trace

trace

¹

1. any line drawn by a recording instrument or a record consisting of a number of such lines

2. the postulated alteration in the cells of the nervous system that occurs as the result of any experience or learning

3. Geometry the intersection of a surface with a coordinate plane

4. Maths the sum of the diagonal entries of a square matrix

5. Meteorol an amount of precipitation that is too small to be measured

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trace

²

1. either of the two side straps that connect a horse's harness to the swingletree

2. Angling a length of nylon or, formerly, gut attaching a hook or fly to a line

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

trace

[trās]

(computer science)

To provide a record of every step, or selected steps, executed by a computer program, and by extension, the record produced by this operation.

(electronics)

The visible path of a moving spot on the screen of a cathode-ray tube. Also known as line.

(engineering)

The record made by a recording device, such as a seismometer or electrocardiograph.

(geology)

The intersection of two geological surfaces.

(mathematics)

The trace of a matrix is the sum of the entries along its principal diagonal. Designated Tr. Also known as spur.

The trace of a linear transformation on a finite-dimensional vector space is the trace (in the sense of the first definition) of the matrix associated with it.

One of the curves along which a given surface cuts a coordinate plane.

A point at which a given straight line in space passes through a coordinate plane. Also known as piercing point.

The projection of a given straight line in space on a coordinate plane.

(meteorology)

A precipitation of less than 0.005 inch (0.127 millimeter).

(science and technology)

An extremely small but detectable quantity of a substance.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

trace

The line appearing on the face of a cathoderay tube when the visible dot repeatedly sweeps across the face of the tube as a result of deflections of the electrons. The path of the dot from the end of one sweep to the start of the next sweep is called a retrace. If more than one trace is shown on the same scope, the traces may be called an A-trace, B-trace, etc.

An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

autotrace

A routine that converts a bitmap into a vector graphics image. It scans the bitmap and turns the dark areas into vectors (lines). Once a bitmap has been turned into vectors, individual components of the drawing can be scaled independently.

This process usually creates many more vectors than if the picture were drawn in a drawing program in the first place. In order to faithfully reproduce the original, the conversion routine will generate a vector for the slightest deviation in a line. However, extraneous vectors can be deleted afterwards.

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Traceroute

An Internet utility that describes the path in real time from the client machine to the remote host being contacted. It reports the IP addresses of all the routers in between. Windows comes with its own Traceroute utility (TRACERT.EXE) that is executed from the command line.

A Visual Trace

You see the nodes pop into place with NeoTrace, originally created by NeoWorx. This shows the 13 nodes from The Computer Language Company to HP's website in California. Starting at the Comcation ISP in Doylestown, PA, the route is traced to the Digex ISP (206 and digex nodes) through various routers in the BBN backbone that HP is connected to. Details are displayed when the cursor is moved over a node's icon. For more information, visit www.mcafee.com, which bought NeoWorx and incorporated NeoTrace into its Personal Firewall service.

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wire trace

A conductive line (pathway) in a printed circuit board that allows electricity to flow from one electronic device to another. In a chip, wire traces are typically called "tracks."

Traces on a Board

The traces are the lines interconnecting all the components on this circuit board.

Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Trace

 

The trace of a matrix is the sum of the matrix’s diagonal elements. This concept is defined only for a square matrix A . The trace of A is denoted by Tr A or Sp A. The latter symbol is derived from the German word Spur, which is sometimes used to refer to a trace. It follows that

Tr A = a₁₁ + a₂₂ + … + a_nn

If the characteristic equation of A has the roots (called eigenvalues or characteristic roots) λ₁, λ₂,…,λ_n, then

Tr A = λ₁ + λ₂ + …. + λ_n

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.