open


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open

1. Nautical free from navigational hazards, such as ice, sunken ships, etc.
2. Music
a. (of a violin or guitar string) not stopped with the finger
b. (of a pipe, such as an organ pipe) not closed at either end
c. (of a note) played on such a string or pipe
3. Commerce
a. in operation; active
b. unrestricted; unlimited
4. (of a wound) exposed to the air
5. (esp of the large intestine) free from obstruction
6. Chess (of a file) having no pawns on it
7. Maths (of a set) containing points whose neighbourhood consists of other points of the same set
8. Computing (of software or a computer system) designed to an internationally agreed standard in order to allow communication between computers, irrespective of size, maufacturer, etc.
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

open

[′ō·pən]
(electricity)
Condition in which conductors are separated so that current cannot pass.
Break or discontinuity in a circuit which can normally pass a current.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

open

(1)
To prepare to read or write a file. This usually involves checking whether the file already exists and that the user has the necessary authorisation to read or write it. The result of a successful open is usually some kind of capability (e.g. a Unix file descriptor) - a token that the user passes back to the system in order to access the file without further checks and finally to close the file.

open

(2)
Abbreviation for "open (or left) parenthesis" - used when necessary to eliminate oral ambiguity. To read aloud the LISP form (DEFUN FOO (X) (PLUS X 1)) one might say: "Open defun foo, open eks close, open, plus eks one, close close."

open

(3)
Non-proprietary. An open standard is one which can be used without payment.
This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)
References in classic literature ?
At the noise, a window opened and a lovely maiden looked out.
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"Whilst the tulip opened I wrote it myself, for I did not wish to lose a moment.
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As he had been personally known to every man, woman and well-grown child in the village, the funeral, as the local newspaper phrased it, "was largely attended." In accordance with a custom of the time and place, the coffin was opened at the graveside and the entire assembly of friends and neighbors filed past, taking a last look at the face of the dead.
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The interpreter, who is invariably a 'tabooed Kanaka'*, leaps ashore with the goods intended for barter, while the boats, with their oars sloped, and every man on his thwart, lie just outside the surf, heading off the shore, in readiness at the first untoward event to escape to the open sea.
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In this open sea, the Nautilus had taken its course direct to the pole, without leaving the fifty-second meridian.
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A locked door barred his way at its end, but a door upon his right opened and he stepped into a dimly-lighted chamber, about the walls of which were three other doors, each of which he tried in turn.
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Hester Dethridge's door opened. She walked straight into Anne's room.
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The reporter rushed into the open air, agitated by the thought that the great and famous Fred might anticipate him in the solution of the problem of The Yellow Room.
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He had turned into the narrow and steep street from which the court of enclosure wherein the house stood opened, when another footstep turned into it behind him, and so close upon his own that he was jostled to the wall.
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I turned, and the French window was open behind me.
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God's death, don't fire!" screamed D'Artagnan, throwing open the window.
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Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog, whom she had quite forgotten.
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