NAME

       XPAName - What does XPA stand for?

SYNOPSIS

       What does XPA stand for? Who knows anymore!

DESCRIPTION

       What does XPA stand for? Dunno! The XPA messaging system originally was built on top of the X Window
       System and XPA was the mnemonic for X Public Access, to emphasize that we were providing public access to
       previously private data and algorithms in Xt programs.  Now that XPA no longer is tied to X, it can be
       argued that we ought to change the name (how about SPAM: simple public access mechanism ), but XPA is in
       wide-spread use in the astronomical community of its birth, and the name has taken on a life of its own.
       If anyone can think of what XPA now means, please let us know.

       If you think this is bad, consider the MMT Telescope on Mount Hopkins, Arizona. When first installed
       twenty years ago, it featured an array of six 72-inch diameter mirrors. from which came its name: the
       Multiple Mirror Telescope.  In spring of 1999, these mirrors were replaced by a single 21 and 1/2 -foot
       diameter primary mirror, the largest single-piece glass reflector on the North American continent. And
       now MMT stands for ... MMT!

SEE ALSO

       See xpa(n) for a list of XPA help pages