F
- factory update
- An operating system image update mechanism, provided by the dial-up bool loader, that is designed to program the Windows CE operating system on the factory floor. The operating system image is downloaded using a high-speed parallel connection. See also automatic update, user-initiated update.
- FAT
- See file allocation table.
- .fdf file
- A binary registry file that is included in an OS image and is always loaded during a cold boot. This file initializes the system registry on the target device.
- field-programmable gate array (FPGA)
- A gate array with a logic network that can be developed after it has been included in a target device.
- file allocation table (FAT)
- A table or list maintained by some operating systems to manage disk space used for file storage. Files on a disk are stored, as space allows, in fixed-size groups of bytes (characters) rather than from beginning to end as contiguous strings of text or numbers. A single file can thus be scattered in pieces over many separate storage areas. A file allocation table maps available disk storage space so that it can mark flawed segments that should not be used and can find and link the pieces of a file. In MS-DOS, the file allocation table is commonly known as the FAT.
- file filter
- A Windows CE dynamic-link library (DLL) that controls the transfer of data between a desktop computer and a Windows CE–based device.
- file handle
- A token, or number, that the operating system uses to identify or refer to an open file or, sometimes, to a device.
- file pointer
- The offset into an open file that the operating system maintains internally. It points to the starting location where data is read from or written to when a read or write operation is performed on an open file. The file pointer can be moved to any location within the file by a seek operation.
- file system
- In an operating system, the overall structure in which files are named, stored, and organized. A file system consists of files, directories, and the information needed to locate and access these items. The term can also refer to the portion of an operating system that translates requests for file operations from an application into low-level, sector-oriented tasks that can be understood by the drivers controlling the disk drives.
- file system application interface
- A subset of the standard Win32 file system functions. These functions let you create directories and data files, read and write file data, and retrieve file and directory information.
- file system driver (FSD)
- A user-written DLL that the operating system loads to interface to a user-created installable file system. The functions that access an installable file system are implemented in the DLL. See also installable file system.
- FileView
- A tab in the Project Workspace window that displays the files associated with a Platform Builder project. The files are organized in expandable folders according to categories such as source files and header files.
- File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
- The protocol used for copying files to and from remote computer systems on a network using a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), such as the Internet. This protocol also allows users to use FTP commands to work with files, such as listing files and directories on the remote system.
- firmware
- Software routines stored in read-only memory (ROM). Unlike random access memory (RAM), read-only memory stays intact even in the absence of electrical power. Startup routines and low-level input/output instructions are stored in firmware. It falls between software and hardware in terms of ease of modification. See also RAM and ROM.
- firmware monitor
- An optional boot loader element used to debug a boot loader. A firmware monitor supports dumping memory contents, disassembling code, and downloading images. You can add additional diagnostic commands for low-level hardware tests.
- first order clock correction
- A measurement of how much the atomic clock on a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite drifts over time.
- flash card
- See PC Card storage device.
- flash memory
- Semiconductor memory that can operate as ROM but, on an activating signal, can rewrite its contents as though it were RAM.
- flash time
- The elapsed time, in milliseconds, required to display, invert, and restore the caret display. This value is twice as much as the blink time.
- floating mode
- One of the operational states of a dockable window. In floating mode, a window can appear anywhere on your screen and has a thin title bar. A floating window is always on top of all other windows. See dockable window.
- focus
- 1. A temporary property of a user interface object, such as a window, view, dialog box, or button, that permits the object to receive keyboard input from the user. 2. One of the two points that determine the shape of an ellipse. The sum of the distances between any point on the ellipse and each of the foci is constant.
- focus window
- The window that is currently receiving keyboard input. The focus window is always the active window, a descendant of the active window, or NULL.
- font mapping
- The process of matching an application-defined description of a font with a font that is physically stored on a device or in an operating system. An application-defined font is called a logical font and a font on a device or in an operating system is called a physical font. See also logical font and physical font.
- foreground audio source
- An audio source that is controlled entirely by the operating system, such as speech recognition tones and text-to-speech (TTS). Depending on user settings, a foreground audio source can partially or fully mute background audio sources while they play. See also background audio source.
- foreground thread
- The thread used to create the window with which the user is currently working.
- foreground window
- The window with which the user is currently working. The system assigns a slightly higher priority to the thread used to create the foreground window than it does to other threads.
- form
- An ActiveX control container that you customize to create a user interface for your application. A form contains a collection of controls, such as speech controls, power list boxes, audio controls, and tabber controls. A form displays information on a screen.
- Forms Manager
- An ActiveX control container that manages forms, providing focus management, menus, help, and event sinks.
- FPGA
- See field-programmable gate array.
- fragmentation
- The process of separating a datagram into smaller pieces for routing between networks.
- free threading model
- A model in which an object can be used on any thread at any time. See also apartment threading model and single threading model.
- FSD
- See file system driver.
- FTP
- See File Transfer Protocol.