Class Glossary of computer terms

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A

application software: (1) a program which allows us to apply ourselves to a particular task, such as editing an image, accessing internet resources, or playing a game (2) a complete, self-contained program that performs a specific function directly for the user; Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-03 from <http://foldoc.org/application+program>.
ASCII: (1) shot for American Standard Code for Information Interchange (2) uses only the lower seven bits to convey some control codes; a complete, self-contained program that performs a specific function directly for the user; Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-03 from <http://foldoc.org/ascii>.

B

binary code: (1) scheme for encoding data which uses only the digits 0 and 1, can be used to encode text, images, sounds and programs amongst other data (2) a two digit numerical system, which computers use to store data and compute functions; The Tech Terms Computer Dictionary (2005-2010). Retrieved 2010-10-2 from <www.techterms.com/definition/binary>.
bit: (1) contraction of the term "binary dit; hence either 0 or 1 (2) the amount of information obtained by asking a yes or no question;Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-03 from <http://foldoc.org/bit>.
booting: (1) the process of which a computer loads its operating system into primary storage from secondary storage, using the instructions found in ROM (2) to load and initialise the operating system on a computer Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-03 from <http://foldoc.org/booting>.
byte: (1) smallest unit of information which can be accessed directly by a computer, microcomputers use 8, 16, 32 bit bytes (2) a component in the machine data hierarchy larger than a bit and usually smaller than a word; Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-03 from <http://foldoc.org/byte>.

C

character: (1) any symbol (2) any letter, number, space and punctuation mark, or symbol that can be typed on a computer; The Tech Terms Computer Dictionary (2005-2010). Retrieved 2010-10-2 from <www.techterms.com/definition/character>.
computer: (1) a programmable electronic device for the processing of information (2) a programmable machine that can execute a programmed list of instructions and respond to new instructions that are given; The Tech Terms Computer Dictionary (2005-2010). Retrieved 2010-10-2 from <www.techterms.com/definition/computer>.
CPU: (1) Central Processing Unit; a minituarized electronic component which controls the execution of a computer which performs basic arithmetic and logical operations. Colloquially called the computer's brain (2) processes anything from a basic to a complex function; The Tech Terms Computer Dictionary (2005-2010). Retrieved 2010-10-2 from <www.techterms.com/definition/cpu>.

D

directory: (1) logical collection of files stored under a single name (2) another name for a folder, files are organized into various folders or directories that is it easier to keep track of them; The Tech Terms Computer Dictionary (2005-2010). Retrieved 2010-10-2 from <www.techterms.com/definition/directory>.

F

file: (1) a logical collection of information stored under a single name (2) a collection of data or information that has a name; Webopedia (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-2 from <www.webopedia.com/search/file>.
firewire: (1) high speed data services (2) a very fast external bus standard that supports data transfer; Webopedia (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-2 from <www.webopedia.com/search/firewire>.

G

gigabyte: (1) 2^30 = 1024 megabytes (2) 2 to the 30th power, 1 gigabyte equals to 1024 megabytes; Webopedia (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-2 from <www.webopedia.com/search/gigabyte>.

H

hardware: (1) the physical parts of the computer; any part of the computer which can be seen or touched (2) objects that you can actually touch unlike software which exist as ideas, concepts and symbols; Webopedia (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-2 from <www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/hardware>.

I

information: (1) words, pictures, and sounds which have meaning to us (2) knowledge gained through study; Dictionary.com (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-2 from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/information>.
input devices: (1) devices used to put information into a computer; common examples are mouse, USB drive, CD-Rom, keyboard, drives, modem etc (see also output devices) (2) whatever that goes into a computer, input can take a variety of forms, from commands on keyboards to data from another computer or device; Webopedia (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-2 from <www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/input.html>.

K

kilobyte: (1) 2^10= 1024 bytes (2) 1024 bytes or able to contain 1000 characters; Computer Dictionary.org (2008). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.computerdictionaries.org/kilobyte>.

M

megabyte: (1) 2^20 apprx. 1 million bytes (2) contains 1024 kilobytes; Computer Dictionary.org (2008). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.computerdictionaries.org/megabyte>.
monitor: (1) a visual-display device on which a computer displays information about its internal state, allowing people to monitor the activities of the computer (2) display device that resembles a television but used for computer; Computer Dictionary.org (2008). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from<http://www.computerdictionaries.org/monitor>.

O

operating system: (1) a set of programs which enables a computer to perform its basic tasks;‘reading’ information from input devices; ‘writing’ information to output device, launching application software and executing the instructions of launched software (2) the low-level software which handles the interface to peripheral hardware, schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents a default interface to the user when no application program is running; Computer Dictionary Online (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.computer-dictionary-online.org/index.asp?q=operating+system>.
output device: 1) devices used by the computer to put out information; common examples are monitors, speakers, printers, data projection, drives, modems etc (see also input devices) (2) used to transfer data out of the computer in forms of text, images and other forms; Computer Dictionary.org (2008). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.computerdictionaries.org/output_devices>.

P

peripheral: (1) any hardware element which is peripheral to a computer’s system unit. Common examples are input devices & output device. Even output device which are often found within the system unit, like disc drives and modems, are considered peripheral because they are peripheral to the core elemnent of the computer; the, computer, RAM, ROM (2) any part of a computer other than the RAM or working memory, i.e. disks, keyboards, monitors etc; Computer Dictionary Online (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.computer-dictionary-online.org/index.asp?q=peripheral>.
primary storage: (1) a minitruarized electronic component which provides temporary storage of information, its volatile, relatively expensive and used because its fast and (with few exceptions) the only storage which the CPU can access directly, examples are RAM (2) also known as main storage or memory, is the main area in a computer in which data is stored for quick access by the computer's processor; Search Storage.com (2000-2010) Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid5_gci212517,00.html&>.
program: (1) a set of instructions, written in a language the computer can understand, which tell the computer what to do and when to do it (2) a set of instructions that tells a computer what to do, programs let a computer function and will generally contain a list of variables that represent numbers, text, or graphics; Smart Computing (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/dictionary/detail.asp?guid=463F4381C230494E823FC6E47234BC50&searchtype=1&DicID=10503&RefType=Dictionary>.
programmable: (1) capable of performing varied and different tables, limited only by the sophistication of the program provided (2) the ability of a machine to follow instructions and carry out user-dictated jobs; computer are programmable; Smart Computing (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/dictionary/detail.asp?guid=463F4381C230494E823FC6E47234BC50&searchtype=1&DicID=3083&RefType=Dictionaryy&>.

R

RAM: (1) random access memory (2) the standard type of memory that is read from and written to by the CPU; Smart Computing (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/dictionary/detail.asp?searchtype=2&DicID=10724&RefType=Dictionary&guid=463F4381C230494E823FC6E47234BC50y>.
ROM: (1) read only memory (2) a type of built-in semiconductor-based memory that can only be read and not altered in any way; Smart Computing (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/dictionary/detail.asp?searchtype=2&DicID=10732&RefType=Dictionary&guid=463F4381C230494E823FC6E47234BC50y>.
root: (1) the topmost directory in a hierarchical file system; in windows this is represented by \; (2) the highest point in the directory structure at which a user can access the files; Computer Dictionary.org (2008). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from Extra content at the end of the document lt;http://www.computerdictionaries.org/root_directory Extra content at the end of the document gt;.

S

secondary storage: (1) any storage system whihc provides (relatively) permanent storage of information, a non-volatile and relatively inexpensive but it is slow with few exceptions, secondary storage cannot be accessed directly by the CPU, the most common expamples are magnetic and optical disc are magnetic tape (2) sometimes called auxiliary storage, is all data storage that is not currently in a computer's primary storage or memory; Search Storage.com (2000-2010) Retrieved 2010-10-3 from &lt:http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid5_gci552456,00.html>.
software: (1) synonym of program (2) a set of instructions that tell a computer what to do, software will generally contain a list of variables, representing numbers, text, or graphics, and a series of statements, which tell the computer how to process these variables; Smart Computing (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from &lthttp://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/dictionary/detail.asp?guid=463F4381C230494E823FC6E47234BC50&searchtype=1&DicID=3575&RefType=Dictionaryy>.
string: (1) pattern of data (2) a sequence of data values, usually bytes, which usually stand for characters; Computer Dictionary Online (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.computer-dictionary-online.org/index.asp?q=string>.
system unit: (1) a plastic or metal box which contains the principal of a computer; the CPU, RAM, ROM, various connecting cables and an AC/DC coverted. In modern microcomputers, its common to find peripheral devices inside the system unit; examples include disc drives and modems (2) the main body of a computer, consisting of a plastic or metal enclosure, the motherboard, and (typically) internal disk drives, a power supply, cooling fans, and whatever circuit boards plugged into the mother board, such as a video card; Computer Dictionary Online (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.computer-dictionary-online.org/index.asp?q=system+unit>.

U

USB: (1) universal serial bus (2) an external peripheral interface standard for communication between a computer and external peripheral over an inexpensive cable using biserial transmission; Computer Dictionary Online (2010). Retrieved 2010-10-3 from <http://www.computer-dictionary-online.org/index.asp?q=Universal%20Serial%20Bus>.

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