Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
Encyclopedia
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (FOLDOC) is an online, searchable, encyclopedic dictionary
of computing
subjects. It was founded in 1985 by Denis Howe and is hosted by Imperial College London
. Howe has served as the editor-in-chief
since the dictionary's inception, with visitors to the website able to make suggestions for additions or corrections to articles.
The dictionary incorporates the text of other free resources, such as the Jargon File
, as well as covering many other computing-related topics. Due to its availability under the GNU Free Documentation License, a copyleft
license, it has in turn been incorporated in whole or part into other free content
projects, such as Wikipedia
.
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
of computing
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
subjects. It was founded in 1985 by Denis Howe and is hosted by Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
. Howe has served as the editor-in-chief
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
since the dictionary's inception, with visitors to the website able to make suggestions for additions or corrections to articles.
The dictionary incorporates the text of other free resources, such as the Jargon File
Jargon File
The Jargon File is a glossary of computer programmer slang. The original Jargon File was a collection of terms from technical cultures such as the MIT AI Lab, the Stanford AI Lab and others of the old ARPANET AI/LISP/PDP-10 communities, including Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Carnegie Mellon...
, as well as covering many other computing-related topics. Due to its availability under the GNU Free Documentation License, a copyleft
Copyleft
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
license, it has in turn been incorporated in whole or part into other free content
Free content
Free content, or free information, is any kind of functional work, artwork, or other creative content that meets the definition of a free cultural work...
projects, such as Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
.