virtual

virtual

1. Physics being, relating to, or involving a virtual image

2. of or relating to a computer technique by which a person, wearing a headset or mask, has the experience of being in an environment created by the computer, and of interacting with and causing changes in it

3. Physics designating or relating to a particle exchanged between other particles that are interacting by a field of force

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Virtual

Pertaining to conceptual rather than physical.

Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

virtual

(jargon, architecture)

(Via the technical term virtual memory, probably from the term "virtual image" in optics) 1. Common alternative to logical; often used to refer to the artificial objects (like addressable virtual memory larger than physical memory) created by a computer system to help the system control access to shared resources.

2. Simulated; performing the functions of something that isn't really there. An imaginative child's doll may be a virtual playmate.

Opposite of real or physical.

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

virtual

Today the term virtual has become synonymous with "online." However, virtual was originally coined as a feature or state that is simulated in some manner; for example, a "virtual world" is all computer-generated imagery. Virtual describes a condition without boundaries or constraints.

It Started with Virtual Memory
The first virtual concept was "virtual memory," in which the contents of RAM are saved to storage and swapped back and forth as needed. Common on every modern computer, virtual memory simulates an unlimited amount of RAM (see virtual memory).

The Virtualized Datacenter
A "virtual machine" is a computer within a computer. The enabler of cloud computing datacenters, each virtual machine contains an operating system that communicates with a control program and not the hardware directly. The hardware is simulated in the control program (see virtual machine). See cloud computing.

Synonyms: Online,Digital and Internet
The word is a complete substitute for "online," "digital" and "Internet." Virtual also means "not physical," for example, "The company's product will be virtual for another year."

MAJOR VIRTUAL TERMS virtual memory virtual machine virtual assistant virtual machine monitor desktop virtualization application virtualization network virtualization OS virtualization server virtualization storage virtualization virtual appliance Java Virtual Machine virtual private cloud VPN (virtual private network)


  OTHER VIRTUAL TERMS virtual 8086 Mode virtual access point virtual autopsy virtual circuit virtual community virtual companion virtual company virtual connection virtual copy virtual currency virtual data room virtual database

  virtual datacenter
    (see  datacenter container)

   virtual desktop services virtual device

  virtual device driver
    (see  VxD)

  Virtual Device Interface 
    (see  VDI)

   virtual directory virtual disk virtual DOS machine virtual drive virtual environment

  Virtual Execution System
   (see  VES)

   virtual folder virtual function virtual funds

  virtual greeting card
    (see  e-card)

  virtual hard drive
    (see  RAM disk)

   virtual headphones virtual host virtual hypertext virtual image virtual instrument virtual IP address virtual ISP virtual keyboard virtual kidnapping virtual LAN virtual learning virtual library Virtual Machine Manager virtual marketplace virtual mentoring virtual monitor virtual network

  virtual network computing
    (see  VNC)

   virtual newscaster Virtual PC Virtual PC for Mac virtual peripheral virtual phone number virtual printer virtual printer port virtual processor virtual radio station virtual reality virtual root virtual routing virtual screen virtual serial port virtual server virtual shopping virtual storage virtual store virtual supercomputer

  virtual surround sound
    (see  3D audio)

   virtual switch virtual tape virtual tape library virtual tape system virtual terminal virtual toolkit virtual traffic lights virtual training virtual voicemail virtual workgroup virtual world virtualization virtualize

  AMD Virtualization
    (see  AMD-V)

   VirtualWiFi full virtualization hardware virtualization I/O virtualization paravirtualization hardware virtual memory

  augmented virtuality 
    (see  augmented reality)

  computer automatic virtual environment
    (see  CAVE)

  Global Virtual Private Network
    (see  GVPN)

  Intel Virtualization Technology
    (see  VT)

  K Virtual Machine
    (see  KVM)

   Microsoft Virtual Machine Microsoft Virtual Server

  permanent virtual circuit
    (see  PVC)

  switched virtual circuit
    (see  SVC)

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