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Conferencing API Programming Guide — August 2006 33
Glossary
active talker: A participant in a conference who is providing “non-silence” energy.
automatic gain control (AGC): An electronic circuit used to maintain the audio signal volume at a constant
level. AGC maintains nearly constant gain during voice signals, thereby avoiding distortion, and optimizes the
perceptual quality of voice signals by using a new method to process silence intervals (background noise).
asynchronous function: A function that allows program execution to continue without waiting for a task to
complete. To implement an asynchronous function, an application-defined event handler must be enabled to trap
and process the completed event. Contrast with synchronous function.
bit mask: A pattern which selects or ignores specific bits in a bit-mapped control or status field.
bitmap: An entity of data (byte or word) in which individual bits contain independent control or status
information.
board device: A board-level object that maps to a virtual board.
buffer: A block of memory or temporary storage device that holds data until it can be processed. It is used to
compensate for the difference in the rate of the flow of information (or time occurrence of events) when
transmitting data from one device to another.
bus: An electronic path that allows communication between multiple points or devices in a system.
busy device: A device that has one of the following characteristics: is stopped, being configured, has a
multitasking or non-multitasking function active on it, or I/O function active on it.
channel device: A channel-level object that can be manipulated by a physical library, such as an individual
telephone line connection. A channel is also a subdevice of a board.
CO (Central Office): A local phone network exchange, the telephone company facility where subscriber lines
are linked, through switches, to other subscriber lines (including local and long distance lines). The term “Central
Office” is used in North America. The rest of the world calls it “PTT”, for Post, Telephone, and Telegraph.
coach: A participant in a conference that can be heard by pupils only. A mentoring relationship exists between a
coach and a pupil.
conferee: Participant in a conference call. Synonym of party.
conference: Ability for three or more participants in a call to communicate with one another in the same call.
conferencing: Ability to perform a conference.
conference bridging: Ability for all participants in two or more established conferences to speak to and/or
listen to one another.