hall

n 1: an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open; "the

elevators were at the end of the hall" [syn: {hallway}]

2: a large entrance or reception room or area [syn: {anteroom},

{antechamber}, {entrance hall}, {foyer}, {lobby}, {vestibule}]

3: a large room for gatherings or entertainment; "lecture

hall"; "pool hall"

4: a place at a college or university where students live [syn:

{dormitory}, {dorm}, {residence hall}, {student residence}]

5: the large room of a manor or castle [syn: {manor hall}]

6: a large and imposing house [syn: {mansion}, {mansion house},

{manse}, {residence}]

7: a large building used by a college or university for

teaching or research; "halls of learning"

8: a large building for meetings or entertainment

HAL

1. HAL 9000, the murdering computer on the

spaceship in the science fiction classic "2001, A Space

Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clark.

"HAL" is "{IBM}" with each letter changed to the one before

and there is an unconfirmed rumour that 9000 is the sum of the

various IBM computer numbers that were in service at the time.

However, in the sequel "2010", Clarke emphatically denies that

HAL's name is supposed to be "one step ahead of IBM". It is,

rather, short for "heuristic algorithm".

2. {Hardware Abstraction Layer}.

(1995-11-09)