the OS includes the blocks of code that software applications need to interact with it, these blocks of code called

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CS 104

computer terms

Question	Answer
software you use to do everyday tasks at home and at work	Application software
set of software programs that helps run the computer and coordinates instructions between application software and the computer's hard drive	System software
group of programs that controls how your computer system functions	operating system
small programs that perform many of the general housekeeping tasks for the computer	utility programs
example of single-user single-task OS	PDAs or MS-DOS
combination of OS and processor	platform
open source operating system	Linux
computers on a network that manage network resources	Servers
multiuser, multitask operating system used primarily with mainframes as a network OS	UNIX
OS provides this so you can interact with the computer	user interface
enter commands to communicate with the computer system	command-driven interface
you choose a command from menus displayed on the screen	menu-driven interface
every keystroke, every mouse click, and each signal to the printer and from the CD creates an action or	Event
the OS processes the task assigned a higher priority before processing a task that has been assigned a lower priority	preemptive multitasking
process of optimizing RAM storage by borrowing hard drive space	virtual memory
when more RAM is needed, the operating system swaps out from RAM the data or instructions that have not been recently used and moves them to a temporary storage area on the hard drive called	swap file
process of swapping between hard drive and RAM	paging
condition of excessive paging	thrashing
facilitates the communication between the hardware device and the operating system	device driver
the OS includes the blocks of code that software applications need to interact with it, these blocks of code called	application programming interfaces
to load the operating system in RAM	boot process
program that manages the data between the OS and all the input and output devices attached to the system	basic input/output system (BIOS)
the first job BIOS performs is to ensure that essential peripheral devices are attached and operational	power-on self- test (POST)
main files of the OS	system files
responsible for managing the processor and all other components of the computer system	kernel
contains all the different configurations used by the OS and by other applications	registry
a feature in the OS that lets you view and change the properties of all devices attached to your computer	device manager
first interaction you have with the OS and the first image you see on your monitor	desktop
pane on the right side of the desktop that organizes gadgets	sidebar
providing organizational structure to the computer's contenents	file management
C drive is the top of the filing structure of the computer system and is referred to as	root directory
first part of the file	filename
these backslash / characters or : are called	path separators
utility that cleans unncessary files from your hard drive	Disk cleanup
regroups related pieces of files on the hard disk	disk defragmenter
utiltiy that checks for lost files and fragments as well as physical errors on your hard drive	error-checking
an index of all sector numbers in a table	file allocation table (FAT)
allows you to schedule tasks to run automatically at predetermined times, with no interaction necessary on your part	Task Scheduler utility
moore's law says that the CPU	capacity will double every 18 months
you look at your computer's subsystems, what they do, and how they perform	system evaluation
processes instructions, performs calculations, manages the flow of information through a computer system, and is responsible for processing the data you input into information	central processing unit (CPU)
coordinates the activities of all the other computer components	control unit
The time it takes to fetch and execute a single machine-level instruction by the CPU	machine cycle
speed of machine cycles	clock speed
1 billion hertz	gigahertz
connects the processor in you computer to the system memory	front side bus
percentage of time that your CPU is working is referred to as	CPU usage
temporary storage	volatile storage
permanent storage of instructions and data	nonvolatile storage
small circuit boards that hold a series of RAM chips	memory modules
memory that your OS uses	kernel memory
when not enough RAM the system becomes sluggish, freezes more often or just shut down as you perform certain task	memory bound
when using virtual memory, you OS builds a file called	page file
round, thin plates of metal	platters
technology that advances sound reproduction beyond traditional stereo sound	3-D sound cards
interface through which external devices are connected to your computer	port
used to connect your computer to a local network or cable modem	ethernet port
sends data between devices in groups of bits	parallel port
transmit data between 2 devices by using infrared light waves	IrDA port
two or more computers that are connected via software and hardware so that they can communicate with each other	network
devices connected to a network	nodes
design of a network	network architecture
each node connected to the network can communicate directly with every other node on the network	peer-to-peer (P2P) networks
networks in which the nodes are located within a small geographic area	local area networks
made up of LANs connected over long distances	Wide area networks
all network nodes are connected to each other and to the network by	transmission media
normal telephone wire	twisted pair cable
single copper wire surronded by layers of plastic, cable cable	coaxial cable
maximum speed at which data can be transmitted between 2 nodes on a network	data transfer rate or bandwidth
devices connected to or installed in network nodes that enable the nodes to communicate with each other and to access the network	network adapters
an expansion card that enables a computer to connect with a network	network interface card (NIC)
data is sent over transmission media in bundles called	packets
devices on a network such as routers, hubs, and switches that move data signals around the network	network navigation devices
handles requests for information, Internet access, and the use of peripherals for the rest of the network nodes	network operating system
networks that use the ethernet protocol as the means by which the nodes on the network communicate	Ethernet networks
four pairs of wires that are twisted around each other to reduce electrical interference. used on ethernet networks	unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable
a type of UTP cable used in home-wired Ethernet networks	Cat 5E cable
devices that combine switches and routers and are specifically designed to connect to DSL or cable modems	DSL/cable routers
the 802.11 standard is also known as	Wi-Fi
devices that are required for each node on a wireless network for the node to be able to communicate with other nodes on the network	Wireless network adapter
device that translates the electronic data that needs to be sent along the network into radio waves	transceiver
device that combines the capabilites of a wired router with the ability to receive wireless signals	wireless router
device that attaches to a network and provides wireless nodes with a means of wirelessly connecting to the network	wireless access point (WAP)
use the existing electrical wiring in your home to connect the nodes in the network	power-line networks
allow hackers to take almost complete control of your computer without your knowledge	backdoor programs
legitimate users are denied access to a computer system because a hacker is repeatedly making requests of the computer system through a computer he or she has taken over as a zombie	denial of service attack
Automated attacks that are launched from more that none zombie at a time	distributed denial of service attack
virtual communications gateways or paths that allow a computer to organize requests for information from other networks or computers	logical ports
computer program that attaches itself to another computer program and attempts to spread itself to other computers when files are exchanged	virus
virus that replicate themselves into Master Boot Record of a hard drive	Boot sector viruses
program that executes whenever a computer boots up	Master Boot Record
attempt to travel between systems through network connections to spread their infections	worms
series of commands, actually mini programs, that are executed without your knowledge	scripts
attached to documents that use macros. A macro is a short series of commands that usually automates repitive tasks	macro virsus
they run a program that searches for common data files and compresses them into a file using a complex encryption key	encryption viruses
portions of virus code that are unique to a particular computer virus	virus signatures
involves the antivirus software recording key attributes about files on you computer and keeping these statistics in a safe place on your hard drive	inoculation
combination of features	convergence
popular operating systems for full-featured cell phones	Symbial OS and Windows Mobile
converts your voice's sound saves into digital signals	analog-to-digital converter chip
specialized chip included in a cell phone to handle compression work	digital signal processor
large communications tower with antennas, amplifiers, and receivers/transmitters	base transceiver station
a central location that receives a cell phone requests for service from a base station	mobile switching center
allows you to send messages that include text, sound, images, and video clips to other phones or e-mail addresses	Multimedia Message Service (MMS)
providers such as Verizon or T-Mobile that offer their subscribers wireless access to the Internet	wireless Internet service provider
connectivity plans or text messaging plans in which data charges are separate from cell phone calling charges and are provided at rates different from voice calls	data plans
text-based and contains no graphics. used on wireless devices	Wireless markup language
type of nonvolatile memory, to store files	flash memory
number of times per second the music is measured and converted to a digital value	sampling rate
process of users transferring files between computers	peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing
small device that allows you to carry digital information	personal digital assistant (PDA)
process of making sure the data on two devices is exactly the same	synchronize
doesn't require special strokes and can recognize both printed and cursive writing with fairly decent accuracy	Microsoft Transcriber
number of operations the processor completes each second	processor speed
standard that dictates how handheld devices will access information on the Internet	Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
a number of devices are being released that attempt to combine the functionality of a cell phone, a PMP, and a PDA into one unit	smartphones
allows you to connect printers, scanners, full-size monitors, mice, and other peripherals to tablet PC	docking station
most powerful mobile computing device	notebooks
battery must be completely used up before it is recharged. If not, the battery won't hold as much charge as it orginally did	memory effect
category of computer consists of notebooks that weigh 4 pounds or less	ultraportable notebook
products that allow you to connect easily with other individuals, often in remote locations, for the purposes of communicating or working together on a project	collaboration tools
smaller and transfer data faster than the PC Cards they are replacing	ExpressCards
the box that contains the central electronic components of the computer including the CPU, memory, motherboard, and many other circuit boards that help the computer to function	system unit
devices inside the computer that can be flipped between these two states: 1 or 0, on or off	electrical switches
earliest generation of electronic computers used these as switches	vacuum tubes
electrical switches that are built out of layers of a special type of material called a semiconductor	transistors
any material that can be controlled to either conduct electricity or act as an insulator	semiconductor
very small regions of semiconducter material, such as silicon, that support a huge number of transistors	integrated circuits
chips that contain a CPU	microprocessor
organized plan for representing a number	number system
binary number system used by a computer	base 2 number system
represent each letter or character as an 8-bit binary code	American Standard Code for Information Interchange )ASCII)
eight binary digits or bits	byte
uses 16 bits instead of 8 bits	unicode
the "brains" of the computer, executes every instruction given to your computer	CPU
the combination of operating system and processor	platform
there are two or more processors on the same chip, enabling the execution of 2 sets of instructions at the exact same time	multi-core technology
the time it takes to fetch and execute a single machine-level instruction by the CPU	machine cycle
special memory storage areas built into the CPU, which are the most expensive, fastest memory in you computer	registers
controls when the CPU moves to the next stage of processing	system clock
set the pace by which the computer moves from process to process	clock cycle
the steady and consonant pace at which a computer goes through machine cycles, measure in hertz	clock speed
manages the switches inside the CPU	control unit
a block of memory that is built in the CPU chip for the storage of data or commands that have just been used	level 1 cache
a block of memory that is located either on the CPU chip or on a separate chip near the CPU. It takes somewhat longer to access than the CPU registers. contains more storage are then level 1	level 2 cache
the CPU checks this area for instructions and data after it looks in Level 1 and Level 2 cache, but before it looks in RAM.	level 3 cache
collection of commands a specific CPU can execute	instruction set
all the commands in an instruction set are written in a language that is easier for humans to work with	assembly language
longs strings of binary code	machine language
stages of machine cycle	fetch, decode, execute, store
number of bits a computer can work with at time	word size
more transistors are used to store a single bit, but no capacitor is needed	static RAM (SRAM)
a group of electrical pathways inside a computer that provide communications between various parts of a computer and the CPU and main memory	bus
on the motherboard and run between the CPU and the main system memory	local buses
expands the capabilities of a computer by enabling a range of different expansion cards to communicate with the motherboard	expansion bus
design was specialized to help move three-dimensional graphics quickly	Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
connect directly to the CPU and support such devices as network cards, sound, and video cards	Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
technique that allows the CPU to work on more than one instruction at a time	pipelining
two completely separate CPU chips on one motherboard	dual processors
technology in which two or more processors have been attached to an integrated circuit board for more enchanced computing performance	multi-core processing
large network of computers, with each computer working on a portion of the same problem simultaneously	parallel processing

Created by: jmschwieterm

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