ONLINE TUTORIALSPC Troubleshooting |
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GlossaryGlossary of TermsAddress: the number allocated to a memory location allowing the PC to access the data in that location. ANSI: American National Standards Institute. Application: software designed for a specific purpose. e.g. word processing, spreadsheet. ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standard code for relating characters to numbers. e.g. the ASCII code for `A' is 65. AT: Advanced Technology. The replacement for the XT PC. Still the standard for most PCs. Baud: rate of data transfer (one bit per second). Used in communications e.g. modems. BIOS: Basic Input Output System. Software stored in ROM which controls the basic functions of the PC. Bit: Binary digIT. Basic unit for data. Bitmap: a graphics image which is made up of dots, each dot taking up one bit of data. Buffer: a temporary store for data being transferred. e.g. from and to disks. Bus: electronic tracks which carry data between different parts of the PC. Equivalent to motorway. Byte: 8 bits of data. Usually enough to store 1 character. Cache: an area of memory used for fast data transfer. CAD: Computer Aided Design/Drafting. CD-ROM: Compact Disk-Read Only Memory. CDs are capable of holding vast amounts of data. Currently PCs cannot write data to CDs. Centronics: another name for the parallel port. CGA: Color Graphics Adapter. A graphics display standard. Clone: A PC which is compatible (i.e. will run the same software) as an IBM PC. CPU: Central Processing Unit. An IC which is the `brain' of a PC. DDE: Dynamic Data Exchange. A function of Windows 3 that allows the flow of data between application programs. Device driver: a program which needs to be in memory to allow the PC to drive a particular peripheral. Diablo: standard for daisywheel printers. Dot Matrix: impact printer. DPI: Dots Per Inch. Method of quantifying laser printing quality. DRAM: Dynamic Random Access Memory. DTP: Desk Top Publishing. An application package which allows the mixing of text and graphics to produce documents/newsletters etc. EGA: Enhanced Graphics Adapter. A graphics display standard. EISA: Extended Industry Standard Architecture. Designed as the successor to AT (or ISA). EPROM: Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. EPSON: Printer manufacturer. Ethernet: A protocol and cabling system for operating local area networks. Expanded Memory: paged memory. Expansion Card: printed circuit board slotted into an expansion slot inside the PC. Extended Memory: memory available to AT type machines at addresses above 1 Mb. FAT: File Allocation Table. Part of a disk which holds information on where all the files on that disk are located. File: a block of information stored on disk. Fileserver: a PC used in a network. Font: a particular size and style of a typeface. e.g. 12 point Times Italic. Times is the typeface, 12 point is the size, italic is the style. Footprint: The amount of space the PC takes up on the desktop. GEM: Graphics Environment Manager. see GUI. GUI: Graphical User Interface. System where the DOS command line is replaced by a mouse controlled environment consisting of icons, windows and menus. Also known as a WIMP system. Examples include GEM and Windows 3. Hercules: A monochrome graphics display standard. HPGL: Hewlett Packard Graphics Language. Language used to describe output for plotters. IC: Integrated Circuit or `chip'. Icon: graphical representation of a file or a running application. see GUI ISA: Industry Standard Architecture. Another name for the AT type PC. Ink-jet: type of printer. Integrated Package: a software package that combines word processing, database, spreadsheet etc. functions in one program. Intel: CPU manufacturer. Interface: Software or hardware that allows communication between two pieces of software or hardware. Interleave: refers to the way data is stored on hard disks. Kermit: software that facilitates file transfer between computers. Kilobyte (Kb): 1,024 bytes. LAN: Local Area Network. Language: a way of writing programs. Laptop: a portable PC. MCA: Micro Channel Architecture. MDA: Monochrome Display Adapter. The original display standard for PCs. Could display text only; no graphics capability. Megabyte (Mb): 1,024Kb or 1,048,576 bytes of data. Memory: electronic circuitry for storing data and programs. Modem: MOdulator/DEModulator. Device that allows the PC to communicate with other computers via the telephone system. Motherboard: a printed circuit board inside the PC which holds all the principal ICs and circuitry. MS-DOS: MicroSoft Disk Operating System. Operating system used by PCs. Multisynch: A monitor which is capable of running at several different speeds. Thus capable of accepting signals from different graphics adapters. Multitasking: the process of running more than one program simultaneously. Not normally seen on PCs. Network: a group of interconnected computers. Notebook: A small (usually A4) portable PC. OCR: Optical Character Reader. Software used in conjunction with a scanner to `read' printed text into a PC. Operating System: computer program which provides the link between the user, the hardware and software. e.g. MS- DOS, UNIX. Optical Disk: a storage device capable of storing more data than hard disks see CD-ROM. OS/2: Operating System 2. Designed by IBM as a successor to PC-DOS. Parallel: transmitting data down more than one line (as opposed to serial, where one line only is used). Path: the route MS-DOS takes to find a file. PC-DOS: Personal Computer Disk Operating System. Equivalent to MS-DOS. Pixel: a dot on the screen. The screen image consists of an array of pixels. Port: A socket in the PC allowing devices, such as printers, to be connected. Portable: A battery powered PC. Postscript: A page description language used by laser printers. PPM: Pages Per Minute. Method for measuring laser printer speeds. Presentation Manager: A GUI designed for use under OS/2. Program: A set of instructions which the CPU carries out. PROM: Programmable Read Only Memory. Protocol: a mutually agreed way of doing things between a computer and another computer or peripheral. PS/2: Personal System 2. A computer designed by IBM as a successor to the AT. RAM: Random Access Memory. The working area memory. Its contents are lost when the PC is switched off. RAM Disk: an area of memory configured to behave like a disk drive. ROM: Read Only Memory. Memory that can be read from but not written to. i.e. its contents stays the same. RS232: see serial port. Scanner: device which can `scan' an image (e.g. photo or printed page) into a PC. SCSI: Small Computer Systems Interface. Serial port: socket in the back of the PC for sending and receiving information. Used for mouse and/or communications. SIMM: Single In-line Memory Module. A memory chip. Software: programs and data. Spreadsheet: an application program that displays rows and columns allowing data contained within to be analyzed. Useful for financial calculations and planning. SQL: Structured Query Language. Language used for querying databases. Super-VGA: a non-standard extension of VGA with higher resolution and more colours. System disk: the disk (hard or floppy) a PC needs to start up (or boot-up) from. Tape streamer: a disk back-up system. Terminal Emulator: software which makes a PC behave like a mainframe terminal. Toner: black powder used by laser printers. Tower system: a floor standing PC. TPI: Tracks Per Inch. Refers to the density of floppy disks. TSR: Terminate and Stay Resident. A program which still resides in memory when not in use and is usually called up by a simple key combination. Typeface: the design for a set of characters. e.g. Helvetica, Courier. See font. UNIX: an operating system sometimes found on PCs. VGA: Video Graphics Array. Display standard allowing high resolution graphics to be produced. Virtual Memory: technique where hard disk space is made to appear like extra system memory. Used by Windows 3. WIMP: Windows Icon Menus and Pointer. See GUI. Winchester: another name for a hard disk. Windows: see GUI WORM: Write Once Read Many. Refers to optical (CD) disks. WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get. Applies to word processors. What you see on the screen is how the document will appear when printed. XT: eXtended Technology. The successor to the original PC. |