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NDLP Glossary - P

parse

Take a string of characters and analyse its constituent parts. The original context is grammar; parsing a sentence into subject, verb, object, adverbial clauses, adjectival phrases, etc. The elements into which a string of characters may be broken up by a computer program depend on the context and the task at hand.

Examples:
Any program that handles a MARC catalog record must parse it into its constituent fields to do anything useful with it, for example, to present it to a catalog user in readable form or to allow a cataloger to add a subject heading. A WWW browser parses any URL (Uniform Resource Locator) (e.g. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amhome.html) into a protocol (http), the Internet domain name for a computer (lcweb2.loc.gov), and a file name (ammem/amhome.html).

pixel

Picture element. The smallest addressable element (dot) on a computer display. Each individual pixel can be assigned a color. Used to measure computer displays, and digital images. The smallest computer screens on typical desktops today (1996) are 640 pixels wide and 480 pixels deep. Most displays purchased now are capable of showing 800 by 600 or 1000 by 750 (approximately, since conventions differ among computer types).

Related terms: dots (pixels) per inch [dpi]; bits-per-pixel [bpp]; resolution

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