Glossary
This is a technology-related blog, so it’s inevitable that I use a lot of acronyms, terminologies, concepts, and what not, technical jargon in my writing. I might even use some Chinese too! Even though I’m a technical writer and it’s my job to explain things, I decided I’ll just create a glossary page that people can refer to for more information. Otherwise, some people might get tired of me repeating and explaining the same things over and over again.
| Corrective Action Request (CAR) | Our internal database system to track software and documentation bugs/issues. |
| Digital Filter Design Toolkit (DFDT) | A LabVIEW add-on toolkit that provides digital filtering tools. Click here for more information about the product. |
| Digital Signal Processing (DSP) | DSP refers to the technology behind turning analog signals to digital signals. |
| Darwin Information Technology Architecture (DITA) | DITA is an XML-based method of writing and single-sourcing content. |
| doc pro | documentation production |
| Datalogging Supervisory Control (DSC) | DSC is an add-on module for LabVIEW. The module provides tools to develop distributed monitoring and control systems. Click here for more information about the product. |
| Great Firewall of China (GFW) | GFW refers to China’s Internet security regulation. Many Web sites in China are blocked to prevent access to sensitive content. Read more about GFW here. |
| Graphical System Design (GSD) | Refers to LabVIEW, a graphical system that allows users to program using graphical objects instead of lines of code. |
| Human Machine Interface (HMI) | HMI is the combination of hardware and software so that users can monitor and control an application. |
| LabVIEW (LV) | NI’s flagship product and the product I write documentation for. LabVIEW is a graphical programming language developed by National Instruments. You can |
| LabVIEW Documentation User Guide (lvdocsug) | Internal documentation for LabVIEW technical writers that includes information about our documentation procedures, tasks, tools, etc… |
| LabVIEW Style Guide | Style guide for LabVIEW writers that includes guidelines that are different or additional to the NI Style Guide. |
| LV database | LV database refers to an Access database that we use at NI to store LabVIEW VIs and Functions. |
| NI | National Instruments. NI is the company I work for. The company corporate office is based in Austin, Texas. I work at an R&D branch in Shanghai, China. |
| National Instruments Corporate (NIC) | NIC refers to the corporate office in Austin. |
| NISH | NI Shanghai |
| NI Style Guide | Company style guide for how we write documentation here at National Instruments. Read more about NI Style Guide here. |
| NFD | New Feature Documentation. I write NFDs for a new product feature before the content gets integrated into existing help. |
| Perforce (P4) | Perforce is the content management software we use at work for source/version control. Read more about P4 here. |
| SameTime | Lotus SameTime is the instant messaging software I use at work. |
| 上海 | Pronounced ’san hai’ which means above the ocean, also known as Shanghai. |
| spec | Short for specification. Spec refers to a documentation that describes the details of a new feature. |
| TW | Short for technical writer. |
| virtual instrumentation (VI) | VI refers to a "programmed" object in LabVIEW that you can drop on the block diagram. |
| eXtensible Markup Language (XML) | XML is a way to create a custom markup language. It’s like HTML, except you can define your own tags. |
| 中国 | Pronounced ‘zhong guo’ which means Middle Kingdom, also known as China. |
