on-line

adj 1: (transportation) on a regular route of a railroad or bus or

airline system; "on-line industries" [ant: {off-line}]

2: (computer sci) connected to a computer network or accessible

by computer; "an on-line database" [ant: {off-line}]

3: being in progress now; "on-line editorial projects" [syn: {on-line(a)}]

on-line

1. Ready for use. E.g. "The graph plotter's fixed

and on-line again".

2. {Interactive} as opposed to {batch}. Accessible via a

computer (or {terminal}), rather than on paper or other

medium.

3. Of a user, actively using a computer system, especially the

{Internet}. E.g "I haven't been on-line for three days."

"On-line" should be hyphenated because it is compounded from

two words but the hyphen is often omitted in names of

organisations or services.

(1998-12-22)