Quote:
Originally Posted by BetterRed
Virtual means 'simulated' as in Virtual Memory where backing storage is used to simulate that a computer has more memory than is physically installed, or as in Virtual Reality which is a computer simulation of places, events and people in the real world.
|
Indeed, and Virtual Library in calibre means a simulated library that simulates the current library having less content than the actual library does.
Just because Virtual can be used to imply that something is larger than the original does not mean it cannot also be used to imply that something is smaller than the original. The adjective virtual has no connotations of relative size.
As for what Virtual "most commonly means", that is entirely subjective and depends on the individuals exposure to the term. I certainly dont think of virtual as implying a superset rather than a subset. For example, a Virtual machine is a computer that uses only part fo the resources of the physical computer. A virtual reality is a simulation of reality that is less complex than actual reality. Indeed, the entire gamut of phenomena when the word virtual is used to refer to a simulation of some physical system almost always has the simulation being simpler than the reality.