In the following table, terms are listed alphabetically by acronym, not by expanded form. Many product-specific terms do not appear in this table. Exclusion of a term does not mean it is not acceptable.
When two concepts are represented by the same acronym, the concepts are numbered according to primacy of usage in the Expanded Form column. When a variation in wording is used to refer to a single concept, both variations are included but not numbered.
If the term you are looking for is not listed in the table, check the following resources:
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/), Fourth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
Microsoft Glossary Portal (http://www.microsoft.com/resources/glossary/default.mspx)
Go Global Developer Center (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/goglobal/bb964658.aspx) on MSDN
Acronym | Expanded form | Comments |
---|---|---|
24/7 | 24 hours a day, seven days a week | Spell out or replace with phrases such as all the time or all day, every day. For repeated mentions or in contexts where the abbreviation is standard, use the abbreviation after first mention. |
AC | alternating current | Don’t spell out. |
ACL | access control list | |
AD | Active Directory | Don’t use either the abbreviation or the expanded form as a stand-alone term. Use Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) instead. |
ADO | ActiveX Data Objects | Not Active Data Objects. |
ADSL | asymmetric digital subscriber line | Not asynchronous digital subscriber line. |
AM/FM | amplitude modulation/frequency modulation | Don’t spell out. |
AJAX | Asynchronous JavaScript and XML | |
ALM | application lifecycle management | Abbreviation for application lifecycle management. For repeated mention of application lifecycle management, spell out ALM on first mention. On subsequent mention, use just ALM or lifecycle management. Capitalize as Application Lifecycle Management when referring to Visual Studio ALM. |
ANSI | American National Standards Institute | Spell out only to refer to the organization itself. Don’t spell out when referring to ANSI standards or text format. |
API | application programming interface | Not application program interface. Don’t use to refer to individual programming elements. Don’t use the redundant term API set. |
APPC | Advanced Program-to-Program Communications | Note capitalization and hyphenation. |
ASCII | American Standard Code for Information Interchange | Don’t spell out. |
ASP |
| When referring to Active Server Pages, don’t use ASP and ASP.NET interchangeably, and don’t spell out in the context of ASP.NET. Otherwise, spell out if the context is not clear. When referring to application service provider, always spell out on first mention. |
AVI | Audio Video Interleaved | Don’t spell out. If the term is not familiar to your audience, use a more generic term such as movie. |
B2B | business-to-business | Spell out unless the abbreviation is familiar to your audience. |
B2C | business-to-consumer | Spell out unless the abbreviation is familiar to your audience. |
BAML | Binary Application Markup Language | |
Basic | Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code | Note capitalization. Don’t spell out. |
BI | business intelligence | Spell out unless the abbreviation is familiar to your audience. |
bi-di | bidirectional | Always spell out. |
BIFF | Binary Interchange File Format | |
BIOS | basic input/output system | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
BISYNC | Binary Synchronous Communications | Do not use BSC. |
BSC | Binary Synchronous Communications | Don’t use. Use BISYNC instead. |
CBT | computer-based training | Don’t use. Use tutorial instead. For additional guidance, see CBT (Appendix A). |
CD | compact disc | Don’t spell out. For CD types and additional guidance, see CD (Appendix A). |
CDF | Channel Definition Format | When referring to the specification, use italic formatting and provide a version number. |
CDS | Circuit Data Services | |
CE | collector’s edition | Always spell out. Note singular possessive. Always use title capitalization when this term is part of a product name. |
CGA | color/graphics adapter | |
CGI |
| Don’t spell out unless the reference is unclear. |
CIS | computer information systems | |
CISC | complex instruction set computer | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
CLR | common language runtime | |
CLS | common language specification | |
CMC |
| |
CMS | continuous media server | Don’t use. Use MMS instead. |
CMY | cyan-magenta-yellow | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
CMYK | cyan-magenta-yellow-black | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
COFF | Common Object File Format | For the expanded form, use title capitalization to refer to the specification, but use lowercase to refer to the file format. |
COM COM+ |
| As Component Object Model, don’t spell out. As the name of a communications port (also known as serial port), use all uppercase followed by a number, as in COM1. Be sure that the user cannot be confused about what COM means in your content. As an extension and the indicator of a commercial organization in a URL, use all lowercase preceded with a period, as in .com file and Microsoft.com. |
CPI-C | Common Programming Interface for Communications | |
CR/LF | carriage return/line feed | |
CSS | cascading style sheets | Spell out unless the abbreviation is familiar to your audience. |
CTI | Computer-Telephony Integration | |
CTS | common type system | |
CUT | Do not use as an abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time. Use UTC instead. | |
DAO | Data Access Object | |
DBCS | double-byte character set | |
DBMS | database management system | |
DCE | distributed computing environment | |
DCOM | distributed COM | Don’t spell out. Use this term only to refer to the DCOM wire protocol. |
DDBMS | distributed database management system | |
DDE | Dynamic Data Exchange | |
DDI | Device Driver Interface | |
DDL | data definition language | |
DDNS | dynamic DNS | Don’t use either the abbreviation or the expanded form. Instead, refer to a DNS server that supports the dynamic update protocol. For additional guidance, see DNS (Appendix A). |
DES | Data Encryption Standard | |
DFS | Distributed File System | |
DHCP | Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol | |
DHTML | dynamic Hypertext Markup Language | Use dynamic HTML (DHTML) on first mention. |
DIB | device-independent bitmap | |
DIF | Data Interchange Format | |
DLC |
| Spell out when referring to downloadable content. |
DLL | dynamic-link library | Do not use dynalink. Use lowercase (.dll) when referring to the file name extension. |
DMOD | dynamic access module | |
DNS | Domain Name System | Not Domain Name Server. When referring to the DNS networking protocol, spell out on first mention. When referring to the Windows feature that implements the protocol, don’t spell out. For additional guidance, see DNS (Appendix A). Don’t use this abbreviation to refer to the digital nervous system. |
DoS | denial of service | Spell out unless the abbreviation is familiar to your audience. Hyphenate the spelled-out term when using it as an adjective, as in denial-of-service attack. |
DOS | disk operating system | Don’t spell out. Avoid except as MS-DOS. See MS-DOS (Appendix A). |
DSP | digital signal processor | |
DSS |
| |
DVD | digital versatile disc | Don’t spell out. For DVD types and additional guidance, see DVD (Appendix A). |
EA | extended attributes | Always spell out. |
ECC | electronic credit card | |
EFI | Extensible Firmware Interface | |
EGA | enhanced graphics adapter | |
EISA | Extended Industry Standard Architecture | |
EPS | encapsulated PostScript | |
EULA | End-User License Agreement | Don’t use. Use Microsoft Software License Terms instead. See Microsoft software license terms and license terms. |
FAQ | frequently asked questions | Precede with the indefinite article a, not an. Spell out unless the abbreviation is familiar to your audience. |
FAT | Always spell out when referring to the table. Don’t spell out when referring to the file system; always use FAT file system. | |
fax | facsimile | Don’t spell out. Don’t capitalize as FAX. All right to use as an adjective, as in “fax machine” and “fax transmission;” as a noun, as in “your fax arrived;” or as a verb, as in “fax a copy of the order.” |
FB, fb | Always spell out. | |
foo, foobar, fubar | Do not use. The word is slang derived from an obscene phrase meaning “fouled up beyond all recognition.” Use another placeholder or variable name instead. For example, use Example.exe or MyFile.doc. | |
FTP | File Transfer Protocol | Lowercase when used in an Internet address. Don’t use as a verb. |
FTS |
| |
GAC | global assembly cache | Always spell out. |
GDI | Graphics Device Interface | |
GIF | Graphics Interchange Format | |
GPI | graphics programming interface | |
GUI | graphical user interface | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
GUID | globally unique identifier | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
HAL | hardware abstraction layer | |
HBA | host bus adapter | |
HD | high-definition | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
HDTV | high-definition TV | Don’t spell out. |
HDLC | High-Level Data Link Control | |
HMA | high-memory area | |
HPFS | high-performance file system | |
HTML | Hypertext Markup Language | Don’t spell out. |
HTTP | Hypertext Transfer Protocol | Don’t spell out unless you are discussing protocols or URLs, or unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. The abbreviation is lowercase when used in an Internet address. For additional guidance, see HTTP (Appendix A). |
IaaS | infrastructure as a service | Don’t capitalize as IAAS. For additional guidance, see infrastructure as a service (IaaS ) (Appendix A). |
IANA | Internet Assigned Numbers Authority | |
ICP |
| |
ICS | Internet Connection Sharing | Always spell out. |
IDE | integrated device electronics, integrated development environment | Sometimes seen as integrated drive electronics. Spell out on first mention, using one term consistently. |
IEEE | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. | |
IFS | installable file system | |
IHV | independent hardware vendor | |
IM | instant message, instant messaging | For additional guidance, see instant message. |
I/O | input/output | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
IOCTL | I/O control | Spell out on first mention. On subsequent mention, all right to abbreviate as I/O control or IOCTL. Use only in content for a technical audience. |
IP | Internet Protocol | Don’t spell out. |
IPC | interprocess communication | |
IPX/SPX | Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange | |
IS | Information Services | |
ISA | Industry Standard Architecture | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
ISAM | indexed sequential access method | |
ISAPI | Internet Server Application Programming Interface | If API has already been spelled out, use Internet Server API (ISAPI) on first mention. |
ISV | independent software vendor | |
ITV | interactive TV | |
JPEG | Joint Photographic Experts Group | Refers to both the standard for storing compressed images and a graphic stored in that format. Don’t spell out. |
LADDR | layered-architecture device driver | |
LAN | local area network | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
LCE | limited collector’s edition | Always spell out. Note singular possessive. Always use title capitalization when part of a product name. |
LCID | locale identifier, locale ID | Don’t abbreviate as LCID. Use LCID only as a data type. |
LDAP | Lightweight Directory Access Protocol | |
LDTR | ||
LINQ | Language-Integrated Query | |
LU | logical unit | |
MAC | media access control | Always spell out on first mention. |
MAN | metropolitan area network | |
MAPI | Messaging Application Programming Interface | If API has already been spelled out, use Messaging API (MAPI) on first mention. |
MASM | Macro Assembler | |
MCA | Micro Channel Architecture | |
MCGA | multicolor graphics array | |
MCI | Media Control Interface | |
MDA | monochrome display adapter | |
MDI | multiple-document interface | |
MFC | Microsoft Foundation Classes | |
MIDI | Musical Instrument Digital Interface | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
MIDL | Microsoft Interface Definition Language | |
MIF | Management Information Format | |
MIS | management information systems | Use IS instead, unless you must specifically refer to MIS. |
MMS | Microsoft Media Server | Don’t precede with a definite article. Don’t use CMS. |
MMU | memory management unit | |
MOF | Managed Object Format | |
MPEG | Moving Picture Experts Group | Don’t spell out. For additional guidance, see MPEG (Appendix A). |
MS, MSFT | Microsoft | Always spell out, even in informal communications such as blogs or microblogs. MSFT is all right to use if you are referring to the stock ticker symbol. |
MSMQ | Microsoft Message Queuing | Don’t use. Use Message Queuing instead. On first mention, you can use Message Queuing (also known as MSMQ). |
MSN | The Microsoft Network | |
MSO | multiple service operator | |
MTA | message transfer agent | |
NA, N/A | not applicable, not available | Always spell out, even in tables. For additional guidance, see Tables (Appendix A). |
NAICS | North American Industry Classification System | Pronounced “nakes.” Replaces Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). |
NaN | not a number | Note capitalization. |
NCB | network control block | |
NCSA | National Center for Supercomputing Applications | |
NDIS | network driver interface specification | |
NDK | network development kit | |
NetBEUI | NetBIOS Enhanced User Interface | Don’t spell out. |
NetBIOS | network basic input/output system | Don’t spell out. |
NFS | network file system | |
NIC | network interface card | |
NLS | national language support | |
NMI | nonmaskable interrupt | |
NOS | network operating system | |
NTFS | NTFS file system | The redundant phrase is correct. Don’t use NT file system or New Technology file system. |
NTSC | National Television System Committee | |
ODBC | Open Database Connectivity | |
ODL | Object Description Language | |
ODS | Open Data Services | |
OEM | original equipment manufacturer | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
OLAP | online analytical processing | |
OLE | Object Linking and Embedding | Don’t spell out. |
OOFS | object-oriented file system | |
OOM | out of memory | Always spell out. |
OOP | object-oriented programming | |
OS | Don’t use as an abbreviation for operating system. | |
OSI | Open Systems Interconnection | |
PaaS | platform as a service | Spell out on first mention. Don’t capitalize as PAAS. For additional guidance, see platform as a service (PaaS) (Appendix A). |
PANS | pretty amazing new stuff, pretty amazing new services | Refers to telephone services. See also POTS. |
PARC | Palo Alto Research Center | |
PC | personal computer | Don’t spell out. All right to use in content that is informal in tone, in UI text where space is limited, or when referring to a feature or website that includes the term PC. In procedures, use computer. For additional guidance, see PC, PC-compatible. |
PCMCIA | Personal Computer Memory Card International Association | Use PC Card instead of PCMCIA or PCMCIA card, to refer to the add-in memory and communications cards for portable computers. |
| Don’t spell out when referring to the file format. | |
PDLC | premium downloadable content | Not paid downloadable content. Spell out. |
PE | portable executable | When using the abbreviation, always follow with file, as in PE file or PE file format. |
PERT | program evaluation and review technique | |
PFF | Printer File Format | |
PIF | program information file | |
PII | personally identifiable information | Always spell out. |
PIN | personal identification number | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
PnP | Plug and Play | Note capitalization. For additional guidance, see Plug and Play. |
POTS | plain old telephone service | See also PANS. |
PPP | Point-to-Point Protocol | |
PPPoE | Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet | |
PROM | programmable read-only memory | |
PSU | power supply unit | Always spell out. |
PW | password | Always spell out. |
QA | quality assurance | |
QBE | query by example | |
QFE | quick fix engineering | Don’t use. For additional guidance, see Out-of-band release terminology (Chapter 6). |
RAID | redundant array of independent disks | |
RAM | random access memory | For additional guidance about referring to memory, see memory (Appendix A). |
RAS |
| Remote Access Service is Windows-based software. The server is a host on a LAN equipped with modems. |
RDBMS | relational database management system | |
RFID | radio frequency identification | |
RFT | revisable form text | |
RGB | red-green-blue | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
RIFF | Resource Interchange File Format | |
RIP |
| Always spell out on first mention to avoid confusion. |
RIPL | remote initial program load | |
RISC | reduced instruction set computer | |
ROM | read-only memory | For additional guidance about referring to memory, see memory (Appendix A). |
ROM BIOS | read-only memory basic input/output system | Don’t spell out. |
RPC | remote procedure call | |
RTF | Rich Text Format | |
S+S | software-plus-services | Always spell out, but you can replace plus with a plus sign if space is limited. For additional guidance, see software-plus-services (Appendix A). |
SAA | Systems Application Architecture | |
SaaS | software as a service | Don’t capitalize as SAAS. For additional guidance, see software as a service (SaaS) (Appendix A). |
SAMI | Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange | |
SAP | Service Advertising Protocol | |
SAPI | Speech Application Programming Interface | If API has already been spelled out, use Speech API (SAPI) on first mention. |
SBCS | single-byte character set | |
SCSI | small computer system interface | Pronounced “scuzzy.” The acronym takes the indefinite article a, not an. |
SDK | software development kit | |
SDLC |
| |
SGML | Standard Generalized Markup Language | Don’t spell out. |
SIC | Standard Industrial Classification | Replaced by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). |
SID | security identifier | |
SIM | subscriber identity module | Don’t spell out. |
SIMM | single inline memory module | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
SLIP | Serial Line Internet Protocol | |
SMB | server message block | |
SMP | symmetric multiprocessing | |
SMTP | Simple Mail Transfer Protocol | |
SNA | Systems Network Architecture | |
SNMP | Simple Network Management Protocol | |
SOA | service-oriented architecture | For additional guidance, see service-oriented architecture (Appendix A). |
SOAP | Simple Object Access Protocol | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
SPI | service provider interface | |
SQL | Structured Query Language | When referring to the language, SQL is pronounced “es-cue-el” and takes the indefinite article an, not a. When referring to Microsoft SQL Server, follow the guidance in SQL Server (Appendix A). |
SSD | solid-state drive | For additional guidance about referring to drives, see drive (Appendix A). |
STB | set-top box | Always spell out. |
SVC | switched virtual circuit | |
SVGA | Super Video Graphics Array, Super VGA | Don’t spell out. For additional guidance, see Super VGA, SVGA (Appendix A). |
SXGA | Super Extended Graphics Array, Super XGA | Don’t spell out. |
TAPI | Telephony Application Programming Interface | If API has already been spelled out, use Telephony API (TAPI) on first mention. |
TBD | to be determined | Always spell out. |
TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol | Don’t spell out. |
TIFF | Tagged Image File Format | Don’t spell out. |
TIP | Transaction Internet Protocol | |
TP | transaction processing | Always spell out. |
TSPI | Telephony Service Provider Interface | |
TSR | terminate-and-stay-resident | |
TTY | teletypewriter | |
TV | television | All right to use without spelling out. |
UDP | User Datagram Protocol | |
UEFI | Unified Extensible Firmware Interface | If EFI has already been spelled out, introduce as Unified EFI (UEFI). |
UI | user interface | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
UMB | upper memory block | |
UML | Unified Modeling Language | |
UNC | Universal Naming Convention | Spell out on first mention unless you are positive that your audience is familiar with the abbreviation. |
UPC | universal product code | |
UPnP | Universal Plug and Play | Don’t spell out. This abbreviation is trademarked. For additional guidance, see UPnP (Appendix A). |
UPS | uninterruptible power supply | Spell out unless the abbreviation is familiar to your audience. |
URL | Uniform Resource Locator | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. You can use address instead of URL. The acronym takes the indefinite article a, not an. For additional guidance, see URLs, addresses (Chapter 7). |
USB | universal serial bus | Don’t spell out. Don’t use as a noun, only as an adjective, as in USB storage device. |
UTC | Coordinated Universal Time | This is the internationally recognized name for Greenwich Mean Time. Don’t spell out as Universal Time Coordinate. |
UTF-n | UCS Transformation Format –n-bit. | Don’t spell out. |
UUID | universally unique identifier | |
UXGA | Ultra Extended Graphics Array, Ultra XGA | Don’t spell out. |
VAR | value-added reseller | |
VB | Visual Basic | Spell out except when referring to VBA or VBScript. |
VBA | Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications | |
VBScript | Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition | |
VCPI | virtual control program interface | |
VCR | video cassette recorder | Don’t spell out. |
VGA | Video Graphics Array, Video Graphics Adapter | Don’t spell out. For additional guidance, see VGA (Appendix A). |
VIO | video input/output | |
VM |
| Always spell out to avoid confusion. When referring to Visual Studio 2010 VM Factory, spell out as Virtual Machine Factory on first mention. On subsequent mention, use VM Factory. |
VRML | Virtual Reality Modeling Language | |
VSAM | virtual storage access method, virtual storage access memory | |
VTP | virtual tunneling protocol, or VLAN trunking protocol | |
W3C | World Wide Web Consortium | Write out as “World Wide Web Consortium” on first mention. |
WAN | wide area network | |
WBEM | Web-based Enterprise Management | |
WEP | Wired Equivalent Privacy | Don’t spell out. Don’t use as a noun, only as an adjective, as in WEP encryption key. |
Wi-Fi | Note capitalization and hyphenation. When possible, use a general phrase such as wireless network instead. For additional guidance, see Wi-Fi (Appendix A). | |
WML | Wireless Markup Language | |
WOSA | Windows Open Services Architecture | |
WSDL | Web Services Description Language | |
WWW | World Wide Web | Capitalize all words when using the expanded form. Otherwise, use the web. All lowercase (www) when used in an Internet address. For additional guidance, see World Wide Web and Web (Appendix A). |
WYSIWYG | what you see is what you get | Don’t spell out unless the abbreviation is unfamiliar to your audience. |
XAML | Extensible Application Markup Language | |
XGA | Extended Graphics Array | Don’t spell out. |
XHTML | Extensible Hypertext Markup Language | Use Extensible HTML (XHTML) on first mention. |
XML | Extensible Markup Language | Don’t spell out. |
XMS | extended memory specification | |
XSL | Extensible Stylesheet Language | |
ZAW | Zero Administration for Windows | Spell out on first mention. |
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