virtual

	This is the JargonFile ^(V4.00) entry for virtual - Next: virtual Friday, Prev: virgin
:virtual: /adj./ [via the technical term virtual memory, prob. from the term virtual image in optics] 1. Common alternative to logical; often used to refer to the artificial objects (like addressable virtual memory larger than physical memory) simulated by a computer system as a convenient way tomanage access to shared resources. 2. Simulated; performing the functions of something that isnt really there. An imaginative childs doll may be a virtual playmate. Oppose real.
* (text is auto-included via JargonExtension by mutante using jargon with VERSION 4.0.0, 24 JUL 1996* - JargonFile by Eric S. Raymond is in the public domain)*