ratability

n 1: (British) the state of being liable to assessment or

taxation [syn: {rateability}]

2: the quality of being capable of being rated or estimated

capability

An {operating system} security or

access control model where specific types of access to a

specific object are granted by giving a process this data

structure or {token}.

The token may be unforgeable (typically by using {encryption}

or hardware "tagged" memory). Capabilities are used in OSes

such as {Hydra}, {KeyKOS}, {EROS}, {Chorus}/{Mix}, and the

{Stanford V system}. Similar to {Kerberos}, but in an OS

context.

Compare {access control list}.

(1998-03-08)