Glossary
Other Technical Dictionaries/Glossaries
Acronym Glossary CNET Internet Glossary ILC Glossary of Internet Terms OneLook Dictionaries
C A transportable programming language that can be used to develop software.
C++ An object-oriented version of the C programming language.
Cache memory High-speed solid-state memory for program instructions and data.
CAD See computer-aided design.
Carrier Standard-sized pin connectors that permit chips to be attached to a circuit board.
Cascading menu A pop-up menu that is displayed when a command from the active menu is chosen.
Cascading windows Two or more windows that are displayed on a computer screen in an overlapping manner.
Cathode-ray tube See CRT.
CBT See computer-based training.
CD production station A device used to duplicate locally produced CD-ROMs.
CD writer A peripheral device that can write once to a CD-R disk to create an audio CD or a CD-ROM.
CD-R [Compact Disk-Recordable] The medium on which CD writers create CDs and CD-ROMs.
CD-ROM disk [Compact-Disk Read-Only Memory disk] A type of optical laser storage media.
CD-ROM drive A storage device into which an interchangeable CD-ROM is inserted for processing.
CD-ReWritable (CD-RW) This technology allows users to rewrite to the same CD media.
Cell address The location--column and row--of a cell in a spreadsheet.
Cell The intersection of a particular row and column in a spreadsheet.
Central processing unit (CPU) See processor.
Centronics connector A 36-pin connector that is used for the electronic interconnection of computers, modems, and other peripheral devices.
CGM A popular vector graphics file format.
Channel capacity The number of bits that can be transmitted over a communications channel per second.
Channel The facility by which data are transmitted between locations in a computer network (e.g., terminal to host, host to printer).
Chief information officer (CIO) The individual responsible for all the information services activity in a company.
Chip See integrated circuit.
Choose To pick a menu item or icon in such a manner as to initiate processing activity.
CISC [Complex Instruction Set Computer] A computer design architecture that offers machine language programmers a wide variety of instructions. (Contrast with RISC.)
Click A single tap on a mouse's button.
Client application (1) An application running on a networked workstation or PC that works in tandem with a server application. (See also server application.) (2)In object linking an embedding, the application containing the destination document.
Client computer Typically a PC or a workstation which requests processing support or another type of service from one or more server computers. (See also server computer.)
Client/server computing A computing environment in which processing capabilities are distributed throughout a network such that a client computer requests processing or some other type of service from a server computer.
Clip art Prepackaged electronic images that are stored on disk to be used as needed in computer-based documents.
Clipboard An intermediate holding area in internal storage for information en route to another application.
Clone A hardware device or a software package that emulates a product with an established reputation and market acceptance.
Coaxial cable A shielded wire used as a medium to transmit data between computers and between computers and peripheral devices.
COBOL [Common Business Oriented Language] A third-generation programming language designed to handle business problems.
Code (1) The rules used to translate a bit configuration into alphanumeric characters and symbols. (2) The process of compiling computer instructions into the form of a computer program. (3) The actual computer program.
Command An instruction to a computer that invokes the execution of a preprogrammed sequence of instructions.
Common carrier A company that provides channels for data transmission.
Common User Access (CUA) The standard by which all software applications designed to be run under Microsoft's Windows must adhere.
Communications channel The facility by which data are transmitted between locations in a computer network.
Communications protocols Rules established to govern the way data in a computer network are transmitted.
Communications server The LAN component that provides external communications links.
Communications software (1) Software that enables a microcomputer to emulate a terminal and to transfer files between a micro and another computer. (2) Software that enables communication between remote devices in a computer network.
Compatibility Pertaining to the ability of computers and computer components (hardware and software) to work together.
Compile To translate a high-level programming language into machine language in preparation for execution.
Compiler A program that translates the instructions of a high-level language to machine-language instructions that the computer can interpret and execute.
Compound document A document, such as a word processing document, that contains one or more linked objects from other applications.
CompuServe An online information service.
Computer An electronic device capable of interpreting and executing programmed commands for input, output, computation, and logic operations.
Computer competency A fundamental understanding of the technology, operation, applications, and issues surrounding computers.
Computer matching The procedure whereby separate databases are examined and individuals common to both are identified.
Computer monitoring Observing and regulating employee activities and job performance through the use of computers.
Computer network An integration of computer systems, terminals, and communications links.
Computer operator One who performs those hardware-based activities needed to keep production information systems operational in the mainframe environment.
Computer system A collective reference to all interconnected computing hardware, including processors, storage devices, input/output devices, and communications equipment.
Computer virus See virus.
Computer-aided design (CAD) Use of computer graphics in design, drafting, and documentation in product and manufacturing engineering.
Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) An approach to software development that combines automation and the rigors of the engineering discipline.
Computer-based training (CBT) Using computer technologies for training and education.
Computerese A colloquial reference to the language of computers and information technology.
Configuration The computer and its peripheral devices.
Connectivity Pertains to the degree to which hardware devices, software, and databases can be functionally linked to one another.
Context-sensitive Referring to an on-screen explanation that relates to a user's current software activity.
Control clerk A person who accounts for all input to and output from a computer center.
Control unit The portion of the processor that interprets program instructions, directs internal operations, and directs the flow of input/output to or from RAM.
Cooperative processing An environment in which organizations cooperate internally and externally to take full advantage of available information and to obtain meaningful, accurate, and timely information.
Coprocessor An auxiliary processor that handles a narrow range of tasks, usually those associated with arithmetic operations.
CPU See processor.
Cracker An overzealous hacker who "cracks" through network security to gain unauthorized access to the network. (Contrast with hacker.)
Cross-platform technologies Enabling technologies that allow communication and the sharing of resources between different platforms.
CRT [Cathode-Ray Tube] The video monitor component of a terminal.
CryptographyA communications crime-prevention technology that uses methods of data encryption and decryption to scramble codes sent over communications channels.
CSMA/CD access method [Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection] A network access method in which nodes on the LAN must contend for the right to send a message.
Current window The window in a GUI in which the user can manipulate text, data, or graphics.
Cursor, graphics Typically an arrow or a cross hair which can be moved about a monitor's screen by a point-and-draw device to create a graphic image or select an item from a menu. (See also cursor, text.)
Cursor, text A blinking character that indicates the location of the next keyed-in character on the display screen. (See also cursor, graphics.)
Cursor-control keys The arrow keys on the keyboard that move the cursor vertically and horizontally.
Custom programming Program development to create software for situations unique to a particular processing environment.
Cyberphobia The irrational fear of, and aversion to, computers.
Cylinder A disk storage concept. A cylinder is that portion of the disk that can be read in any given position of the access arm. (Contrast with sector.)