The LIMS Glossary includes LIMS and Technology "often-used" terms. If you can't think of how to spell a word or are looking for a definition, use our online glossary.

Parallel Processing
Performed by a computer with two or more CPUs that execute small sections of a task in parallel, resulting in improved performance.

Parameter
Generally, a variable in terms of which it is convenient to express other interrelated variables that may then be regarded as dependent.

PC
(Personal Computer), an inexpensive computer system that serves the needs of a single user, typically for business or productivity applications.

PCS
Print Contrast Signal is the measurement of the ratio of the reflectivities between the bars and the spaces of a symbol.

PDF417
Two-dimensional bar code providing error correction, detection, and security used primarily in parcel tracking applications and hazardous material control.

PDT
Portable Data Terminal. Hand-held terminal capable of storing and recording data that is captured remotely and later transmitted into a computer.

Persistence
The ability of an object to remain in existence past the lifetime of the program that creates it.

Pick List
(pop-up) A list of choices from which the user selects.

Pitch
Rotation of a bar code symbol about an axis parallel to the direction of the bars.

Pixel
The smallest element of controllable color and brightness in a video display or computer graphic.

Plotter
An output device that converts computer output into lines drawn on paper or on display terminals.

Polymorphism
The ability of a class to respond to a common message or operation in a distinctive manner.

Population
A set of data that represents all possible values of a characteristic or event under consideration.

Port
The point at which signals from peripheral equipment enters a computer.

PostNet
Postal Numeric Encoding Technique used to encode ZIP code information on letter mail. PostNet utilizes redundant information within a compact bar code format to provide error detection capability and a significant degree of error correction capability.

Precision
A measure of the degree of accuracy between independent test results of the same sample.

Printhead
The device on a direct thermal or thermal transfer printer containing the heating element that causes an image to be transferred to the facestock.

Process
A natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result. A series of actions or operations leading to an end. A continuous operation or treatment in manufacturing. Continuous and regular production executed in a definite, uninterrupted manner.

Process Capability
Accounting for product specifications and process control.

Process Capability Index
The ratio of the specification width to the process spread.

Process Control
Automatic monitoring and control of a process by an instrument or computer programmed to respond appropriately to feedback from the process.

Productivity
A measurement of output per hours worked.

Program
1) A complete, structured sequence of program statements directing a computer to implement an algorithm.
2) All software programming necessary to solve a problem.

Programming
Coding of the program modules that implement the design.

Programming Language
An artificial language that enables people to instruct machines. Computer commands that form procedures by which software programmers design and implement computer software programs.

Protected Field
A viewable data field that cannot be changed by the end-user.

Protocol
A standard set of procedures that allows data to be transferred among systems.

PSP
(Protocols for Specific Purposes) PSPs are used to define the quality assurance plan of a project or a monitoring program.

Quality
Demonstration of the characteristics and attributes that meet the specifications of a product or service.

Quality Assessment
All the activities that monitor and evaluate the performance of quality control procedures used in the production of products or services.

Quality Assurance
All planned activities necessary to provide a high degree of confidence in the quality of a product or service. It provides quality assessment of the quality control activities and determines the validity of the procedures for determining quality.

Quality Assurance Unit
Any person or organizational element designated by laboratory management to monitor the LIMS functions and procedures.

Quality Audit
The systematic examination and evaluation of all activities related to the quality of a product or service to determine the suitability and effectiveness of the activities to meet quality goals.

Quality Control
The operational techniques and activities needed to maintain and improve the quality of a product or service.

Query
A request for data that is initiated while a computer program is running.

Quiet Zone
A clear space, containing no dark marks preceding the start character of a symbol and following the stop character.

RAM
(Random Access Memory) Computer memory that can be read from and added to by the programmer.

Random Error
The error produced in a measurement process due to causes that are indeterminate or non-assignable.

Random Sample
A sample obtained in a manner such that all samples of a population have an equal chance of being selected.

Range
The set of values within which measurements can be made without changing the measuring instrument's sensitivity.

Raw Data
Data that cannot be calculated or derived from other information.

RCRA
(Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) RCRA The list of disposal regulations for laboratories handling hazardous or toxic substances.

Real Time
Response to events in a predictable and immediate way. A spreadsheet response in one or five seconds is acceptable, but closed loop control systems need to know real time response rates in a more rigorous manner.

Records
All books, papers, maps, photographs, machine-readable materials, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities because of the informational value of the data in them.

Reflectance
The light which is reflected back from the white spaces of a bar code during scanning.

Reliability
The ability to perform the required functions of the product or services for a specific period of time and under a specific set of conditions.

Remote
Devices are remote if they are located a considerable distance from the computer or processing instrument.

Repeatability
The closeness of agreement between individual results, using the same method, test substance, and set of laboratory conditions.

Replication
A database feature that enables information on the network to be constantly updated across several separate computers.

Reproducibility
The closeness of agreement between individual results using the same method and test substance, but a different set of laboratory conditions.

Requirements Analysis
Determination of what is required to automate the function(s) identified by the organization.

Resolution
See Density.

Retirement
The stage which ends use of the system.

Retrospective Validation
The validation of a system already in place using historical data, testing and control data.

RF
Radio Frequency. Wireless communication technology using electromagnetic waves to transmit and receive data. RF provides real-time access to a host computer.

Ribbon
Material used with thermal transfer printers producing visible marks on a label (or substrate). A printhead is heated and the ribbon is burned onto the label stock producing the bar code.

Robotics
The study of the design and use of robots, particularly for their use in manufacturing and related processes.

Rollback/Recovery
Ensures that in the event of a partially updated record, the integrity of a database is protected by recovering, or rolling back to the record as it existed before the partial update. This prevents the proliferation of "orphans", which may in turn lead to a corrupted database.

ROM
( Read Only Memory) Computer memory that may not be written by the programmer. The software in the ROM is fixed during manufacture.

RS
232, 422, 423, 449 are the standard electrical interfaces for connecting peripheral devices to computers.

RS-232
The most common communication interface (e.g. serial (COM) port) standard using a DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) and DCE (Data Communications Equipment) interface. Also known as serial communication.

RS-422
The second most common communication interface standard which extends beyond the 100 feet limitation of RS-232 data communication supporting a maximum distance of 4000 feet.

Ruggedness
A measure of the insusceptibility of a test method to changes in environmental factors.

Rules Based System
A functional system in which knowledge is stored in the form of simple if/then or condition/action rules.

Sampling
1) Measuring the output or variable of a process at regular intervals to estimate characteristics of the process.
2) The conversion of a continuous image into an image composed of discrete parts.

SCADA
(Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is typically accomplished in industrial settings by means of PCs using special software designed for the task.

Scan
To examine data from process sensors for use in calculations. A single sweep of PLC applications program operation. The scan operates the program logic based on I/O status, and then updates the status of inputs and outputs.

Scan Time
The time required to completely execute a PLC program once, including an I/O update.

Scanner
A device that electro-optically converts bar codes into electrical signals.

Security
The set of laws, rules, and practices that regulate how an organization manages, protects, and distributes sensitive data.

Semiconductor
Any class of solids having higher resistivity than a conductor, but lower resistivity than an insulator, and are the basis for all integrated circuits.

Serial
Relating to or being a connection in a computer system in which the bits in a byte are transmitted sequentially over a single wire.

Serial Communication
See RS-232.

Server
A processor that provides a specific service to the network. In a client/server architecture, servers perform central storage and other vital tasks. Servers specialize in highspeed computation and data storage and manipulation. They can range in size from PCs to mainframes.

Software
The entire set of programs, procedures, and related documentation associated with a computer.

Software Life Cycle
The period of time beginning when a software product is conceived and ending when the product no longer performs the function for which it was designed.

Software Version Control
Management of changes or revisions to a specific baseline software module or application. Software version control provides a mechanism to control changes and to return to any previous revision of the application or module.

SOP
(Standard Operating Procedure) A written procedure for operations that are performed repeatedly.

Source Code
A software program written using a programming language. It must be assembled, compiled , or interpreted before it can be executed.

SPC
(Statistical Process Control) The use of statistics to control and improve a process.

Specifications
The written requirements for a product, system or service.

SQC
(Statistical Quality Control) The use of statistics to improve and control quality.

SQL
(Structured Query Language) Query language that allows a client to access only the data required to satisfy a request for data, cut network traffic, or improve performance. An accepted standard that most relational database products implement.

Stability Testing
A series of product tests conducted at specific time intervals and varying the environmental conditions to see if the product degrades over time.

Stack Code
Two-dimensional bar code where linear bar codes are stacked one upon another and are printed in a rectangular shape to achieve the most efficient use of label area.

Standard
A substance with a known value for a property that can be used to evaluate a property in another substance.

Standard Deviation
The positive square root of the variance of a data set, it is a measure of the spread of a sampling statistic.

Standardization
To promote conformity by means of a standard or to establish criteria for uniform practices.

Start-Stop Character
The left-most and right-most characters respectively of a horizontal bar code that provides the scanner with start and stop reading instructions as well as scanning direction.

Statistic
A value for a parameter calculated from sample data.

Substrate
The surface on which a bar code is printed.

Symbol
A set of characters and markers including start/stop, quiet zones, data, and check characters required by a particular symbology that form a integrated readable (scannable) element.

Systematic Error
A consistent error of the same size and sign produced in a measurement process due to the same recurring cause.

Systems Integration
The ability of computers, instrumentation, and equipment to share data or applications with other components in the same or other functional areas.

TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) - The Internet's communication standard allows different types of computers to share data on a network where IP defines the routing between computers connected to the Internet and TCP defines how data is packaged to be delivered by IP. Every transmission gets broken down into standard sized packets, like little envelopes of data. Each packet carries an address but no information about what is inside.

Terminal
Any I/O device used to communicate with a computer from a remote location.

Terminal Emulation
In data collection, using modified business system software screens on data collection terminals.

Testing
The examination of the behavior of a program by executing the program on sample data sets.

Testing and Quality Assurance
Ensuring that the system works as intended and that it meets applicable organization standards of performance, reliability, integrity and security.

Thermal
See Direct Thermal

Thermal Transfer
A process in which a set of pins on a printhead are selectively heated onto a ribbon and the ink from the ribbon is burned (transferred) onto the label stock. Thermal transfer leaves a permanent image on the label.

Throughput
1) The rate at which work proceeds through a manufacturing process.
2) The rate at which information is processed through a computer.

Timestamp
A record of the date and time of data entry.

Token Ring
The token access procedure used on a network with a sequential or ring topology.

Tolerance
The allowable deviation of the value of a characteristic of a population.

Total Quality
A holistic approach to quality control that stresses building manufacturing processes that force users to confront quality problems, rather than passing them on.

Touch Screen
A CRT screen with which an operator can interact by touching icons displayed on the screen, rather than through a keyboard or mouse.

Traceability
The ability to trace the history, application or location of a substance throughout its life cycle for the purpose of establishing accuracy of measurements.

Trackball
An input device with a ball recessed in its surface, which rotates to control the position of the cursor.

Transaction
A computerized record of a discrete event, such as the receipt of inventory or a customer order. A set of two or more database updates that must be completed in an all or nothing fashion.

Transaction Logging
Method that provides recovery protection if a failure occurs as data is actually written to the database during the transaction.

Transaction Processing
Grouping related elements together, requesting a group lock, and writing any changes to the database as a unit at the end of the transaction.

Triggers
User-defined conditions that automatically initiate specific user-defined responses. For example, inventory dropping below a specific level can be defined as the trigger for automatically generating a purchase requisition.

TSCA
The Toxic Substance Control Act.

Turnkey System
Equipment or a computer system that is delivered complete, installed, and ready to be used.

Two-Dimensional Bar Code
Two dimensional symbology composed of rows of data arranged in a rectangular or square pattern. The rows of data are stacked onto each other to encode an array of data.

Type I Error
(alpha error) A rejection of a hypothesis when it is true. An example of Type 1 Error is finding a substance present when it is not.

Type II Error
(beta error) An acceptance of a hypothesis when it is false. An example of Type II Error is not finding a substance present when it is present.