The Computer Dictionary Project: an update

Abstract

Since the mid-1980s, the IEEE Computer Society's Computer Dictionary Project has served the society, the IEEE, and computer professionals throughout the world by producing glossaries of computer-related terminology. The project's working group has finished one glossary for each of 10 computer science areas: the mathematics of computing, computer applications, modeling and simulation, image processing and pattern recognition, data management, computer graphics, computer networking, computer hardware, software engineering, and computer languages. A glossary with terms pertaining to artificial intelligence and robotics and another with terms pertaining to computer security and privacy are awaiting final approval and are scheduled to be published later. The working group is still studying terms pertaining to computation theory. The Computer Dictionary Project's work helps provide the type of clear, consistent terminology that clarifies definitions, standardizes term usage, and facilitates communication between computer professionals. The project's work attracts a particularly wide readership because the glossaries' 10,000 terms and definitions also appear in the popular IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics Terms. Like all IEEE standards, the project's glossaries are subject to review and possible update every five years.