Object A person, place, or thing including data and methods,
as used in physical To-Be modeling; a chunk of program code
encompassing both data and methods, as used in object-oriented
programming.See alsoObject-oriented programming.
Object-oriented programming (OOP) A type of computer
programming based on the creation and use of a set of objects and
the development of relationships among the objects. The most
popular OOP languages are C++ and Java. See alsoObject,
Object-oriented techniques.
Object-oriented techniques A broad term that includes
object-oriented analysis and design techniques as well as object-
oriented programming.
Object program The machine language program that is the
result of translating a second, third, or fourth generation source
program.
OCR SeeOptical character recognition.
Office automation The use of information technology to
automate various aspects of office operations. Office automation
involves a set of office-related functions that might or might not be
integrated in a single system, including electronic mail, word pro-
cessing, photocopying, document preparation, voice mail, desktop
publishing, personal databases, and electronic calendaring.
Office suite A collection of personal productivity software
packages for use in the office (e.g., word processing, spreadsheet,
presentation graphics, database management system) that are
integrated to some extent and marketed as a set. Microsoft Office
is the leading office suite; other suites include Corel WordPerfect
Office, Sun StarOffice, and Google Docs.
Offshore IT outsourcing Outsourcing IS functions or activities
to IS employees of a vendor that is located in a different nation
than the client organization. The term “offshoring” is also some-
times used to mean allocating work to IS workers who are located
in a different nation but are employees in the same organization.
OLAP SeeOnline analytical processing.
On-demand solution SeeHosted solution.
Online analytical processing (OLAP) Querying against a
database, employing OLAP software that makes it easy to pose
complex queries along multiple dimensions, such as time, organi-
zational unit, and geography. The chief component of OLAP is
the OLAP server, which sits between a client machine and a data-
base server; the OLAP server understands how data are organized
in the database and has special functions for analyzing the data.
See alsoData mining.
Online processing A mode of transaction processing in which
each transaction is entered directly into the computer when it
occurs and the associated processing is carried out immediately.
For example, sales would be entered into the computer (probably
via a microcomputer) as soon as they occurred, and sales records
would be updated immediately.
Online system SeeOnline processing.
OOP SeeObject-oriented programming.
Open-source software Software that is distributed at no cost to
the acquirer, with the acquirer having the right to modify the
source code. Software derived from open-source software, if dis-
tributed, must also be distributed as open source.
Open systems Systems (usually operating systems and other
support software) that are not tied to a particular computer system
or software vendor. Examples include the UNIX operating
system, with versions available for a wide variety of hardware
platforms, and the Linux operating system, which runs on all of
the major IT platforms.
Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model An
evolving set of network protocols developed by the International
Standards Organization (ISO), which deals with connecting all
systems that are open for communication with other systems
(i.e., systems that conform to certain minimal standards) by defin-
ing seven layers, each of which will have one or more protocols.
Operating system Very complex software that controls the
operation of the computer hardware and coordinates all the other
software. The purposes of an operating system are to get as much
work done as possible with the available resources and to be
convenient to use.
Operational IS plan Short-term goals (typically 1 to 2 years)
and associated projects to be executed by the IS department and
business managers, in support of the strategic IS plan.
Optical character recognition (OCR) A computer input
method that directly scans typed, printed, or hand-printed mate-
rial. A computer input device called an optical character reader
scans and recognizes the characters and then transmits the data to
the memory or records them on a magnetic media.
Optical disk A medium upon which computer files can be
stored. Data are recorded on an optical disk by using a laser to
burn microscopic pits on its surface. Optical disks have a much
greater capacity than magnetic disks.
OSI SeeOpen Systems Interconnection Reference Model.
Outsourcing SeeIT outsourcing.
Packet assembly/disassembly device (PAD) A telecommuni-
cation device used to connect an organization’s internal networks
(at each of its locations) to the common carrier network in order
to set up a packet-switched network.
Packet-switched network A network employing packet
switching; examples include Abilene, the Internet, and many
WANs. See alsoPacket switching.
Packet switching A method of operating a digital tele-
communications network (especially a WAN) in which infor-
mation is divided into packets of some fixed length that are then
sent over the network separately. Rather than tying up an entire
end-to-end circuit for the duration of the session, the packets
from various users can be interspersed with one another to permit
more efficient use of the network.
PAD SeePacket assembly/disassembly device.
Palmtop computer SeeHandheld computer.
Parallel processor (PP) A multiprocessor configuration (multiple
CPUs installed as part of the same computer system) designed to give
a separate piece of the same program to each of the processors so that
work on the program can proceed in parallel on the separate pieces.682 Glossary