Alias

DEFINITION

Outside of its uses in computer technology and graphic design, an alias is a name that's an "also known as" name. Among criminals an alias is a false name. See pseudonym.In digital imaging, to alias is to sample data from an analog source, as one does in using a digital camera or a scanner. The edges of lines and shapes can be described as "aliased" when they are jagged instead of straight or smoothly curving. This is often the case because the resolution of the graphics file is too low. The graphic is then referred to as "aliased." The opposite of aliased is antialiased. The jagged edges of an aliased images are also called jaggies. Because most viewers see the jaggies as unpleasant, rarely is there justification for a graphic to reveal such digital coarseness.