description

n 1: a statement that represents something in words [syn: {verbal

description}]

2: a act of describing something

3: sort or variety; "every description of book was there"

descriptor

An integer, string or other small data

value which refers to one of several objects allocated to a

program by the {operating system}, usually the {kernel}. A

common example is a {Unix} {file descriptor} which is a small

integer that identifies an I/O channel. Another example is a

reference to an area of memory (e.g. {shared memory}).

Compare {capability}.

(1998-02-06)