cellular phone channels to transmit data in packets.
CIO (Chief Information Officer) - The CIO is the highest-level person responsible for policy concerning information systems and telecommunications systems.
CJIS-WAN (Criminal Justice Information Services Wide Area Network) - A nationwide state-to-federal network operated by the FBI to serve fingerprint-based information exchange.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) - Used to format structured data for display or printing.
CTO (Chief Terminal Officer) - In each state, the single person responsible for intrastate connections with the information systems and networks provided by FBI.
Client/Server Architecture - A network model in which a computer or process (server) provides services to the workstations (clients) connected to that computer (server). This architecture allows the client to share resources such as files, printers, and processing power with other clients.
Collective Data - Distinguished from transaction data. A collective data object contains data from several transactions (e.g., an incident description plus all the outcomes of the incident, or all incidents in a time period with their outcomes).
Common Native Language - Information sharing technique which relies on multiple databases but a single data dictionary.
Compliant - The ability of hardware and software to satisfy a particular requirement such as manipulation of four-digit dates.
Computer Crime Mapping - Technology that allows a department to display calls for service on a computerized pin map, which aids in crime analysis efforts.
ConOps (Concept of Operations) - A description at a relatively high level of the participants in information sharing, the information flows involved, and the functional requirements at each step of sharing.
Consolidation - Information sharing technique that relies on tightly coupled application programs interacting with a single database.
Conversion - The translating of valid values into another format on a permanent basis.
DTD (Data Type Declaration) - A specification in SGML and XML. See Semantic Data.
Data - The raw material of information. Data may be structured or unstructured; dynamic or static; textual or graphic. Raw data plus its associated metadata equals information.
Database - A set of data structured to support the storage, retrieval, and analysis of information, often custom-designed for specific business applications. Databases are central to information processing because they allow new and more efficient ways of assembling records and organizing work. A key step in developing databases is implementing consistent definitions or standards so that data can be meaningfully shared among users. Examples include standard charts of accounts for financial data, standard methods of coding geographical information, and standard templates for archiving audio and video material. See Standards.
Data Dictionary - A file which defines the basic organization of a database. It will contain a list of all files in the database, the number of records in each file, and the names and types of each field.
Data Esperanto - Information sharing technique which relies on the ability of each sharing system to transform from its own database format to a single transfer format, and from that transfer format to its own format.
Data Schema - Definition of the permissible data to be included in a specified data element, or by extension to all data elements of a file, table or document. See Semantic Data.
Data Standards - Agreed-upon descriptions of the terms, meanings, and formats of the data elements required for operation of automated systems and interchange of those data elements among different systems.
Data Warehouse - Information sharing technique which relies on a separate database created by transforming data from several sources into a single database, along with application programs to retrieve the transformed data.
Digital - Data that has been created, transmitted, or stored as a string of signals coded as "1" (on) or "0" (off). Data in digital form (text, numbers, graphics, voice, video, etc.) can be stored and processed by computers and communicated at high speed over electronic networks with complete accuracy and reliability. Exact copies of digital data can be made in which the copy is indistinguishable from the original.
Digital Signature - Any of the methods used to assure that the alleged source of a message is the actual source, and that the attached message is the intended one.
Document - As used in this report, an information-exchange message for structured information; the document structure, data content, and edit requirements are defined before the information exchange takes place. See Message.
800 Megahertz - Refers to public safety radio systems using channels located in or near the 800 MHZ band. Approximately 300 channels located in the 800 MHZ spectrum band have been assigned for use by state and local public safety entities. The disadvantage is that this higher frequency has less range and so a greater infrastructure is needed to cover the same range as lower frequencies. Currently there are problems with incompatibility between different 800 MHz trunked systems built by different vendors.
E-government - A term commonly used to describe the interaction between government and citizens over the Internet. E-government has evolved rapidly from merely publishing or disseminating government information electronically to online interactions and transactions between government and citizens. As governments begin to reorganize and integrate their work processes to take advantage of computer networks, e-government may come to define a new or transformed relationship between citizens and government enabled by networks.
EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) - Refers to the transfer of government benefits (funds or resources) to individuals through the use of a card technology. Individuals access their benefits through Automated Teller Machines or retail point-of-sale terminals.
Electronic Commerce (or e-commerce) - Transactions where money is exchanged for valuable goods and services with either the money and/or the goods and services transported over computer networks.
Encryption - The act of scrambling information into a form called a cipher, usually to keep it from being read or modified by unauthorized parties. This is achieved through the use of algorithmic "keys" that scramble the information at one end and unscramble it at the other. Computer-based encryption can be used both for purposes that society wants to prevent (criminal and terrorist communications) as well as those it wants to support (private and secure social and commercial communications). The reader of an encrypted file must have a key to decrypt the file.
Exchange Point - An event within a process at which information sharing does or should occur; either information is collected which is useful to another entity, or information from another entity is needed, or both.
Firewalls - A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. Often used to prevent internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet.
Formatting Data - Metadata which expresses the appearance of data on a page or screen. XSL and CSS style sheets contain formatting data.
Function - A capability of an application program, for example case initiation, meeting notification, decision outcome recording, etc.
Functional Specifications - A formal description of a software system that is used as a blueprint for implementation. Specifications should state the purposes of the program, provide implementation details, and describe the specific functions of the software from the user’s perspective.
Functional Standards - Descriptions of the required features, functions, and operational capabilities of automated systems as defined by a qualified group of practitioners and experts. Functional standards describe WHAT a system must do, not HOW it must do it or which data elements it must contain or use.
GIS (Geographic Information System) - A set of hardware and software tools used to gather, manipulate and analyze geographically referenced data into a map to facilitate analysis, decision making, and planning. GIS is used by many government agencies. For example, transportation departments use GIS to determine the most efficient corridors for highway construction, and housing departments use GIS to help select the best locations for urban renewal projects. For justice purposes, a GIS may use or include a CAD system, crime mapping program, AVL system, and GPS.
GPS (Global Positioning System) - A system that uses satellites and small, portable receivers to determine the physical position of an object or person. It provides coded satellite signals that can be processed by a GPS receiver enabling the receiver to compute position, velocity and time. Increasingly ubiquitous, these systems are used to track the locations of airplanes, boats, cars, and even individuals to within an accuracy of a few meters.
GUI (Graphical User Interface) - Often pronounced "gooey," a GUI uses a computer’s graphic systems to make a program more user friendly. A GUI may include standard formats for representing text and graphics which make it easier to share data between programs running on the same GUI.
Governance Model - A model associated with a specific ConOps which describes the rules for making decisions concerning ongoing operation of a system, in this case the information sharing system. Items include requirements for participation, placement of and services to be provided at the central site, expenses and payments, adoption of and changes/additions to the sharing vocabulary or document list, and sanctions for inappropriate behavior.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) - A message tagging method used to instruct concerning the appearance of the message, primarily on the screen. See Markup Language and World Wide Web.
HTTP (Hyper Text Transmission Protocol) - See Transmission Protocols.
Hardware - Broadly, the physical components of information technology: computers, peripheral devices such as printers, disks, and scanners, and the cables and switches that link digital networks. The key components of computer hardware are microprocessor chips, which have doubled in productivity every 18 months, as measured by instructions executed per dollar (a phenomenon referred to as Moore’s law). See Software.
IAFIS (Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System) - IAFIS is a new (July 1999) national online fingerprint and criminal history database run by the FBI. Criminal justice agencies which submit urgent electronic requests for identification will receive a response within 2 hours.
IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) - See Standards Organizations.
III (Interstate Identification Index) - Run by the FBI, this system, part of IAFIS, contains criminal history records for almost 30 million offenders and can be queried using a name, birth date, and other information.
IT (Information Technology) - The umbrella term that encompasses the entire field of computer-based information processing: computer equipment, applications and services, telecommunication links and networks, digital databases, and the integrated technical specifications that enable these systems to function interactively. See also Information Infrastructure. The rapid development and expansion of these technologies over the last 20 years have ushered in the current historical period widely referred to as the "Information Age" or "Information Revolution," comparable in economic and social magnitude to the Industrial Revolution of the early 19th century. The profound transformations brought about by computer networking have made information processing (rather than industrial manufacturing) the key factor in economic productivity and global commerce, thereby supplanting large segments of the traditional blue-collar labor market with a white-collar force of information or knowledge workers.
Information Infrastructure - The interdependent capacities and standards for digital communication and data processing (both hardware and software) that support the flow of information, much as a highway infrastructure supports the flow of vehicles. (Hence, the vernacular catchphrase, "Information Superhighway," as a general reference to the interconnected system of computer networks exemplified by the Internet.) The ongoing expansion of this information infrastructure raises vital issues about when and how to establish and refine the technical standards on which it operates, including important related questions about funding, security, privacy, and collective democratic values.
Information System - Computer hardware, software, network and personnel directed toward the collection, organization, and dissemination of information.
IP (Internet Protocol) - See Transmission Protocols.
ISO (International Standards Organization) - See Standards Organizations.
ISO 8859-1 - International standard for an 8-bit character set. First 128 characters (7 bits) are the same as ANSI/ASCII codes.
Interface - A program or device which connects programs and/or devices.
Internet - The vast global network-of-networks that uses open rather than proprietary standards to support computer-based communications at an incredibly large and efficient worldwide scale. Originally developed by the U.S. Defense Department (DARPA) for use in research in the 1960s, the Internet has become the foundation of our information infrastructure, an ever-expanding universe of network services and applications organized in geographically dispersed rather than centralized form.
Intranet - A secure private network which uses TCP/IP protocols.
Knowledge-based Economy - A term used to describe an economy in which the defining factor of production is knowledge. The 19th century saw the rise of the industrial-based economy in which goods were produced in large industrial manufacturing plants. Today, a growing number of people produce, use, and share knowledge in their day-to-day work. Because information can be expressed digitally, computer networks have enabled the rapid growth of the knowledge-based economy.
LAN (Local Area Network) - A computer network that connects workstations and personal computers and allows them to access data and devices anywhere on the LAN. A LAN is usually contained within one building.
LAWN (Local Area Wireless Network) - A LAN that uses high frequency radio waves rather than wires to communicate between nodes.
LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) - A standardized way to connect with a directory which might hold passwords, addresses, public encryption keys, and other exchange-facilitating data.
Laptop - A computer which has capabilities beyond that of the Mobile Data Computer. It may contain report writing and accident reconstruction programs.
Leadership - Any act by an individual member on the behalf of a group, with the intent to get the group to better meet its goals. Leadership for previously known problems relies heavily on authority and technical expertise, while leadership for new or adaptive problems relies on getting the group to confront the inadequacies of its old values and routines, and thereby develop more effective solutions. In general, the challenges of the information age (which involve a high degree of confusion and conflict resolution) call for adaptive leadership.
Legacy System - Older software and hardware systems still in use and generally proprietary.
Live Scan - A machine which replaces ink and roll fingerprints. Fingers are rolled across a platen and scanned into a computer and then converted to a digital form of storage. Fingerprint cards are then printed out on a laser printer. The machine will immediately reject low-quality prints.
MDC (Mobile Data Computer) - A microcomputer used by law enforcement to access databases for information on persons and property. TheMDT uses wireless communication and allows an officer to exchange information with the dispatcher and other officers without using voice channels.
MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) - A set of Internet standards used to express, in email format, data which does not fit the limitations of the basic standard.
Marginal Cost - The cost of the next in a series of products. Typically, first products cost more because of the expenditures required to set up the production process, with the unit cost then falling over time as the volume of activity increases. For most manufactured goods, however, diminishing returns-to-scale eventually cause marginal costs to rise. With information technology products, by contrast, the dynamics are dramatically different: extremely high set-up costs (hundreds of millions of dollars for some software products) followed by almost zero costs for extra copies and no diminishing returns-to-scale for extremely high production volumes. Pricing policies for information goods are thus markedly different than for traditional industrial goods, and pricing policies in the economy at large are likely to change as the Information Age progresses.
Markup Language - A method of providing context to a message. The context may provide a description of how each portion of the message should appear on paper or in print (SGML, HTML, XML) or the semantic data (q.v.) for each portion of the message (XML). The method for providing the context is to enclose each message portion in beginning/end markers called tags, hence the description tagged-field formats.
Message - Alternatively means the same as Document or can refer to unstructured data requiring human inference for interpretation.
Metadata - Data about data. There are at least three types of metadata: semantic data, which give the meaning of the "raw" data; formatting data, which describe the appearance of the data on screen or on the page; and intellectual property data, which describe data ownership conditions.
Multi-Functional - Pertains to an information exchange which crosses between two entities which have different operational objectives. School-to-probation exchanges are multi-functional; school-to-school district exchanges are not.
NCIC (National Crime Information Center) - A computer system maintained by the FBI that can be queried by local agencies via state computer systems known as "control terminal agencies." NCIC contains 17 files with over 10 million records, as well as 24 million criminal history records within the Interstate Identification Index (one of the 17 files). Files include the III, the Missing Persons File, the Unidentified Persons File, the U.S. Secret Service Protective File, and the Violent Gang/Terrorist File.
NCIC 2000 - System in development which will improve the current NCIC system. NCIC 2000 will allow for the electronic transmission of photographs, mug shots, photographs of stolen property, and fingerprint data. It will have an ASIS capability which will identify someone based on a right index fingerprint when the subject presents no identification or is suspected of presenting a false identification. NCIC 2000 will also include expanded fields which will allow for additional information, improved search techniques, and a capability to link all records relating to the same crime. A mobile imaging unit installed inside police cars will contain a hand-held fingerprint scanner, a hand-held digital camera, and a small printer. This unit is expected to become a main component of the NCIC 2000 system.
NIBRS (National Incident Based Reporting System) - NIBRS is an incident-based reporting system run by the FBI through which data are collected on each single crime occurrence. NIBRS data are designed to be generated as a by-product of local, state, and federal automated records systems. NIBRS collects data on single crime incidents and arrests within 22 offense categories made up of 46 specific crimes called Group A offenses. For each of the offenses coming to the attention of law enforcement, specific facts are collected. In addition to the Group A offenses, there are 11 Group B offense categories for which only arrest data are reported. NIBRS is expected to eventually replace UC.
NIST (National Institute of Standards) - See Standards Organizations.
NLETS (National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System) - A high-speed communications network and message switching that connects almost every law enforcement agency in the country. It allows local agencies to make inquiries into state databases to access criminal history records, vehicle registration records, driver’s license files etc. NLETS also interfaces with NCIC and other national files and allow states to exchange information with each other.
Network - A set of communication paths (or channels) and the points (or nodes) they connect, including switches to determine which channel will be used when more than one is available. Computer networks, like telephone networks, can be thought of as telecommunications highways over which information travels. Networks benefit greatly from economies of scope and scale. Digital networks typically use packet-switching rather than circuit-switching to greatly increase efficiency and throughput. See Switching.
Node - In a network, a node can be a computer or some other device such as a printer. Every node has a unique network address.
OMG (Object Management Group) - See Standards Organizations.
Object Oriented Programming - Combines data structures and functions (computer directions) to create “objects.” Makes it easier to maintain and modify software.
Open Architecture - The system design allows it to easily be connected to devices and programs made by other manufacturers.
Open-Source - Computer programs that are distributed as open-source are distributed along with access to the source code, the program instructions as written by the programmer. Once distributed as open-source, the author of the program must allow users to modify the code and redistribute it freely, while users are prohibited from selling the program or any derivative thereof. The open-source nature of the program is usually protected by an open-source license such as the GNU General Public License (GPL). The rationale behind open-source is that a larger community of programmers will use, improve, and develop the program.
Open Standard - Standard arrived at under the aegis of a Standards Organization (q.v.). So-called proprietary standards are not open, nor are most so-called industry standards.
Operating System - The basic program used by a computer to run other programs. An operating system recognizes input from the keyboard, sends output to the display screen, and keeps track of files and directories on the disk and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers. Operating Systems provide a platform for other software applications.
Pen-based Computer - A computer that the user interacts via an electronic pen or stylus rather than a keyboard or mouse. Most PDAs or hand-held computers are pen-based computers.
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) - A small hand-held computer that can be carried around by an individual and that is most commonly used for personal management tasks such as storing phone numbers, reading email, or scheduling. As wireless technologies continue to develop, PDAs are also being used to communicate over networks.
Platform - Underlying hardware or software for a system. The term is often used as a synonym for operating system.
Portal (or Internet Portal) - On one level, a gateway or single point of entry through which the user can access related information from a variety of sources. For example, many governments are launching portals as a single point of entry to government information. It is interesting to note, however, that as governments adjust to the concept of a single point of entry, they are beginning to rethink how they interact with constituents. Rather than organizing the user’s experience around agency boundaries, they are breaking down these boundaries to organize information and interactions around the user’s needs.
Privacy - Involves the right to control one’s personal information and the ability to determine if and how that information should be obtained and used. Privacy entails restrictions on a wide range of activities relating to personal information: its collection, use, retention, and disclosure.
Productivity - The ratio of goods produced in relation to the resources expended in production. Increasing living standards largely depend upon increasing productivity. Production processes that use information efficiently will typically be much more productive overall than older industrial production methods. This is the principal driving force behind the commercial, social, and political changes catalyzed by information technologies.
Proprietary - Generally refers to a system whose manufacturer will not divulge specifications that would allow other companies to duplicate the product. Also known as a closed architecture.
Public Goods - Goods with impacts that "spill over" beyond those directly involved in buying and selling, thus weakening market forces as the mechanism for efficient resource allocation. Computer-based services have the potential of providing many positive spillovers to the public sector, since the marginal cost of IT production over time is virtually zero. One of the paramount political questions of the Information Age is where to draw the boundary between public and private benefits and, therefore, who should pay.
QOS (Quality of Service) - A guarantee of service quality for an information or telecommunication service; it may include promises concerning time between failures and time to repair failures, minimum bandwidth availability, database accuracy, or other measurable descriptors of the service to be provided.
RMS (Records Management System) - A system which stores computerized records of crime incident reports and other data. Such a system may automatically compile information for UC or NIBRS reporting and can perform greater functions when integrated with other systems such as CAD and GPS.
Regression Test - A test performed before production to identify and prevent errors and verify that unchanged software will continue to function as designed.
Relational Database Management System - A type of database management system which stores data in related tables. New types of data can more easily be added and the user can view the data in multiple ways.
Rosetta - Information sharing technique which relies on the ability to transform from any one of many database formats to any other of the same large number of database formats; a many-to-many transformation capability.
SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) - A legacy tagging standard. Its progeny includes HTML and XML. See Markup Language.
SQL (Structured Query Language) - Database language used by a relational database to query, modify, and manage information.
Scalable - Describes how well a system can be adapted and expanded to meet increased demands.
Scope Creep - The slow and continuous expansion of the scope, resulting in a broad, unfocused and unmanageable scope, usually leading to cost-overruns, missed deadlines, and loss of original goal.
Security - Encompasses data, computer and network, physical and procedural security which must be deployed to protect personal information from a wide range of threats; complementary term to privacy, but not synonymous.
Semantic Data - Data about the meaning of the data in a message. This can be expressed as a data schema, a data dictionary, an XML, or SGML DTD (data type declaration).
Server - A computer program that provides services to other programs or computers. Also used to describe the computer on which such a program operates. In the "client-server" network model, client programs make requests from servers connected to the same network. On the World Wide Web (see below), a browser acts as a client program, making requests for files or other information from web servers. These servers can be located any place in the world that is connected to the Internet.
Smart Card - A small electronic device or token (often the size of a credit card) that stores information in a memory chip. Information can be added, read, or changed using a smart card reader.
Software - A catch-all term for the sets of instructions (programs) in an electronic format used to operate computer hardware. Software production and maintenance today has become a primary determinant in the success or failure of business and government organizations.
Spectrum - Radio spectrum refers to the array of channels, like the channels on a television, available for communications transmissions. Commonly referred to as spectrum, these channels are a finite natural resource; they cannot be created, purchased, or discovered.
Standards - In the context of electronics, standardized technical specifications allow functions to be coordinated by automatically adhering to the set standard. Thus, standards for the voltages used for signaling allow devices to "talk to one another" in a consistent format, and standards for financial accounting allow for the meaningful aggregation and analysis of financial databases. With information technologies there is an inherent tension between the creation of new capabilities through innovation (a few people trying new ways to do things) and the subsequent applications of those capabilities through standardization (many people following established ways of doing things). Determining when and how to set standards is therefore a critical leadership issue, as is deciding whether such standards should be "open" for use by the general public or whether patent statutes should copyright or protect them.
Standards Organizations - Organizations which have defined procedures for the determination that a standard is necessary, the creation of a standard, and the periodic review of a standard. ANSI, IETF, ISO, NIST, OMG, WWWC (W3C) are examples of standards organizations.
Structured Data - Data (q.v.) which carries with it the associated semantic data (q.v.) or a pointer to it.
Style Sheet - A method for describing the appearance of a document in print or on screen, such as CSS and XSL.
Switching - The engineering mechanism that designates alternate channels or paths in a telecommunications network. Historically, telephone networks have used circuit switching, where an entire channel between two connections is made available for the duration of the communication. Most computer networks, by contrast, have been designed to use packet-switching, which breaks up the transmitted data into individual units or "packets," each of which contains the destination address of the data. The packets are then independently routed through the network and reassembled by the computer at the destination address. Packet switching allows data from multiple users to efficiently use the same path on the network. Major developments are now underway to enable packet-switched networks to carry digital voice and video more effectively.
Systems Software - Operating system and all utilities that enable the computer to function.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) - Standard transmission protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet.
TQM (Total Quality Management) - A management philosophy that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. TQM is focused on continuously improving the performance of all individuals and processes in achieving customer satisfaction.
Tag - A marker within an information exchange document which points to a full description of the semantic data associated with the tagged data. <DateBorn> is an XML tag which points to a precise description of how to read the numbers which follow it as a date and which date it is (the date of birth).
Tagged Field - Tagging is a method of imposing structure on a document. Each information field has a tag; each tag has a name which points to data-dictionary-like information such as meaning and edit criteria.
Technical Standards - Descriptions of the requirements for hardware, system software (as opposed to application software), communications, and other aspects of the technology infrastructure needed to support a software application.
Transaction Data - The descriptors or attributes of a single activity. (For example, the court disposition transaction data includes the court name, data, case, charges, decisions, and sentences.)
Transmission Protocols - Transmission protocols provide the mechanism for the transfer of information. IP controls transmissions between networks and is the fundamental mechanism of the Internet and many large WANs. TCP provides a mechanism for information transfer on a single WAN, and is often used with IP. HTTP is the key transmission protocol of the World Wide Web and provides for hot links to a URL.
UCR (Uniform Crime Reports) - A city, county, and state law enforcement program, run by the FBI, which provides a nationwide view of crime based on the submission of statistics by law enforcement agencies throughout the country. The following offenses are recorded: murder and non-negligent manslaughter; forcible rape; robbery; aggravated assault; burglary; larceny/theft; motor vehicle theft; arson; and hate crimes.
UML (Unified Modeling Language) - An industry standard language for describing, specifying, visualizing, and documenting an automated system or the business processes that an automated system must support through its features, functions, and capabilities.
URL (Universal Resource Locator) - A unique address for a page on the World Wide Web.
Validation - Evaluation of a system during or at development completion to determine if it satisfies all the requirements.
W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) - See Standards Organization.
WAN (Wide Area Network) - Two or more LANs connected via telephone lines and radio waves.
Web Browser - A software application used to locate and display web pages. May be able to display graphics, sound, and video in addition to text.
World Wide Web (www or the Web) - Standardized tools and software that allow non-technical users to find, display, and communicate text, graphics, voice, and video located on the Internet. The Web's fundamental components include HTML (hypertext markup language), pointers or hyperlinks (which rapidly access specific material that may reside on computers halfway around the world), and browsers (software that allows users to display and interact with Web content). Web technology is credited with democratizing the Internet by simplifying and streamlining key networking tools and functions for the general public.
XML (Extensible Markup Language) - A message tagging method used to mark up a document with semantic data and style data. See Markup Language and XSL.
XSL (XML Style Sheet) - A method used to format structured data for display or printing, as well as to convert from one XML form to another.