dictionary of multimedia and internet applications: a guide for developers and users. francis botto

Print ISBN 0-471-98624-0 Online ISBN 0-470-84178-8

QA (Quality Assurance) A testing phase in the development life cycle, which is implemented through the testing of beta copies.

(See Alpha and Beta copy.)

QBE (Query By Example) A proprietary database querying method introduced by Borland through the Paradox RDBMS. It involves com-pleting forms and using arithmetic operators to interrogate tables. It offers users the basic functionality of SQL, but is not a language.

(See SQL.)

Q-Media for Windows A multimedia authoring tool.

QoS (Quality of Service) ‘A set of quality requirements on the collective

behaviour of one or more objects’ (International Telecommunications Union). Generalised criteria used to describe Internet-related technologies. It may be considered as providing thresholds which help to guarantee quality levels.

Quad A processor module incorporated in a Non-Uniform Memory Architecture (NUMA).

(See NUMA.)

Quantum A company engaged in the manufacture of mass storage devices.

QuarkXPress A desktop publishing program which is used throughout the world. It competes with such packages as Adobe PageMaker.

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Quattro Pro

Quattro Pro A spreadsheet program first introduced (as Quattro) by Borland in the late 1980s. Early DOS versions permitted users to use the then industry-standard Lotus 1-2-3 commands. After porting the spread-sheet to Windows, the product soon became Quattro Pro. Current standard spreadsheet programs include Microsoft Excel, which is part of Microsoft Office.

(See Microsoft Office.)

Query An SQL script, or database submission created using QBE or similar, which requests specified data from a database. The query may be used to list customers that live in, for example, London, and who have purchased certain products during a specified period.

(See SQL.)

Quest A multimedia authoring environment produced by Allen Communications.

Queue A contiguous series of memory locations utilised as a temporary storage area. It is a FIFO (first in, first out) system in that the order in which items are dispensed is the same as that in which they were deposited.

QuickDraw 3D A set of 3-D extensions initially developed for the standard Mac operating system (OS). These are now integrated into the PowerPC-based Mac OS. QuickDraw includes elements for the creation of numerous geometries ranging in sophistication from polygons to NURBS (Non Uniform Rational B Splines).

(See 3-D.)

Quick Recorder An OLE 2.0-compliant wave audio recorder supplied with Microsoft Windows Sound System.

QuickSite A Web site development tool produced by DeltaPoint. Competing products include Adobe’s PageMill.

QuickTime A video compression standard. It appeared in advance of the Microsoft Video for Windows (AVI) video standard. QuickTime files may be converted into Video for Windows (VfW) format using a utility supplied with VfW.

(See AVI.)

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QuickTime VR

QuickTime VR A VR development tool for the Macintosh that supports 8 bit, 16 bit and 24 bit video.

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