Glossary

Computer glossary

102 definitions · page 2 of 2.

Command Line: Commands you type to run an application. You can type commands at an MS-DOS prompt or in the Run dialog box in the Program Manager of Windows. Interfaces in which you type commands rather than choose them from a menu are often called command line interfaces…
Compiler: This is an application that converts a programming language into a machine language program.
Config.SYS: The configuration file for DOS systems. Whenever a DOS computer boots up, it reads the CONFIG.SYS file (if it exists) and executes any commands in it. The most common commands are BUFFERS= and FILES=, which enable you to specify the buffer size and the…
Contrast Ratio: Is a method of measuring a dynamic range. The higher the contrast ratio, the more detailed the image will be. Blacks will be blacker, whites will be whiter, and particularly text on the image will be more vivid. A typical LCD monitor will have a contrast…
Controller: A device that controls the transfer of data from a computer to a peripheral device and vice versa. For example, disk drives, display screens, keyboards, and printers all require controllers. In personal computers, the controllers are often single chips. When…
Conventional Memory: On DOS systems, conventional memory refers to the portion of memory that is available to standard DOS programs. DOS systems have an address space of 1MB (megabyte), but the top 384K (called high memory) is reserved for system use. This leaves 640K of…
CPE: Customer Premises Equipment. Used to describe the PC and/or other equipment, that the customer may want to connect to the cable modem.
CPM (Cost Per Thousand): The practice of calculating a cost per 1000 ad displays. It is used by programs that pay on an impression basis -- with the CPM rate being the amount you earn for every 1000 times an advertisement is displayed. For example, a $5 CPM means you earn $5 every…
CPU: Central Processing Unit. The most important part of the computer.
CPU: Central Processing Unit. In a microcomputer, a processor on an IC chip (called a microprocessor) that serves as the heart of the computer. It interprets and carries out instructions, performs numeric computations, and controls the peripherals connected to…
Critical Mass: The scale or volume at which processes become self-perpetuating. In Web publishing, it is said that after achieving a certain amount of material and resources, it will create a self-sustaining chain reaction.
Cursor: A blinking symbol (usually a vertical line) that represents the location of the next character.
Cyberpunk: Cyberpunk was originally a cultural sub-genre of science fiction taking place in a not-so-distant, dystopian, over-industrialized society. The term grew out of the work of William Gibson and Bruce Sterling and has evolved into a cultural label encompassing…
Cyberspace: Author William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer describes a more highly developed form of the Internet and who originally coined the term Cyberspace. The word Cyberspace is currently used to describe the whole range of information resources available through…
Daisy Chain: A hardware configuration in which devices are connected one to another in a series. The SCSI interface , for example, supports a daisy chain of up to 7 devices.
Data: Anything that is recorded or used for processing. The stuff that transfers between computers needed a name -- data seemed good.
Data Bus: A group of parallel conductors (circuit traces) found on the motherboard that is used by the CPU to send and receive data from all the devices in the computer. Also called the external data bus.
Data Communications: The moving or sharing of encoded information between two or more data sources using an electronic medium.
Data Conversion: The translation of data from one format to another. Often when data are moved from one system to another, some form of data conversion is required to convert the data to a format the receiving system can interpret. Sometimes it is necessary to have an…
Data mining: Sorting through data to identify patterns and establish relationships. Data mining parameters include: Association - looking for patterns where one event is connected to another event. Sequence or path analysis - looking for patterns where one event leads to…
Database: Data in a structured format stored on a web server. Most popular type is a relational database. The most common query (information retrieval) language for relational databases is SQL. Linux-based hosts most commonly include MySQL database and Windows…
Database: Anything that accepts data is a database. A pile of newspapers is a database. A computer database has the ability to manipulate that data. It is possible to attach applications to that database to search the contents.
WAIS: Stands for Wide Area Information Servers. Searches large indexes of information on the Internet.
Wait State: A brief delay added before a microprocessor executes an instruction, to allow time for slower memory chips or external devices to respond. A wait states may be one or more of the computer's clock cycles or may be timed differently. One wait state on each…
WAN: A network in which computers are connected to each other over a long distance, using telephone lines and satellite communications.
WAV: An audio file format. Very accurate, but offers no compression, thus resulting in very large files.
WAV: Stands for WAVeform sound format. Microsoft's format for encoding sound files.
Web Client: When using a web browser to display web pages hosted by a web server, your computer would be acting as a web client.
Web Server: A computer that runs specific software to serve web pages to the Internet.
Weblog: (Same as blog) This is a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual. Similar to a personal diary, but shared over the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated…
White Papers: These are documents created to help guide you in the use of a particular piece of hardware or software. Usually some kind of extra or advanced help that is provided that goes beyond the normal manual or set of instructions for that product or item. White…
WiFi: Wireless Fidelity - Otherwise known as Wireless Networking, commonly using the 802.11b protocol. Hardware that displays the WiFi logo claims 802.11b compliance should interconnect seamlessly.
WinFS: (Windows File System) WinFS is the code name for the next generation storage platform in Windows "Longhorn." Taking advantage of database technologies, Microsoft is advancing the file system into an integrated store for file data, relational data, and XML…
WOL (Wake-on-LAN): This technology is used to remotely wake up a sleeping or powered off PC over a network. When the system is turned off, the managed network adapter uses an alternate power source to monitor the network and watch for a wake-up packet from the server. Once it…
Workgroup: Persons sharing files and data between themselves.
Workstation: The computer attached to the Internet.
X2: A technology developed by U.S. Robotics (now 3COM) for delivering data rates up to 56 Kbps over plain old telephone service (POTS). It was long believed that the maximum data transmission rate over copper telephone wires was 33.6 Kbps, but X2 achieves higher…
XML (eXtensible Markup Language): Like HTML, XML is a markup language, but unlike HTML, it is not limited to Web documents. XML lets Web developers and designers create customized tags that offer greater flexibility in organizing and presenting information than is possible with the older…
XMS: Stands for Extended Memory Specification, a procedure developed jointly by AST Research, Intel Corporation, Lotus Development, and Microsoft Corporation, for using extended memory and DOS’s high memory area, a 64K block just above 1MB.
ZIF Socket: Zero Insertion Force socket. A special socket for plugging in integrated circuits easily. The socket can be opened with a small lever or screw; the chip is dropped in, then the socket is closed.
ZIP: A popular compression utility.
ZIP: Stands for Zone Information Protocol. This is an application that allows for the compression of application files.