BOINC Terminology: A

Abort

To stop a task crunching. This will effectively stop it, delete it and wait to be reported as being aborted by user. In your stderr text on the server it will show as "Aborted by User". No credit will be given for this task.

Abort Transfer

As above, this aborts the task. It will NOT stop the upload or download of a task!!

Aborted by User

The message you get when you abort a task, both in Boinc Manager/Tasks and on the project.

Account Key

A random 32 character hexadecimal key assigned to your email address, made by the project.

With this key you can log in at all times on a projects server, to change your password etc.

Account Manager

This is a web site that simplifies participating in BOINC, especially if you are new to BOINC, or if you have several computers, participate in several projects, or like to learn about new projects.

Activities Suspended

You will see this message in Boinc Manager/Tasks when you have Suspended/Snoozed BOINC.

Resume from the Activity menu.

Allow New Tasks

Formerly known as No New Work.

In Boinc Manager/Projects, when you select a project and press the No New Tasks button, it changes to this new button. The button shows the option you have, not the state it is in.

Alpha project

A project that isn't available to the main public.

Example given, the BOINC Alpha project is invite only.

Alpha version

The first stage in testing of the BOINC client or a project's application.

The group of people testing it is small. It's not given out to the general public until most bugs have been removed through testing.

AM

Abbreviation for Account Manager.

AMD

A CPU and GPU producing company.

Anonymous platform

BOINC applications, and the BOINC client, are native-mode programs, so different versions are required for each platform (a 'platform' is the combination of an operating system and a processor type: e.g., Linux/Intel).

The BOINC client is available for common platforms (Windows/Intel, Linux/Intel, Mac OS/X. etc.). BOINC-based projects compile program versions for some or all of these platforms and place them on their servers. Typically, you download the BOINC client version for your platform. When the client requests work from the project's scheduling server, the client tells the server its platform, and the server instructs it to download the appropriate program version.

This addresses the needs of most BOINC participants, but it's inadequate if:

• your computers have platforms not supported by BOINC or by the project;
• for security reasons, you want to only run executables you have compiled yourself;
• you want to optimize applications for particular architectures.

To handle these cases, BOINC lets you make the client software yourself, or obtain it from a third party, rather than downloading it from its 'official' source. This applies to both the client and to project-specific applications.

AP (1)

Abbreviation for anonymous platform.

AP / ap (2)

Abbreviation for Astropulse.

APP

Accelerated Parallel Processing

App_info.xml

A file listing a non-standard application under Anonymous platform. Either you downloaded an optimized application or you compiled it yourself.

APR

Abbreviation for average processing rate

Assimilator

The assimilator handles workunits that are 'completed': that is, that have a canonical task or for which an error condition has occurred. Handling a successfully completed task might involve record tasks in a database and perhaps triggering the generation of more work.

Astropulse

Astropulse is a new type of SETI. It expands on the original SETI@home, but does not replace it. The original SETI@home searches for narrowband signals, as does a conventional AM or FM radio. Astropulse, on the other hand, listens for broader-band, short-time pulses.

See for more information: Astropulse @ SETI

Attach

To tell BOINC you want to crunch for a specific project, you attach to that project through Boinc Manager or via an account manager.

By attaching to a project, BOINC will download the project's application(s) and at least one task to work on.

Average Turnaround Time

The average time it takes your computer to download, crunch, upload and report a task.

Original writer	Original FAQ	Date
Jorden	108	25-01-2007