tla

3 definitions found

tla - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  TLA
  
     Three-Letter Acronym
  

tla - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  TLA
   /T.L.A/, n.
  
     [Three-Letter Acronym]
  
     1. Self-describing abbreviation for a species with which computing
     terminology is infested.
  
     2. Any confusing acronym. Examples include MCA, FTP, SNA, CPU, MMU,
     SCCS, DMU, FPU, NNTP, TLA. People who like this looser usage argue
     that not all TLAs have three letters, just as not all four-letter
     words have four letters. One also hears of `ETLA' (Extended
     Three-Letter Acronym, pronounced /ee tee el ay/) being used to
     describe four-letter acronyms; the terms `SFLA' (Stupid Four-Letter
     Acronym), `LFLA' (Longer Four Letter Acronym), and VLFLA (Very Long
     Five Letter Acronym) have also been reported. See also YABA.
  
     The self-effacing phrase "TDM TLA" (Too Damn Many...) is often used
  to
     bemoan the plethora of TLAs in use. In 1989, a random of the
     journalistic persuasion asked hacker Paul Boutin "What do you think
     will be the biggest problem in computing in the 90s?" Paul's
     straight-faced response: "There are only 17,000 three-letter
     acronyms." (To be exact, there are 26^3 = 17,576.) There is probably
     some karmic justice in the fact that Paul Boutin subsequently became
  a
     journalist.
  

tla - V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (June 2006) :

  TLA
         Three Letter Acronym (slang)