Analog:
An "oscillating" (going up and down) sinusoidal wave.
The vibrations generated by the vocal cords which are received and
interpreted by the ear. The
"carrier" that transports a radio or TV signal from the transmitting
station to your home.
Append:
To `import' records into a database.
Applications
Program:
Task-oriented software that allows a user to perform a specific job
such as write a letter, create a flyer, design a spreadsheet, etc.
Ascending
Order:
Starting with `1' or `A' and advancing to the next chronological
character.
Back-Up:
To copy a software personal file or Program onto a floppy disk, tape,
or CD. The source of the file(s) being backed up is either a hard
disk or another floppy disk.
Batch
File:
A special "executable" file which takes you to a target
“program” file.
BIOS:
Your “Basic
Input-Output System” that contains all of your computer configuration
information. The chip on your motherboard whose “Read-Only-Memory” is
maintained by your computer battery.
Bit:
The fundamental basis of all computer or digital information - (a
"1" or a "0" - an "on" or an "off" - a
“yes” or a “no”).
The lowest form of data. 4
bits of data make up a “nibble” and 8 bits of data make up a “byte”.
Block:
In an applications program, to "mark" text to be copied,
moved, highlighted, printed, deleted, etc.
Boot:
To initiate operation of a computer through a set of pre-programmed
instructions in Read Only Memory and certain files in the Root Directory of
your hard (or floppy) disk (these files are “COMMAND.COM”, “MSDOS.SYS”,
“IO.SYS”, “CONFIG.SYS” and “AUTOEXEC.BAT”).
Browser:
An internet application such as the "MS Internet Explorer" or
"Netscape" that allows you to `surf' from one web site to another.
Bus:
In a computer, a network
of micro-electronic circuitry that connect all components to the CPU.
Byte:
8 "bits" of data which make up one data "character"
(a 1,2,3, or A,B,C, etc.).
Cache:
An extension of your RAM
provided by a software program like “Smartdrive”, or a microchip on your
motherboard, or both.
CD
ROM: A "compact disc - read only memory" device or
recording media disc (CDR). One CDR will store 640MB or more of digital data
that can be read by a PC CD player, CD music player, or Digital Video Data player.
CDRW:
A CD read/write device. These devices will record one time to a
write-once CD (CDR), or multiple times to a re-writeable CD (CDRW).
Cell:
A data "location" on a spreadsheet or a table.
The intersection of a "column" and a "row".
Character:
A letter, number or symbol (as found on a keyboard).
The lowest whole unit of "data".
Clock:
In a computer CPU, a
built in oscillator or signal generator that produces the "carrier" signal
for "bus" transfer of data.
Also, a chip on your motherboard called your "real time
clock" that maintains your exact local time.
Clone:
An exact duplication of an original article.
CMOS:
“Complimentary Metal
Oxide Semiconductor”. In your
PC, it is the battery operated circuitry that retains your system
configuration information when your computer is turned off.
Column:
A "vertical" series of cells on a spreadsheet.
COMMAND.COM:
One of the three `system' files in DOS that "boots" your
computer (the other two are "IO.SYS" and "MSDOS.SYS").
Conventional
Memory: The basic 640
Kilo-Bytes of RAM that homes the “DOS in use” programs on your PC.
CPU:
"Central
Processing Unit" - the
"brain" of a computer. It
consists of the Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU) and the Control Unit (CU), and it
analyzes, calculates, processes and controls all inputs and outputs of a
computer "system".
Cursor:
A flashing or blocked indicator on a screen either showing where the
next data will be entered or allowing a selection from a menu.
Data:
A sub-unit of information. "Bits" or "characters"
that, by themselves, have no meaning. "Raw" material prior to
processing. Computer
"input".
Database:
A collection of files comprised of vast stores of correlated data.
An applications program that allows storage and retrieval of data
"records" based on unique information (fields) in that record.
Database
Management:
The process of organizing and updating a database in a manner that will
facilitate fast and simple files manipulation and retrieval.
Data
Processing: The oldest term
used for converting data input to information output with a computer.
Default:
A pre-set condition such as the margin and tab settings in the software
of a word processing program.
Descending
Order:
To start with the highest number in a series and list them
chronologically backwards.
Device:
An input or output hardware unit located external to the central
processing unit.
Dip
Switch: A
small switch with several on/off subswitches that are used to configure PC
components such as modems, printers, etc.
Directory
(or Folder): An electronic
location in a "secondary memory" database naming the position of a
related group of files.
*.DLL
("Dynamic link library): An unbelievable number of files in
your Windows/system folder that enables many different programs to co-exist in
RAM simultaneously. The real reason Windows is named "Windows"
is because these files make it possible for you to open lots of programs
in their own "window" and then easily move from one program to
another.
DOS:
"Disk Operating
System". The operating
system developed by the Microsoft Corporation used in IBM and IBM compatible
PC systems. DOS is still present in all "Windows" operated
systems - but it is transparent to the unskilled user.
Download:
To transfer a file or group of files from a remote source to your
computer with a modem or other internet connection media.
Driver:
A software program that tells a computer system what type of output hardware device it is providing information to.
Dynamic
RAM: The
“volatile” memory in your PC that contains programs in use (real memory or
SDRAM).
Enter:
To make a "hard-return" from a keyboard to a computer.
To push the left button on your mouse.
To make a menu selection, type a command, or type data, and press the
"Enter" key to process it.
*.EXE
(an "Executable" file): The
"extension" that identifies the files that "load" a
program into RAM and cause the program to appear magically on your screen (the same as a
*.COM or a*.BAT extension).
Extended
Memory: RAM located
above the basic 640KB of "conventional RAM" and 360KB of
"hi-memory".
It replaces, in most cases, an earlier RAM increasing media called
“expanded” memory.
Field:
In a database record, the unique information that makes up that record
(such as a name, SSN, address, etc.).
File:
A unique collection of related data stored together under a single name
in a database. In a user
database, a sub-element of a directory or program that contains the actual
instructional data necessary to perform a specific task.
Filename:
An arrangement of up to 8 characters comprised of letters, numbers,
dashes, underscores, or “wildcards” (* or ?) that uniquely identify a
specific file (the `root’ name). Only
one unique filename can exist in a single Directory at a time - but it can be
copied to other Directories.
Filename
Extension: An
identifying code of up to three characters, preceded by a period,
that is usually added to a "Root" filename. Example:
filename.ext.
Floppy
Disk: A
5.25 or 3.5 inch highly portable magnetic secondary storage diskette with a
capacity of from 362K to 1.44 megabytes.
Also, the medium that was used before CD's to record applications
software programs for sale.
Font:
A "style" of printing. The
character "shape" in a printer "driver" program.
(Examples are "Roman", "Sans Serif",
"Courier", "Script", "Old English", etc.).
Font
"Points":
The physical size of a font as it appears in a created document.
Typically, the smallest point size is "6", the size for
normal text (like this document) is "12", the size for a briefing
chart is "18"-"36", and
from there, you can go up to 90
points!
Format:
The general physical appearance of a document.
The way different software programs organize data for processing or
storage. To prepare a magnetic
disk ("hard", "floppy", or "CD") prior to use.
Function:
An action or operation. A
process brought about by inputting certain commands to a computer.
Graphics:
`Non-text' Applications Programs document `enhancement' tools -
pictures, charts, etc.
Hard-copy:
Computer "output" obtained with a device such as a printer.
Hard
disk:
A sealed, hi-capacity magnetic secondary storage device (up to over
1,000 megabytes for PCs - today, anyway!).
This is where all of your computer programs are permanently stored.
Hardware:
The computer and all "devices" connected to it.
High-Memory
Manager: A software
program (such as the "himem.sys" program in Windows) that controls
where program data in use is located in RAM.
Hot-Boot:
A "boot" (restarting your computer) initiated while a
computer is operating by pressing the Ctrl/Alt/Del keys simultaneously or the
"reset" button on the front of your PC.
Icon:
A little graphic'
character (or symbol) on a monitor screen that will take you (by moving your
mouse arrow to it and pressing "Enter") to the Program you want to
use.
Information:
Processed and/or meaningful data. The primary output of a computer
system.
Jumper:
A small component that is
used to enable or disable a circuit on a motherboard or plug-in card by
connecting or disconnecting two exposed pins.
Keyboard:
The most common user hardware input device (your mouse being the
second).
A "typewriter-like" layout of letters and numbers with
additional keys for special computer functions.
Language:
An assemblage of digital data and instructions that speak
"computer" (not English, Spanish or Japanese).
Load:
To transfer data/information between secondary and primary memory.
To "call-up" a program by entering the name of the
`Executable' file.
Macro:
A user-created set of instructions that replace a series of keystrokes.
Memory:
The electrical/magnetic devices to and from which data and information
are stored and retrieved.
Menu:
A list of program options displayed on a monitor "screen".
Merge:
To combine two files or
insert a graphic or table from one program into another program..
Micro-Chip:
A tiny computer component found on the `motherboard' that can contain a
processor, a memory device, a clock, etc.
Microsoft:
The most powerful
software company in the world, started by a man named Bill Gates, that
controls the IBM (clone) operating systems and a very large percentage of the
Applications programs in use.
Monitor:
A video-display output device which communicates computer processing
activities to the user.
Motherboard:
The most critical
component in a PC which provides a home for the CPU and all major
sub-components that make the computer operate.
Operating
System:
The software "program" that makes your computer work.
Oscillator:
A high-frequency signal
generating device such as your CPU “Clock”.
Parent
Directory (or folder): The
directory in which a sub-directory (child) was `conceived’.
The descending directories in a tree path preceding the target
file.
Path:
The
directory "route" to the target program or file you want to use.
PC:
A
"Personal Computer”. The
accepted term for IBM and IBM `clone' computers (as differentiated from
the “MAC” or “Macintosh” computer family).
The physically smallest (unless you want to count `laptop' and
`notebook' computers as different breeds of animals) of today’s 4th
generation computer systems.
Personal
Database:
All the `software' in `secondary' (your hard drive, floppies, and CD's)
memory that makes up the `users'
personal Applications Programs and Files.
Pixel:
A “Picture Element”
that is a tiny dot in the display on your PC monitor. The more `pixels’ your monitor has, the better the picture
resolution. Also, the smaller the pixel size (such as .26mm) the more
you get in a given area, and, consequently, the better your picture is!
PKZIP:
A very powerful file
compression program that can squeeze a file into up to one-tenth of it’s
normal size. This program is in
very wide use in reducing file (and entire directory) size for modem
upload/download, backing up files on floppy diskettes, and simply freeing up
space on a hard drive.
Port:
A male or female plug on
the back of your PC used to connect your printer, mouse, modem, etc..
The types of ports are "parallel", "serial", "USB"
(Universal Serial Bus), and "infrared" (new technonogy).
Primary
Memory: The
micro-chip(s) internal to your computer that contain the program(s) that
"talk" to your CPU - and also the personal file(s) that you are
working on.. All data to be
processed must first be placed ("reside") in primary memory.
Also called RAM.
Program:
A
series of instructions, written in a "language" your computer
understands, that performs one or more related "tasks".
Programming:
The process of developing, coding, testing and documenting a computer
software program.
Prompt:
A
screen indication asking the user for an input.
Pull-Down
Menu:
A sub-menu that appears after making a menu selection. These menus read from top-to-bottom and sometimes will take
you to sub-sub or sub-sub-sub pulldown menus.
RAM
(Random
Access Memory): This is your
"primary memory" which contains both “conventional” and
“extended” memory. I call it your computers "thinking
space".
Range:
On a spreadsheet, all the cells between and including two specified
cell "limits".
Real
Time:
Something that is happening at the moment.
Refresh
Rate: The speed at which a
monitor screen reacts to a change in the picture. Typically, the more video RAM your video card has, the
better your refresh rate will be.
Registry:
The most important file in Windows - because it contains all the
information on every program installed on your PC. When you
"boot-up" Windows checks your registry to make sure everything is in
it's right place - and if it isn't you will get a big error message and your
boot-up process will halt!!!
Relational
Database:
A database developed in a `hierarchical' fashion that facilitates a
very complex structure of `Records' to be retrieved and manipulated in an
simplified manner.
ROM:
"Read Only Memory" (permanent memory in your computer that
"gets it going" when you power up).
See “CMOS”.
Root
Directory: The
main "parent" directory in a database (always identified by the
"C:\" symbol.
Row:
A "horizontal" series of cells on a spreadsheet.
Setup:
The program that allows
you to change your system configuration information when you add more RAM or a
larger hard drive. If your
computer battery goes dead, you will have to run “Setup” to re-establish
your base configuration.
Screen:
The software presentation the user sees when he turns on his monitor!
Screen "design" is a very critical part of software
development since it is the users primary means of communicating with the
program he or she is "using" - and vice-versa.
Scroll:
To move down (or up) through the information on a screen.
This is done by using either the arrow keys or the PgUp/PgDn keys.
Secondary
Memory:
The magnetic storage devices in a computer system where your `Personal
Software Database' resides. Your hard drive, 1.44 MB floppy, or CD ROM
drive.
SIMM/DIMM:
“Single/Dual Inline Memory
Module”. These are your
“RAM” modules which extend your “Primary Memory” to allow you to open
and use programs that require more than the conventional 640K of primary
memory (which is virtually everything now).
The physical design of RAM modules began with plug-in chips, progressed
to `30 Pin’ and `72' pin boards, and then to today's `156 pin' SDRAM
boards. The first PC's came with 256K chips that cost around $30 each -
and then 30 pin, 1 MB boards that cost $65 each. The latest market price
for a 128 MB SDRAM board is about $25.
Soft-Copy:
The computer "output" that is seen on a monitor.
Software:
Instructions written in a "language" that computers
understand. The interface between a user and a computer.
Spreadsheet:
A "ledger-like" document used to present mathematical
summarization’s. The end
product of applications programs such as Lotus 123, Quattro Pro, and Excel.
Sub-Directory
(a "Folder" in Windows terminology):
A directory "branching" from the root directory trunk or from
another sub-directory. An
extension of a `parent’ directory.
System:
An organized group of related components that, together, perform one
major function.
System
Files: The
files in your Root Directory that DOS uses to start the “Boot” process.
These files consist of “COMMAND.COM”, “IO.SYS” (hidden), and
“MSDOS.SYS” (hidden). To make
a floppy disk “bootable” so you can start your system from your “A:”
drive, all three of these files must be on it. You can create a bootable disk by putting a formatted disk in
your A: drive and typing SYS A: at the C:> prompt. This can come in quite handy if your boot files get messed up
on your hard drive and you have no other way to start your computer !!
Target
File:
The file in a database or Program the user is trying to retrieve or
execute.
Text:
The words or wording in a document.
Tree:
A directory "structure" showing all sub-directory branches
extending from the trunk of the root directory.
TSR:
This stands for
“Terminate and Stay Resident” (in RAM).
Certain software files (like your mouse or CD ROM drivers) must remain
in real memory at all times for the `devices’ to work - and these files are
called TSR’s. One of the main purposes of a high memory management
program is to move TSR’s out of the `conventional’ 640KB space in RAM to a
blank space between 640K and 1MB, thereby freeing up more conventional RAM for
Applications programs.
Upload:
To send a file or group of files from your computer to a remote
computer via a modem.
User:
The person or persons operating a computer system.
`Utility'
Software Programs:
A category of Applications Programs design to `Maintain' or `Enhance
the Operation’ of' your PC.
Volatile
Memory: In computereze,
your “Primary” memory that only contains data or information when
your computer power is on.
Wildcard:
In a filename, a “*”
or a “?” that represents any character. If
you type DEL
*.* you are telling DOS to delete
ALL FILES WITH ALL EXTENSIONS in the directory you are currently in.
Window:
An applications program feature that allows you to move between
`open’ documents or to "split" your screen and view two or more
documents, or two different parts of the same document, simultaneously.
"Windows":
A very powerful `Utility' Program written by the Microsoft Corporation
that functions as an “Operating System” and allows the computer `user' to
open a number of `Applications' Programs in `Real Memory’ at the same time.
The first version of Window came out in the 1990 time frame.
“Windows
9X” (Windows 95 & 98):
A 1995 release of the “Windows” operating system revolutionized the PC computer world by combining the Windows and DOS operating
environments and automatically configuring all hardware internal to the PC
(called "plug-and-play" - or by some skeptics
"plug-and-pray"). Two revisions were published to Win 95 - and
then Win 98 first and second editions followed. Now we are into Win 2000
and Win ME, which have their problems - but Win XE is on the way which will
solve all of those problems (we hope) - and the beat goes on.
Word
Processing:
An applications program that allows you to use a computer to create,
edit and print written documents.
Worksheet:
In a `Spreadsheet' Program, the `screen' in which the user is doing all
of his (or her) `work'.
Word-Wrap:
A "word processing" feature that automatically moves a word
that will not fit on a line down to the next line.
