DDK Glossary - P

palette

A list of colors assigned to various areas on a panel. A user can change the color of these areas.

PDD

Physical Device Driver.

PDE

PageDirectoryEntry.

pel

Picture element.

permissible action

In a conceptual schema language, an action conforming to specified rules or constraints that changes a presumably consistent collection of sentences into a consistent one or makes known a consistent one present in the information base or conceptual schema.

phase alignment

Aligning source bits with destination bits. Often required in a Bitblt function move operation where byte blocks are moved on bit boundaries.

physical address

A 32-bit byte address giving the actual address in physical storage for a data item.

physical device driver (PDD)

A system interface that handles hardware interrupts and supports a set of input and output functions.

pipe

See named pipe, unnamed pipe.

picture element (pel, pixel)

1. In computer graphics, the smallest element of a display surface that can be independently assigned color and intensity. (T)
2. The area of the finest detail that can be reproduced effectively on the recording medium.
3. An element of a raster pattern about which a toned area on a photoconductor can appear.

PIO

Programmed I/O.

pixel

Picture element.

polyfillet

A curve based on a sequence of lines. The curve is tangential to the end points of the first and last lines, and tangential also to the midpoints of all other lines.

polyline

In computer graphics, a sequence of adjoining lines.

pop

To remove an item from the top of a pushdown list. Contrast with push.

prefetch

To locate and load a quantity of data in anticipation of a request.

presence-check function

A Ring 3 (non-privileged) .EXE program that determines whether a given hardware interface is present on a workstation.

PRESENCECHECK

A keyword, interpreted by the DDINSTAL utility, to determine whether to process the device driver profile file, based on the return code from PRESENCECHECK.

printer driver

A file that describes the physical characteristics of a printer, plotter, or other peripheral device, and is used to convert graphics and text into device-specific data at the time of printing or plotting.

Print Manager

In the Presentation Manager, the part of the spooler that manages the spooling process. It also allows the user to view print queues and to manipulate print jobs.

privilege level

A method of protection that allows only certain program instructions to be used by certain programs.

program group

Several programs that can be acted upon as a single entity.

protect mode

A method of program operation that limits or prevents access to certain instructions or areas of storage. Contrast with real mode.

push

To add an item to the top of a pushdown list. Contrast with pop.