Imaging Software Glossary: Terms & Concepts: C

The imaging software glossary provides definitions for document and web imaging, in addition to terminology specific to Snowbound Software’s imaging technology.

CAB file	The CABinet (CAB) file is the Microsoft Windows native compressed archive format that contains a compressed and archived applet for Microsoft's Internet Explorer users. It supports compression and digital signing. It's used in a variety of Microsoft installation engines.

Check 21	The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21) was signed into law on October 28, 2003, and became effective on October 28, 2004. Check 21 is designed to foster innovation in the payments system and to enhance its efficiency by reducing some of the legal impediments to check truncation. The law facilitates check truncation by creating a new negotiable instrument called a substitute check, which permits banks to truncate original checks, to process check information electronically, and to deliver substitute checks to banks that want to continue receiving paper checks. A substitute check is the legal equivalent of the original check and includes all the information contained on the original check. The law does not require banks to accept checks in electronic form nor does it require banks to use the new authority granted by the Act to create substitute checks.

Class	Class is a definition for the methods and variables of an object. It describes the rules by which an object behaves. A class can have subclasses that can inherit all or some of the characteristics of the class. The structure of a class and its subclasses is called the class hierarchy.

Classpath	Classpath is an environment variable that tells the Java compiler where to look for and interpret class files .

Clipboard (Windows)	The clipboard is an area used to exchange data between applications. Applications place data on the clipboard so other applications can access it. This storage is meant as a short-term volatile place to keep information that will be used again shortly. These operations are typically referred to as cutting and pasting data.

Color Conversion	Color conversion is the process of changing from one color model to another.

Color Correction	Color correction is the process of removing unwanted casts or tints from an image.

Compile	Compiling is a process statement which turns a particular programming language into machine language or “code” that a computer’s processor uses. (e.g. an executable .EXE or .COM file that may run on a computer or virtual machine.)

Component Application	An application that performs a specific function and is designed in such a way to easily operate with other components and applications. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with applet.

Compression	Compression is a process of encoding an image or other data so that it occupies less memory or disk space than its uncompressed version. Image compression can be lossy or lossless. The goal is to achieve the best image quality at a given bit-rate (or compression rate). Compression techniques for 24-bit color images usually do not work well on 1-bit or bi-level images. Similarly, compression for 1-bit images do not compress well for 24-bit color images. Examples of compression formats include ABIC, Group3/Group4, JPEG, JPEG2000, JBIG, JBIG2, MMR, ZIP, and LZW. Snowbound's products handle image compression directly and rapidly without having to invoke a print driver or any other external application.

Compression Ratio	The compression ratio is the ratio of a file’s uncompressed size compared to its compressed size. Because the user has control of the amount of loss, JPEG is one of the few formats that permits the user to control the compression ratio of the information.

Content Management System (CMS)	A content management system (CMS) is a computer software system for organizing and facilitating collaborative creation of documents and other content. A content management system is frequently a web application used for managing web sites and web content, though in many cases, content management systems require special client software for editing and constructing articles. Snowbound's VirtualViewer web viewer can integrate with CMS systems enabling users to easily access, view, convert, manipulate, annotate, and print document and image formats within the repository through a single universal viewer.

Contrast	Contrast is the variation of the lightest or brightest in comparison to the darkest portions of an image. In imaging, contrast depends on the image source, the medium, and the ambient lighting.

Control Array	A control array allows you to dynamically add menu items to a Visual Basic form during program execution.

Coordinates	Coordinates are a pair of numbers that represents a specific location in a two-dimensional plane.

Crop	Cropping is an image processing method to remove a region of an image or text. It can be used to remove an extraneous information or subject matter to improve the final composition.