Glossary
Other Technical Dictionaries/Glossaries
Acronym Glossary CNET Internet Glossary ILC Glossary of Internet Terms OneLook Dictionaries
Absolute cell address A cell address in a spreadsheet that always refers to the same cell.
Access arm The disk drive mechanism used to position the read/write heads over the appropriate track.
Access time The time interval between the instant a computer makes a request for a transfer of data from a secondary storage device and the instant this operation is completed.
Accumulator The computer register in which the result of an arithmetic or logic operation is formed. (Related to arithmetic and logic unit.)
Active windowThe window in Microsoft Windows or Windows 95 with which the user may interact.
Address(1) A name, numeral, or label that designates a particular location in primary or secondary storage. (2) A location identifier for nodes in a computer network.
Address busPathway through which source and destination addresses are transmitted between RAM, cache memory, and the processor. (See also data bus.)
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) A technology that enables very high-speed downstream data transmission over POTS lines and high-speed upstream transmission.
AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) board A graphics adapter that permits interfacing with video monitors.
Alpha (1) A reference to the letters of the alphabet. (Compare with numeric and alphanumeric.) (2) A RISC-based microprocessor from Digital Equipment Corporation.
Alphanumeric Pertaining to a character set that contains letters, digits, punctuation, and special symbols. (Related to alpha and numeric.)
America Online (AOL) An online information service.
Analog signal A continuous wave form signal that can be used to represent such things as sound, temperature, and velocity. (See also digital signal.)
Animation The rapid repositioning of objects on a display to create movement.
Anonymous FTP site An Internet site that permits FTP (file transfer protocol) file transfers without prior permission.
ANSI The American National Standards Institute is a non-government standards-setting organization which develops and publishes standards for "voluntary" use in the United States.
Applet A small program sent over the Internet or an intranet that is interpreted and executed by Internet browser software.
Application windowA rectangular window containing an open, or running, application in Microsoft Windows.
Applications programmer A programmer who translates analyst-prepared system and input/output specifications into programs. Programmers design the logic, then code, debug, test, and document the programs.
Applications software Software designed and written to address a specific personal, business, or processing task.
Argument That portion of a function which identifies the data to be operated on.
Arithmetic and logic unit That portion of the computer that performs arithmetic and logic operations. (Related to accumulator.)
Arithmetic operators Mathematical operators (add [+], subtract [-], multiply [*], divide [/], and exponentiation [^]) used in programming and in spreadsheet and database software for computations.
Artificial intelligence (AI) The ability of a computer to reason, to learn, to strive for self-improvement, and to simulate human sensory capabilities.
ASCII [American Standard Code for Information Interchange] An encoding system.
ASCII file A generic text file that is stripped of program-specific control characters.
Assembler language A second generation programming language that uses easily recognized symbols, called mnemonics, to represent instructions.
Assistant system This knowledge-based system that helps users make relatively straightforward decisions. (See alsoexpert system.)
Asynchronous transmission A protocol in which data are transmitted at irregular intervals on an as-needed basis. (See also synchronous transmission.)
Attached file A file that is attached and sent with an e-mail message.
Audio mail An electronic mail capability that lets you speak your message instead of typing it.
Audio file A file that contains digitized sound.
Authoring software Software that lets you create multimedia applications that integrate sound, motion, text, animation, and images.
Automatic teller machine (ATM) An automated deposit/withdrawal device used in banking.