access
n
1 the act of approaching or entering
2 the condition of allowing entry, esp. (of a building or room) allowing entry by wheelchairs, prams, etc.
3 the right or privilege to approach, reach, enter, or make use of something
4 a way or means of approach or entry
5 modifier designating programmes made by the general public as distinguished from those made by professional broadcasters
access television
6 a sudden outburst or attack, as of rage or disease
vb
7 to gain access to; make accessible or available
a to obtain or retrieve (information) from a storage device
b to place (information) in a storage device See also →
direct access →
sequential access (C14: from Old French or from Latin accessus an approach, from accedere to accede)
access course
n (in Britain) an intensive course of study for people without academic qualifications that enables them to apply for higher education
access road
n a road providing a means of entry into a region or of approach to another road, esp. a motorway
access time
n (Computing) the time required to retrieve a piece of stored information
conditional access
n the encryption of television programme transmissions so that only authorized subscribers with suitable decoding apparatus may have access to them
deck-access
adj (of a block of flats) having a continuous inset balcony at each level onto which the front door of each flat on that level opens
direct access
n a method of reading data from a computer file without reading through the file from the beginning as on a disk or drum, (Also called)
random access Compare →
sequential access
direct memory access
n a process in which data may be moved directly to or from the main memory of a computer system by operations not under the control of the central processing unit, (Abbrev.)
DMA
random access
n another name for →
direct access
remote access
n (Computing) access to a computer from a physically separate terminal
sequential access
n a method of reaching and reading data from a computer file by reading through the file from the beginning
Compare →
direct access