alias
(1) An alternate name used for identification, such as for naming a field or a file. See CNAME record.
(2) In the Mac, an alias is an icon that points to a program or data file. Aliases can be placed on the desktop or stored in other folders, and double clicking the alias is the same as double clicking the original file's icon. However, deleting an alias does not remove the original file. In Windows, an alias is called a "shortcut."
(3) In Unix/Linux, an alias is a command that points to another command. It is typically used to abbreviate complex commands that are used repeatedly. Unless saved, aliases last only for the current session.
(4) A phony signal created under certain conditions when digitizing voice.
alias [
′ā·lē·əs]
(computer science)
An alternative entry point in a computer subroutine at which its execution may begin, if so instructed by another routine.
An alternative name for a file or device.
(statistics)
Either of two effects in a factorial experiment which cannot be differentiated from each other on the basis of the experiment.
| 1. | | ALIAS - ALgorIthmic ASsembly language | |
| 2. | (operating system) | alias - A name, usually short and easy to
remember and type, that is translated into another name or
string, usually long and difficult to remember or type. Most
command interpreters (e.g. Unix's csh) allow the user to
define aliases for commands, e.g. "alias l ls -al". These are
loaded into memory when the interpreter starts and are
expanded without needing to refer to any file. | |
| 3. | (networking) | alias - One of several alternative hostnames with
the same Internet address. E.g. in the Unix hosts
database (/etc/hosts or NIS map) the first field on a line
is the Internet address, the next is the official hostname
(the "canonical name" or "CNAME"), and any others are
aliases.
Hostname aliases often indicate that the host with that alias
provides a particular network service such as archie,
finger, FTP, or World-Wide Web. The assignment of
services to computers can then be changed simply by moving an
alias (e.g. www.doc.ic.ac.uk) from one Internet address to
another, without the clients needing to be aware of the
change. | |
| 4. | (file system) | alias - The name used by Apple computer, Inc. for
symbolic links when they added them to the System 7
operating system in 1991. | |