When browsing on the Internet, you meet a lump of acronyms. They are variants of slang words or shortenings of long phrases. Sometimes one acronym may have several definitions, so it is hard to figure out the correct meaning.
PDF is one of such acronyms. It is widespread in texting and can also be met in statistics, medicine and military field.
What Does PDF Stand for in Computer Terms?
Acronym PDF is often used in respect of document type. It is transcribed as “portable document format”.
The full version of abbreviation explains what is at issue. So, you can easily understand that it deals with texting.
This kind of document has a specific .pdf extension which makes it portable. The format was designed by Adobe team back in 1993. It launched as a proprietary standard. In 2008 Adobe team changed it into open format. The similar products were also developed by Microsoft (Office), OpenXPS, and DjVu. The latter surpasses PDF files in terms of higher compression degree.
“Portability” was one of the major reasons to produce new text format. Different document formats existed even before PDF. Their common weak point was that they could be opened only by native programs. As for different companies, each of them used their own document format. So, it was unhandy to interact.
As a demand arose, Adobe team decided to create a single text standard with the ability to read any other format. PDF or another text standard can be opened with native Adobe Reader. It has free and improved fee-paying services. It is cross-platform and can be used on PC or mobile devices.
PDF has got certain peculiarities which made it a high-demand standard:
· Each page is a snapshot of the original document. Any document can be easily converted into PDF due to native tools;
· A file is able to comprise text, hyperlinks, images, diagrams, etc. Recent versions support 3D models;
· PDF files are read-only documents by default. Nevertheless, fee-paying versions are equipped with specific tools for editing. There is another way for free versions. You can scan it as a picture and then decode as a text;
· An author can encrypt his document. So, it will be accessible only for those who got a password;
· A text has a set of modified fonts: Zapf Dingbats, Times, Helvetica, Courier, and Symbol. They are created in such a way to make the high-quality of a printed document.
Adobe has also created a couple of readers. They are Adobe Reader and Acrobat Pro. The first can be used for free. You can view or print files with the help of it. Acrobat Pro is a fee-based version. It helps to view, create, edit and print documents.
What Does PDF Stand for in Statistics
In statistics, the term is transcribed as the “probability density function”. It stands for one of the methods to set probability measure in Euclidean spaces.
The main idea of PDF is to show the possibility of change in the concrete element of an array (as with acceleration for speed). It is the possibility rule for the continual accidental entity. This rule determines the chances of any outcome to happen under certain conditions.
PDF often gets graphic representation in the form of the curve. The space under it indicates the range of the outcome happening. The summarized space in this range corresponds to the possibility of a certain outcome.
PDF is frequently used in conjunction with CDF. It is another acronym denoting “cumulative distribution function”. Unlike PDF, SDF investigates the whole possibilities number of any variable to happen in a concrete space. SDF is bigger as it includes any possible probability rather than the sum of one single outcome.
PDF in Medicine
You can also wonder “What does PDF stand for in medical terms?” It is pretty much widespread and has several meanings. First, it denotes Parkinson`s Disease Foundation. It is a national organization which cares for people with Parkinson`s disease. They constantly invest in the investigation of cure practices. The fund was established by William Black in 1957.
The acronym can also be transcribed as “peritoneal dialysis fluid”.
Usage in Other Fields
There are several meanings of PDF in military, science and other fields. For instance, the term stands for “People`s defense forces”. One can also come across a number of other interpretations:
· Powder diffraction file (the term is used in chemistry);
· Point denoting fuse (military);
· Pseudo Derivative Feedback (techniques);
· Positive Definite Function (mathematics);
· Polypeptide Deformylase (in science);
· Power Distribution Frame (electronics);
· Principal Direction of Fire (fire protection service);
· Plant Design Factor (parameter used to construct power station);
· Procurement Data File (military);
· Pulse Density Function (math, military, marine).
There are a lot of other PDF meanings which are less popular and used in particular spheres. However, computer service, statistics, and medicine are the main fields of term usage.
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