Adapter

An adapter or adaptor is a device that converts attributes of one electrical device or system to those of an otherwise incompatible device or system. Some modify power or signal attributes, while others merely adapt the physical form of one electrical connector to another.

An electric power adapter may enable connection of a power plug, sometimes called «travel plug», used in one region to a AC power socket used in another, by offering connections for the disparate contact arrangements, while not changing the voltage. An AC adapter, also called a "recharger", is a small power supply that changes household electric current from distribution voltage (in the range 100 to 240 volts AC) to low voltage DC suitable for consumer electronics.

For computers and related items, one kind of serial port adapter enables connections between 25-contact and nine-contact connectors, but does not affect electrical power- and signalling-related attributes.

See also

Adapter pattern

In software engineering, the adapter pattern is a software design pattern that allows the interface of an existing class to be used from another interface. It is often used to make existing classes work with others without modifying their source code.

Definition

An adapter helps two incompatible interfaces to work together. This is the real world definition for an adapter. Interfaces may be incompatible but the inner functionality should suit the need. The Adapter design pattern allows otherwise incompatible classes to work together by converting the interface of one class into an interface expected by the clients.

Structure

There are two types of adapter patterns:

Object Adapter pattern

In this type of adapter pattern, the adapter contains an instance of the class it wraps. In this situation, the adapter makes calls to the instance of the wrapped object.

Class Adapter pattern

This type of adapter uses multiple polymorphic interfaces implementing or inheriting both the interface that is expected and the interface that is pre-existing. It is typical for the expected interface to be created as a pure interface class, especially in languages such as Java (before jdk 1.8) that do not support multiple inheritance of classes.

Albion

Albion (Ancient Greek: Ἀλβίων) is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island. The name for Scotland in the Celtic languages is related to Albion: Alba in Scottish Gaelic, Alba (genitive Alban, dative Albain) in Irish, Nalbin in Manx and Alban in Welsh, Cornish and Breton. These names were later Latinised as Albania and Anglicised as Albany, which were once alternative names for Scotland.

New Albion and Albionoria ("Albion of the North") were briefly suggested as names of Canada during the period of the Canadian Confederation. Captain Arthur Phillip originally named the Sydney Cove "New Albion", but for uncertain reasons the colony acquired the name "Sydney".

Etymology

The Brittonic name for the island, Hellenized as Albíōn (Ἀλβίων) and Latinized as Albio (genitive Albionis), derives from the Proto-Celtic nasal stem *Albi̯iū (oblique *Albiion-) and survived in Old Irish as Albu (genitive Albann). The name originally referred to Britain as a whole, but was later restricted to Caledonia (giving the modern Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba). The root *albiio- is also found in Gaulish and Galatian albio- ("world") and Welsh elfydd (elbid, "earth, world, land, country, district"). It may be related to other European and Mediterranean toponyms such as Alpes and Albania. It has two possible etymologies: either *albho-, a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "white" (perhaps in reference to the white southern shores of the island, though Celtic linguist Xavier Delamarre argued that it originally meant "the world above, the visible world", in opposition to "the world below", i.e., the underworld), or *alb-, Proto-Indo-European for "hill".

Albion (given name)

Albion is a given name, usually masculine, which may refer to:

Albion (song)

"Albion" is a song by English band Babyshambles. It was released as the third single from Down in Albion on 28 November 2005 in the UK. The single was released in Japan on 8 March 2006 by Reservoir Records/EMI.

"Albion" deals primarily with the concept of Albion, thought of as a mythical England (or Great Britain), the landscape and life of which is referred to throughout the song. This idea was central to The Libertines and still is to Babyshambles. The song was the first acoustic song Babyshambles released. The song had been used in The Libertines live sets, and thus there was some controversy from fans when it was released. It is always one of the highlights of Babyshambles live shows. The "Albion" is also a recurrent theme in Pete Doherty's music and poetry. A lot of songs contain the word "Albion" in their lyrics: in The Libertines' "Love on the Dole", "Bucket Shop" (both from the Legs 11 Session), "The Good Old Days" (from their debut album Up The Bracket), and in Babyshambles' "Merry-Go-Round" (from their debut album Down In Albion). Most of The Libertines fans discovered the song "Albion" in the 2003 Babyshambles Sessions.