chain
1. <operating system> (From BASIC's "CHAIN" statement) To pass control to
a child or successor without going through the operating system command
interpreter that invoked you. The state of the parent program is lost and there
is no returning to it. Though this facility used to be common on memory-limited
microcomputers and is still widely supported for backward compatibility, the
jargon usage is semi-obsolescent; in particular, Unix calls this exec.
Compare with the more modern "subshell".
2. <programming> A series of linked data areas within an operating system
or application program. "Chain rattling" is the process of repeatedly running
through the linked data areas searching for one which is of interest. The
implication is that there are many links in the chain.
3. <theory> A possibly infinite, non-decreasing sequence of elements of
some total ordering, S
x0 <= x1 <= x2 ...
A chain satisfies:
for all x,y in S, x <= y \/ y <= x.
I.e. any two elements of a chain are related.
("<=" is written in LaTeX as \sqsubseteq).
[Jargon File]
(1995-02-03)
Nearby terms:
chad « chad box « Chadless keypunch « chain »
Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol »
Chalmers University of Technology » change
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