I

IAS: See Information Access Service.
ICMP: See Internet Control Message Protocol.
icon: A small bitmap that usually represents a minimized application. Icons may also serve as symbols in warning messages or other windows.
idle priority

One of three thread priority groups. Idle priority indicates that a thread's processing can wait until all other threads have finished running.

IEEE: See Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
IHV: See independent hardware vendor.
IM: See input method.
image list: A collection of images that are all the same size, such as bitmaps or icons.
Inbox: A mail client application provided with Windows CE.
independent hardware vendor (IHV): A company that manufactures devices that connect to Windows CE-based platforms, such as PC Cards. IHVs must also produce Installable Device Drivers for their devices. See Installable Device Driver.
.inf file: A CAB Wizard input file that specifies information about the application.
Information Access Service (IAS): A part of an IrDA infrared communication protocol used so that devices can learn about the services offered by another device.
infrared: Of or relating to the range of invisible radiation wavelengths from about 750 nanometers, just longer than red in the visible spectrum, to 1 millimeter, on the border of the microwave region.
Infrared Data Association (IrDA): The industry organization of computer, component, and telecommunications vendors who have established the standards for infrared communication between computers and peripheral devices such as printers. Windows CE supports the IrDA standard through the Winsock Application Programming Interface (API). Windows CE-based applications that communicate over serial cables using the Winsock API will communicate over IrDA-compliant IR links with only minimal reprogramming
Infrared Link Access Protocol (IrLAP): A data link layer protocol providing a reliable point-to-point link, which effectively replaces a three-wire serial cable connection.
Infrared Link Management Protocol (IrLMP): A service multiplexing protocol that provides for multiple sessions over a single point-to-point link.
.ini file: An initialization file that registers an application with an application manager. It contains information such as the location of .cab files, icon files, and the installation directory.
input method: A mechanism that allows the user to input text by means of a touch-sensitive screen. For example, the Palm-size PC supports two input methods: a keyboard and a character recognizer used for ink input.
input panel: A user interface element that contains a keyboard, operated by using a touch-sensitive screen and a stylus.
Installable Device Driver (IDD): A user-level DLL that drives devices connected to a Windows CE-based platform. It presents the functionality of such a device to applications in terms of standard Win32 file input/output functions. Some devices built into a Windows CE-based platform may also be driven by installable device drivers, depending on the software architecture for those devices' drivers.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE): A organization formed in 1963 by electrical engineering professionals from the United States and other countries. The institute develops electrical and communications standards, many affecting aspects of computer technology, such as network connectivity, and formats for representing floating-point numbers.
interface: 1. The point at which a connection is made between two elements so that they can work with one another. 2. Software that enables a program to work with the user (the user interface, which can be a command-line interface, menu-driven, or a graphical user interface), with another program such as the operating system, or with the computer's hardware. 3. A card, plug, or other device that connects pieces of hardware with the computer so that information can be moved from place to place. For example, standardized interfaces such as RS-232-C standard and SCSI enable communications between computers and printers or disks. 4. A networking or communications standard, such as the ISO/OSI model, that defines ways for different systems to connect and communicate.
Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP): A network-layer Internet protocol that provides error correction and other information relevant to Internet Protocol (IP) packet processing, such as testing whether a particular computer is connected to the Internet ("pinging"), by sending a packet to its IP address and waiting for a response. For example, it can let the IP software on one machine inform another machine about an unreachable destination. See ping.
Internet Information Server (IIS): A Web server integrated into a Windows NT server.
Internet Protocol (IP): Provides the protocol for connecting hosts over a network, breaking messages into packets, addressing the packets, routing them from the sender to the destination network, and reassembling the packets into the original message at the destination. IP corresponds to the network layer in the International Organization for Standardization Open Systems Interconnection (ISO/OSI) model.
Internet Protocol (IP) address: A 32-bit (4-byte) binary number that uniquely identifies a host computer connected to the Internet to other Internet hosts, for the purposes of communication through the transfer of packets. An IP address is expressed in "dotted quad" format, consisting of the decimal values of its four bytes, separated with periods; for example, 127.0.0.1. The first one, two, or three bytes of the IP address, assigned by InterNIC Registration Services, identify the network the host is connected to; the remaining bits identify the host itself.
interrupt: A request for attention from the processor. When the processor receives an interrupt, it suspends its current operations, saves the status of its work, and transfers control to a special routine known as an interrupt handler, which contains the instructions for dealing with the particular situation that caused the interrupt. Interrupts can be generated by various hardware devices to request service or report problems, or by the processor itself in response to program errors or requests for operating-system services. Interrupts are the processor's way of communicating with the other elements that make up a computer system. A hierarchy of interrupt priorities determines which interrupt request will be handled first if more than one request is made. A program can temporarily disable some interrupts if it needs the full attention of the processor to complete a particular task.
interrupt identifier (interrupt ID)

A unique value used by the kernel to identify the device that raised the interrupt and that requires more processing. The kernel then uses the interrupt ID to indicate whether all handling is complete, or whether to launch an interrupt service thread that handles further processing by the device driver.

interrupt priority: One of three thread priority groups. Interrupt priority is reserved for operating system threads.
interrupt request line (IRQ): A hardware line over which a device, such as an input/output port, keyboard, or disk drive, can send interrupt requests to the central processing unit (CPU). Interrupt request lines are built into the computer's internal hardware and are assigned different levels of priority so that the CPU can determine the sources and relative importance of incoming service requests.
interrupt service routine (ISR): A small subroutine that resides in the OEM Adaptation Layer. The ISR executes in kernel mode and has direct access to the hardware registers. Its sole job is to determine what interrupt ID to return to the interrupt support handler. Essentially, ISRs map physical interrupts onto logical interrupts.
interrupt service thread (IST): A thread created by a device driver to wait on an event.
interrupt support handler

A routine that registers a driver so that it can handle a particular interrupt and unregister it later. It also enables communication between the interrupt service routine, interrupt service thread, and subroutines within the OEM Adaptation Layer (OAL).

I/O: Input/Output.
IP: See Internet Protocol.
IrCOMM: An infrared implementation of the serial line communication driver. IrCOMM is supported by Windows CE.
IrDA: See Infrared Data Association.
IrLAP: See Infrared Link Access Protocol.
IrLMP: See Infrared Link Management Protocol.
IrLPT: A protocol for printing through a serial infrared connection.
IRQ: See interrupt request line.
IrSOCK: Short of Infrared Sockets, IrSock is an implementation of the Winsock protocol.
ISR: See interrupt service routine.
ISV: Independent software vendor.
item script: A program written in HTML and Visual Basic Script, JScript, Java Script, or other scripting languages that specifies the behavior of an item within a channel.