Data segment

In computing, a data segment (often denoted .data) is a portion of an object file or the corresponding virtual address space of a program that contains initialized static variables, that is, global variables and static local variables. The size of this segment is determined by the size of the values in the program's source code, and does not change at run time.

The data segment is read-write, since the values of variables can be altered at run time. This is in contrast to the read-only data segment (rodata segment or .rodata), which contains static constants rather than variables; it also contrasts to the code segment, also known as the text segment, which is read-only on many architectures. Uninitialized data, both variables and constants, is instead in the BSS segment.

Historically, to be able to support memory address spaces larger than the native size of the internal address register would allow, early CPUs implemented a system of segmentation whereby they would store a small set of indexes to use as offsets to certain areas. The Intel 8086 family of CPUs provided four segments: the code segment, the data segment, the stack segment and the extra segment. Each segment was placed at a specific location in memory by the software being executed and all instructions that operated on the data within those segments were performed relative to the start of that segment. This allowed a 16-bit address register, which would normally provide 64KiB (65536 bytes) of memory space, to access a 1MiB (1048576 bytes) address space.

Data (moth)

Data is a genus of moths of the Noctuidae family.

Species

References

Data (Star Trek)

Lieutenant Commander Data (/ˈdeɪtə/ DAY-tə) is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe portrayed by actor Brent Spiner. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek: Nemesis.

An artificial intelligence and synthetic life form designed and built by Doctor Noonien Soong, Data is a self-aware, sapient, sentient, and anatomically fully functional android who serves as the second officer and chief operations officer aboard the Federation starships USS Enterprise-D and USS Enterprise-E. His positronic brain allows him impressive computational capabilities. Data experienced ongoing difficulties during the early years of his life with understanding various aspects of human behavior and was unable to feel emotion or understand certain human idiosyncrasies, inspiring him to strive for his own humanity. This goal eventually led to the addition of an "emotion chip", also created by Soong, to Data's positronic net. Although Data's endeavor to increase his humanity and desire for human emotional experience is a significant plot point (and source of humor) throughout the series, he consistently shows a nuanced sense of wisdom, sensitivity, and curiosity, garnering immense respect from his peers and colleagues.

Atex

Atex:

Atex (software)

Atex is a company specializing in the development of advertising, editorial and web content management systems. The company was established in Massachusetts in 1973 and grew to become a worldwide hardware and software supplier to the publishing industry. It participated in much of the change in the print industry involving the move from hot-metal through photo and then laser typesetting, culminating in computer to plate (CTP). The company expanded to include web publishing as an integral part of its product line.

The company claims to have over $1 billion USD worth of software installed worldwide, and claims more than 1000 customers in 55 countries. The company is based in Reading, Berkshire, UK and backed by Norwegian investment company Kistefos. It employs over 600 people globally.

History

1970s

Atex was founded in Massachusetts in 1973 by Douglas Drane and Charles and Richard Ying, graduates of MIT, who had an idea for a new type of electronic composition system. By 1974 they had created a prototype video display terminal, encased in a cardboard whiskey carton.

ATEX directive

The ATEX directive consists of two EU directives describing what equipment and work environment is allowed in an environment with an explosive atmosphere. ATEX derives its name from the French title of the 94/9/EC directive: Appareils destinés à être utilisés en ATmosphères EXplosibles.

Directives

As of July 2003, organizations in EU must follow the directives to protect employees from explosion risk in areas with an explosive atmosphere.

There are two ATEX directives (one for the manufacturer and one for the user of the equipment):

The ATEX 94/9/EU that is dedicated to the manufacturer has changed. Still applicable up to 19 April 2016 the ATEX 94/9/EC will be removed and replaced by a new directive.