descriptor

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

descriptor
    n 1: the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a
         word that can be used to describe or identify something;
         "the inflected forms of a word can be represented by a stem
         and a list of inflections to be attached" [syn: {form},
         {word form}, {signifier}, {descriptor}]
    2: a piece of stored information that is used to identify an
       item in an information storage and retrieval system

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)

descriptor

   <operating system> An integer, string or other small data
   value which refers to one of several objects allocated to a
   program by the {operating system}, usually the {kernel}.  A
   common example is a {Unix} {file descriptor} which is a small
   integer that identifies an I/O channel.  Another example is a
   reference to an area of memory (e.g. {shared memory}).

   Compare {capability}.

   (1998-02-06)

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