Class Glossary

Reviewed by Nicole T.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

application software:

a program which allows us to apply to a particular task, such as editing an image, accesing internet resources, or playing a game

ASCII:

American Standard code of Information Interchange; an international standard for encoding characters into 7-bit codes; ASCII is the basic of the more modern Unicode standard.

B

binary code:

A scheme for encoding data which only uses only the digits 0 and 1. Binary code can be used to encode text, images, and programs amongst other data.

bit:

Contraction of term, “binary dit” ; hence, either 0 or 1.

booting:

the process by which a computer loads it's operating system into primary storage, from secondary storage usinf the instructions found in ROM.

byte:

Contraction of the term “binary term” the smallest unit of information which can be accessed directly by a computer. Most modern microcomputers use 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit bytes.

C

character":

a single letter or digit, or a special symbol like punctuation marks, the dollar sign, and a blank space.

computer:

Formal: a programmable electronic device for the processing of information

CPU:

Central Processing unit, a miniaturized electronic component which controls the evecutive of a computer and which performs basic arithmetic and logical operations. Colloquially called the computers “brain”

D

directory:

a logical collection of files stored under a single name.

E

F

file:

a logical collection of information, stored under a single name.

FireWire:

G

gigabyte:

2^30 bytes; approxiamately 1 billion bytes (1,073,741,824)

H

hardware:

the physical parts of the computer, any point of the computers which can be seen or touched.

I

information:

words, pictures, and sounds which hav meaning to us

input devices:

devices used to put information into a computer; common examples are mouses, drives, keyboard, modems (see also output devices)

J

K

L

M

maegabyte:

2^20 bytes ; approxiamately 1 million bytes (1,048,570)

moniter:

a viual-diaplay device, on which a computer displays information about its internal state, allowing people to monitor the the activities of the computer

N

O

operating system:

a set of programs which tell a computer how to perform its most basic tasks, such as “reading” information from input devices, “writing” information from output devices, launching application software, and executing the instructions of launched software.

output devices:

devices used by a computer to put out information; common examples are monitors, speakers, printers, data projector, drives, modems (see also, input devices)

P

peripheral:

any hardware element which is peripheral to a computer’s system unit. Common examples are input devices and output devices. Even output devices which are often found with the system unit, like disc drive and modems, are considered peripherals, because they are peripheral to the core elements of the computer: the CPU, RAM, and ROM.

primary storage:

A miniaturized electronic component which provides temporary information. Primary Storage is volatile and relatively expensive, but it’s used because it’s, and (with few exceptions) the only storage which CPU can access directly. The single example of Primary Storage is RAM.

progammable:

capable of performing varied and different tasks, limited only by sophistication of the programs provided

program:

a set of instructions written in a language the computer can understand. Which tells the computer what to do and when to do it.

Q

R

RAM:

Random-Access Memory. See Primary Storage.

ROM:

Read-only Memory. A miniaturized electronic component which provides permanant storage of information. In most cases, the inforation in ROM is “written” once, at the factory. Thereafter, ROM can be used only to “read” from, and not to write to.

root:

Short for ”root directory“: the main directory in a hierarchical directory structure, which (logicallu) contains all the directories, in DOS and Windows-based systems, the root directory is represented by a backslash (\). In MAC OS, UNIX, and Linux systems, the root directoryis repressnetd by a forward slash (/)

S

secondary storage:

Any stoarge medium which provides (relatively) permanant storage of information. Secondary storage is non-volatie and relatively inexpensive, but it’s slow. With a few exceptions, secondary storage cannot be accessed directly by the CPU. The most common examples of secondary storage are magnetic and optical discs and magnetic tapes.

software":

synonym of program

string:

a collection of like units, treated as a whole; for example: a string of characters, a string of bits.

system unit:

a plastic or metal box, which contains the principal parts of a computer; the CPU, RAM, ROM, various connecting cables and an AC/DC converter. In modern microcomputers. it’s common to find peripheral device inside the system unit; examples include disc drives and modems

T

U

USB:

V

W

X

Y

Z