GLOSSARY - All about Computers for Competitive Exams

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A

 Access time - The amount of time it takes for requested information to be delivered from disks and memory.

 Antivirus software - A program designed to look for and destroy viruses that may infect the memory of a computer or files stored on a computer.

 Artificial intelligence (AI) - Computer systems that attempt to imitate human processes for analyzing and solving problems.

 Accumulator - A local storage area called a Register, in which the result of an arithmetic or logic operation is formed.

B

 BIT - It is basic unit of computers. It has two values 1 & 0 only.

 BYTE - Combination of 8 Bits.

 Basic Input Output System (BIOS) - Also known as ROM BIOS. It provides a abstraction layer for the hardware, i.e., a consistent way for application programs and operating system to interact with input/output devices.

 Bug - A software bug is an error, flaw, failure, or fault in a computer program or system produces an incorrect or unexpected result.

 Bus - A pathway along which electronic signals travel between the components of a computer system.

C

 Cookie - A packet of information that travels between a browser and the web server.

 Crash - Your computer or application no longer works correctly and so you “loose” all the work you’ve done since the last time you saved.

 Command - An instruction that causes a program or computer to perform a function.

 Cache - It is a memory storage area that keeps frequent use data readily available to the computer so that the computer does not retrieve them from slow storage devices.

 Clock Speed - The speed of computer is measured in clock speed. High clock speed is synonymous with high processing capability. It is measured in Megahertz (MHz).

 Column - A vertical block of cells in a table or spreadsheet.

D

 Delete - To remove an item of data from a file or to remove a file from the disk.

 Debugging - Locating and eliminating defects in a program.

 Desktop - The electronic work area on a display screen.

 Dots Per Inch (DPI) - It is defined as the measure of the resolution of a printer and scanner, or monitor.

 Domain Name - A unique name that identifies a particular website and represents the name of the server where the web pages reside.

E

 Edit - To make certain changes in existing data.

 Ethernet Card - A network adapter that enables a computer to connect to an ethernet.

F

 Fax - A shortened form of the word facsimile. A copy of a document transmitted electronically from one machine to another.

 File transfer protocol (FTP) - A set of guidelines or standards that establish the format in which files can be transmitted from one computer to another.

 Firewall - A security system usually consisting of hardware and software that prevents unauthorized

persons from accessing certain parts of a program, database, or network.

 Flash Memory - It is a type of non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed by EEPROM.

G

 Gateway - A machine that links two networks using different protocols.

 Gigabyte - A measurement of the storage capacity of a device. One gigabyte represents 1024 megabytes.

 Google – search engine on the web.

 Gopher - A protocol used for locating and

transferring information on the internet. It is an internet search tool that allows users to access textual information.

 GUI - Graphical User Interface uses icons and menus to carry out commands such as opening files, delete files, move files etc..

 Graphic Interchange Format (GIF) - A simple file format for pictures and photographs, that are compressed so that they can be sent quickly.

H

 Hard copy - Text or graphics printed on paper; also called a printout.

 Hard disk - A rigid type of magnetic medium that can store large amounts of information.

 Hyperlink - An image or portion of text on a webpage which is linked to another webpage.

 Hub - A network device that connects multiple computers on a LAN so that they can communicate with another network and the internet.

 Header - Repetitive information that appears at the top (the head) of every page of a document.

 Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) - The protocol used on the World Wide Web that permits Web clients (Web browsers) to communicate with Web servers

I

 Icons - In a graphical user interface (GUI), a small, pictorial, on screen representation of an object, such as a document, program, folder or disk drive.

 Instant messaging (IM) - A chat program that lets people communicate over the Internet in real time.

 Internet protocol (IP) address - A unique set of numbers that identifies a computer over a network.

 Internet service provider (ISP) - An organization that provides access to the Internet for a fee.

 Intranet - A private network established by an organization for the exclusive use of its employees.

Firewalls prevent outsiders from gaining access to an organization’s intranet J

 JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group. A format for storing complex graphics in compressed form.

 Justification - Aligning lines of text at the left margin, the right margin, both margins, or the centre. Text aligned at both margins is considered fully justified.

K

 Keyboard - The device used to enter information

into a computer.

 Kilobyte - A measurement of the storage capacity of a device. One kilobyte represents 1024 bytes.

L

 LAN - A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building, using network media.

 Laptop computer - A portable computer. Also known as a notebook computer.

 Landscape Orientation – The positioning of the page so that the information is printed across the long dimension of the page.

 Liveware - It is a term to describe the human system, opposed to hardware or software in a computer.

M

 Macro virus - A type of virus that attaches itself to documents or word processing templates.

 Malware - Software that disrupts normal computer functions or sends a user’s personal data without the user’s authorization.

 Memory - The part of a computer that stores information.

 Memory Cell - A circuit in memory that represents a single bit of information.

 Mass Storage - Storage systems that provide access to hundreds of billions of bytes of stored data. They are often referred to as Archival Storage because of the very large volumes of historical or backup data they can store.

 MIPS - An acronym derived from millions of instructions per second. Used to measure the speed of a processor.

 Morphing - The transformation of one image into another image.

 Mobile Commerce (m-Commerce) - A form of e-commerce that has the ability to conduct monetary transactions via a mobile device such as a cell phone.

 Mozilla - a web browser and successor to Netscape Communicator.

 Multitasking - The ability of a computer to execute more than one program at a time.

N

 NIBBLE - Combination of four bits.

 Network - A system of interconnected computers.

They are of three types i. e. LAN, MAN, WAN.

 Network Interface Card (NIC) - This is a part of the computer that allows it to talk to other computers via a network protocol like TCP/IP.

 Node - A computer which is attached to the network. Each node has its own address on the network so that it can be uniquely identified and can communicate with other nodes on the same or different network.

O

 Offline - Refers to the state in which a computer is temporarily or permanently unable to communicate with another computer.

 Online - Refers to the state in which a computer is ready to communicate with other computers.

 Open source software - Software that makes the underlying source code available to all users at no charge.

 Operating system (OS) - Software that manages the internal functions and controls the operations of a computer.

P

 Palmtop computer - A portable computer smaller than a notebook (or laptop) computer that fits on the palm of your hand. Also called a handheld computer.

 Password - A user’s secret identification code, required to access stored material. A procedure intended to prevent information from being accessed by unauthorized persons.

 Piracy - The illegal copying of software or other creative works.

 Peripherals - A connectable device that has an auxiliary function outside the permanent system configuration such as plotters, printers and graphic displays.

 Phishing - A type of computer fraud that tries to trick users into revealing their passwords and other confidential information.

 Pixel - A smallest picture element of a digital image. The smaller the pixels, the higher the resolution.

 Port - An electrical connection on the computer into which a cable can be plugged so that the computer can communicate with other devices such as printer or modem.

 Protocol - A set of rules and regulations that coordinates the exchange of information over the network.

 Portrait orientation - Positioning paper so that information is printed across the short dimension of the paper.

Q

 Query - An alternate pipe form of operating system, which handles data in the form of messages rather than bytes.

 Qwerty - It is one of the standard computer keyboard, with the character Q, W, E, R, T, Y on the top row of letters on the keyboard.

R

 Response time - The time a computer takes to execute a command.

 Retrieve - To call up information from memory or storage so that it can be processed in some way.

 Record - A collection of all the information pertaining to a particular subject.

 Row - A horizontal block of cells in a table or spreadsheet.

 Resolution - Measurement of the degree of sharpness of a displayed image. It is defined as number of pixels per square inch on a computer generated display.

 Register - A temporary storage unit for quick, direct accessibility of a small amount of data for processing.

S

 Save As – Give the file a name and/or store the file in a certain place.

 Save - Tell the computer to create a file on disk that has the information you’ve put into the document.

 Scroll bar - Allows you to move around through your document.

 Shut down - To quit all applications and turn off the computer.

 Spam - unwanted repetitious messages, such as unsolicited bulk e-mail.

 Scanner - An input device that can copy a printed page into a computer’s memory, thus doing away with the need to type the copy.

 Screen saver - A program that changes the screen display while the user is away from the computer.

 Server - A computer that manages a shared resource and provides a set of shared user services to the clients.

 Search Engine - Software that searches, gathers and identifies information from a database based on an index, keywords or titles.

 Spam - Unwanted repetitious messages, such as

unsolicited bulk e-mail.

 Soft copy - Information shown on the display screen.

 Sort - To arrange fields, records, or files in a predetermined sequence.

 Surfing the Net - Browsing through various Web sites on the Internet in search of interesting things.

T

 Trash - Place where you put files and folders that you want to delete or get rid of.

 Topology - The structure of the network, including physical connections such as wiring schemes and logical interactions between network devices.

 Track - A ring on a disk where data can be written.

 Telnet - A protocol for remote computing on the internet that allows a computer to act as a remote terminal on another machine, anywhere on the internet.

 Touchpad - The device on a laptop computer that takes the place of a mouse.

 Touch screen technology - The technology that permits a user to perform a function simply by touching the screen on an appropriate spot.

U

 Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) - A Battery powered backup system that provides enough electricity to a computer during a power outage so that a user can save files before shutting down the computer.

 Universal Serial Bus (USB) - A common standard for connecting multiple peripherals to a computer as needed.

 Upload - To transfer information from a client computer to a host computer.

V

 Virus - A piece of computer code designed as a prank or malicious act to spread from one computer to another by attaching itself to other programs.

W

 WAP - Wireless Application Protocol is a specification for a set of communication protocol used to allow wireless devices to access the internet and other utilities.

 Web browser - Software that permits a user with a click of a mouse to locate, display, and download text, video, audio, and graphics stored in a host computer on the Web.

The most common Web browsers now in use are Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

 Web site - One or more related pages created by an individual or an organization and posted on the World Wide Web.

 Wi-Fi (Wireless fidelity) - A process that permits high-speed wireless transmission of data.

 Word processing - The electronic process of creating, formatting, editing, proofreading, and printing documents.

 Workstation - A desktop computer that runs applications and serves as an access point in a local area network.

Z

 Zombie - A computer that has been hijacked by a cracker without the owner’s knowledge and used to perform malicious tasks on the Internet.