P

Panel

Toolbar at the bottom of the KDE desktop on which program icons reside, as well as the Taskbar and system tray.

partition

Subdivision of a hard disk into which a file system can be installed.

PID

Process ID; the numbering system used to refer to a process.

pipe

Method of passing the output from one command to another for further processing. Piping is achieved within the shell by typing the | symbol.

POSIX

Portable Operating System Interface; various technical standards that define how Unix-like operating systems should operate and that the Linux operating system attempts to adhere to.

PPP

Point-to-Point Protocol; networking technology that allows data transfer across serial connections like telephone lines. In other words, it’s the technology that lets you connect to your Internet service provider using a modem. Controlled under SUSE Linux using Kppp.

process

The way the system refers to the individual programs (or components of programs) running in memory.

proprietary

Effectively, software for which a software license must be acquired, usually for a fee. This usually means the source code is kept secret, but it can also indicate that the source code is available to view but not to incorporate into your own projects or share with others.