A unit of memory that is used by the system in managing memory. The size of a page is computer dependent and can be determined by using the GetSystemInfo function. The system manages memory by assigning pages of memory to specific processes, moving pages to and from a paging file on disk to keep the most recently used pages in physical memory (RAM), and maintaining a page map for each process that keeps track of the current physical location of each committed page in a process's virtual address space. See also committed page,page map.
page coordinate space
The coordinate space in which all graphics device interface (GDI) drawing operations begin if an application has not set the world-space to page-space transformation.
page map
An internal data structure maintained by the system for each process that maps the pages of a process's virtual address space with the corresponding pages of physical storage. See also page.
paging file
A disk file that the system uses to increase the amount of physical storage.
palette
An array of colors currently available on a device.
palettized device
A device that uses the bit values in the frame buffer to directly define their color.
palettized display mode
A mode in which each pixel is a value representing an index into an associated palette. The bit depth of the display mode determines the number of colors that can be in the palette. For example, in an 8-bit palettized display mode, each pixel is a value from 0 to 255. In such a display mode, the palette can contain 256 entries.
palette animation
A method of updating the colors in the logical palette.
PANOSE numbers
Special values specified by an application to select a particular font.
parent process
A process (parent) that initiates and controls another process (child) in a multitasking environment. The parent process defines the environment for the child process. The parent process can suspend or complete its own processing while the child process continues its operation. See also child process.
parent window
A window that has one or more child windows.
partition
A logically distinct portion of memory or a storage device that the system references as though it were a physically separate unit. The partition is referenced as a separate volume. For example, a single fixed disk may be divided into two partitions, referred to as C and D, even though they exist on the same physical volume.
path
(1) A string that describes the location of a file or directory on a volume relative to the current directory or the root directory.
(2) One or more figures that are filled, outlined, or filled and outlined. See also directory,volume.
path bracket
One or more graphics device interface (GDI) functions embedded between a BeginPath and an EndPath function. (The BeginPath function defines the start of the bracket; the EndPath function defines the end.)
pattern brush
A logical brush created from an application-defined bitmap. See also bitmap,logical brush.
pen
A drawing tool used to draw lines and curves.
pen style
One of the cosmetic and geometric pen attributes that define the appearance of lines drawn with the pen. There are eight possible styles: solid, dashed, dotted, dashed and dotted, dash followed by two dots, invisible, inside frame, and user defined. See also cosmetic pen,geometric pen,pen.
pen type
An attribute that determines whether the pen's dimensions are specified in world units or device units.
performance monitoring
The process of determining the system resources an application consumes, such as processor time and memory.
persistent connection
A network connection that the system restores automatically when the user logs on.
physical brush
A bitmap that the system uses to paint the interior of filled shapes. A physical brush is a device driver's approximation of a logical brush. See also bitmap,logical brush.
physical device
The fourth and final coordinate space for most graphics device interface (GDI) drawing operations. (The points in this coordinate space may correspond to the desktop, a client area, or a page of printer paper.)
A rectangle defining the width and height of the picture stored in a metafile. (The dimensions of this rectangle are always specified in .01-mm units.) See also metafile.
pie
A region bounded by the intersection of an ellipse and two radials. A pie is outlined by using the current pen and filled by using the current brush. See also ellipse,radial.
pipe
A communication conduit with two ends. A process with a handle to one end can communicate through a pipe with a process having a handle to the other end. Pipes can be one way (where one end is read only and the other end is write only) or two way (where both ends of the pipe can be used for reading or writing). The Win32 application programming interface (API) provides both anonymous (unnamed) pipes and named pipes. See also anonymous pipe,handle,named pipe,process.
pipe instance
A separate conduit for named pipe communications between a client and a server process. A named pipe can have multiple instances, where all instances share the same pipe name but each instance has its own buffers and handles. See also handle,named pipe.
pixel
The smallest definable unit on a video display. (A pixel's size is a function of video-display technology.)
playing a metafile
The process of converting the records in a metafile into the respective device commands and drawing the corresponding picture on the device. See also metafile.
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
The Point-to-Point Protocol, or PPP, is an industry-standard suite of control protocols that allow multiple network protocols to be carried on a point-to-point link. Windows NT supports IP, IPX, and NBF connections using PPP. This allows the use of applications that write to a network-specific interface, connections to third-party PPP servers, and remote access to the Internet.
polygon
A closed figure with straight sides. A polygon is outlined by using the current pen and filled by using the current brush. See also brush,pen.
polygon fill mode
An algorithm that determines the parts of a region that can be filled, painted, inverted, or clipped. See also region.
polygonal region
A region with the shape of a polygon. See also polygon,region.
pop-up item
A menu item that, when chosen, displays a pop-up menu. See also menu item,pop-up menu.
pop-up menu
A menu that is hidden until the user performs an action that causes the system to display the menu. See also menu.
pop-up window
A special type of overlapped window typically used for dialog boxes, message boxes, and other temporary windows that appear outside an application's main window.
The initial thread of a process. Also called the main thread or thread 1. When the main or WinMain function of a primary thread returns, the ExitProcess function is called implicitly, terminating all other threads of the process. A primary thread does not differ from other threads with respect to signals because all signals are delivered to the thread that caused them. See also process,thread.
priority class
A process priority category (high, normal, or idle) used to determine the scheduling priorities of a process's threads. Each priority class has five levels. See also thread.
private memory
Pages of a process's memory that cannot be accessed by other processes. All memory objects allocated by the GlobalAlloc, LocalAlloc, VirtualAlloc, and HeapAlloc functions are in private pages.
process
An executing application that consists of a private virtual address space, code, data, and other operating system resources, such as files, pipes, and synchronization objects that are visible to the process. A process also contains one or more threads that run in the context of the process. See also pipe,process,thread.
profile
A set of configurable options for a user. See also control set.
push button
A rounded rectangle used by the user to start or cancel an operation by clicking the rectangle, which "pushes" the button. A default push button is "pushed" when the user presses the ENTER key. See also button.