virtual
(Via the technical term {virtual memory}, probably from the
term "virtual image" in optics) 1. Common alternative to
{logical}; often used to refer to the artificial objects (like
addressable {virtual memory} larger than physical memory)
created by a computer system to help the system control access
to shared resources.
2. Simulated; performing the functions of something that isn't
really there. An imaginative child's doll may be a virtual
playmate.
Opposite of {real} or physical.
[{Jargon File}]
(1994-11-30)