The Techie Glossary
Version 2.0 By The WIDM Technology Transference Project

1st Letter

Terms are accessible by their first and second letters

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Ab

Abstract syntax is the independent data structure used by computers in low level machine language encoding. They use abstract syntax notation to communicate internally.

Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN) is the OSI language for describing abstract syntax, an independent data structure used by computers in low level machine language encoding. The ASN contains the BER encoding standards.

AC

ACAP stands for Application Configuration Access Protocol. This computer system protocol allows the applications they control to automatically configure themselves for a particular user through an ACAP server.

Access control is the ability to control individual user access to a given resource, such as a file, on a computer system or on a network. This control is usually given to the root user or the system administrator who has administrator rights.

Accounts are information gathered in files on a particular user for a computer system or a network. Each user's account has profile information which can be accessed through the control panel. These files may be stored separately on a network server.

Active window is the current window, also known as the selected window. It is located on the top of any other open windows. Input from the keyboard affects the application running in the active window.

Activity is the time when the computer system processor is working by running CPU cycles. This occurs either when an application is running or when the operating system is performing a function.

ACSE stands for Association Control Service Element. This is the method used in OSI for establishing communication between two applications. It verifies the identities and contexts of the application entities, and can also apply an authentication security check.

Ad

Address masks are used to select bits of an Internet address for subnetwork addressing. The subnet address mask is 32 bits long. The address mask is commonly referred to as the subnet mask.

Address resolution is the term for mapping network layer Internet addresses onto a certain specific local address to establish a connection. Two solutions for creating address resolutions are applying the ARP protocol or creating a subnetwork using an address mask.

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is the Internet protocol is used to dynamically map Internet addresses to physical hardware on local area networks. This protocol is limited to networks that also support a hardware broadcasting protocol.

ADMD stands for Administration Management Domain. This is a specialized message handling system for a public service email server.

Administration rights are management capabilities on a computer system that include certain file permissions, access control, and user account management rights. These privileges allow the administrators to configure and manage the system. To get administration rights the user must log on as the system administrator or as the root user.

ADministration Management Domain (ADMD) is a specialized message handling system for a public service carrier email server.

Administrators are special users on a computer system who have certain administration rights that allow them capabilities to configure the system. They usually have complete access control to the system. Users get administration rights when they log on as the system administrator or as the root user.

ADN stands for Advanced Digital Network. A prototype network architecture that is being developed.

ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line which is a type of DSL line for network digital communications of data. In ADSL the upload speed is typically slower than the download speed. In theory ADSL allows download speeds of up to 9 MBPS and upload speeds of up to 640 KBPS.

Advanced Digital Network (ADN) is a prototype network architecture that is being developed.

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a publicly disclosed algorithm for a public encryption standard. It was created by NIST to be an improvement to the DES standard.

Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was a historic network originated in the early 1970s by the Defense Department. It would eventually become the precursor public network prior to the Internet. Computer scientists created the network to collaborate on projects among several research facilities. It was the first large packet switching network. This success lent to making public network communications more practical. ARPANET was decommissioned in June 1990.

AE

AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard. This is an algorithm for an encryption standard that is publicly disclosed. It was created by NIST to be an improvement to the DES standard.

Ag

Agent can mean different things in IT depending on the context. An agent in the general sense is a computer application. A user agent on the web is the client-side software application such as the web browser. In OSI networking terminology an agent refers to the part of system management in a network model that performs information preparation and data exchange on behalf of a network application such as DUA or MTA.

Al

Algorithms are defined sets of procedural steps that contain a mathematical formula or equations used in a computer programming.

Alphanumeric characters traditionally consist of all the upper case and lower case letters of the alphabet, and the numbers zero through nine. In computers it also includes all the other characters that can be typed in with a keyboard including punctuation marks, arithmetic symbols and ASCII special characters.

Alt keys are two keys on the keyboard that are usually located on the bottom of the keyboard. They have the letters ALT on them, which stands for alternative. These special keys can be used in conjunction with other keys by holding one of the ALT key then pressing the other key. This can perform certain special functions in application software. For instance, Alt-Tab is a way for the user to switch between open application windows on desktops in most operating systems. To do this the user can hold down the Alt key and then tap once on the Tab key.

Alt-Tab is a special key combination activated by holding down the Alt key and the then pressing the Tab key once. Alt-Tab is a way for the user to switch between different open windows on most desktops. The user can access hold down the Alt key and tap on the Tab key.

Am

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the US standardization body used by engineers for designing computers and for development on the Internet. ANSI is a member of the International Standards Organization.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange or ASCII is an international standard set by the ISO in which all computer characters: numbers, letters, punctuation marks, symbols and control codes are assigned code numbers from 0 to 127. ASCII code includes the special characters available on keyboards. Easily transferred over networks, an ASCII text file is a plain, unadorned text file without style or font specifications.

Amiga is a computer released in the 1980s that specialized in multimedia applications.

Ampersand is a special key that displays the ampersand sign. This character symbolizes the word AND.

An

ANSI stands for American National Standards Institute. This is the US standardization body used by engineers. ANSI is a member of the International Standards Organization.

Antivirus software is used to search a computer system files for viruses. Usually it compares files to a database of known viruses on-line and has to be updated to stay current.

AO

AOW stands for Asia and Oceania Workshop. This is one of the three regional OSI groups that implements network workshops along with OIW and EWOS.

Ap

Apache is a popular open source web server platform that is available to download from the Internet. This platform allows for customizing the computer system for web services such as web hosting, CGI, and DNS to deliver web content.

Applets are small applications created with Java. They are a popular way to create web applications on the Internet, but should only be run from a trustworthy web site. Applets are run as an application on the local computer system.

Application Configuration Access Protocol (ACAP) is a computer system protocol that allows the applications they control to automatically configure themselves for a particular user through an ACAP server.

Application layer refers to the top layer in the OSI network model providing the outline for network communication applications or services such as web browsers, email programs and file managers.

Application Program Interface (API) is the part of a computer operating system that establishes the interface resources between itself and the complying software application programs. It is a set of conventions defining how a service or application is invoked through a software package. The API environment is important for programmers to understand the interface for the user. API is similar to the CGI which is the environment used for web applications.

Application software is any program written to provide a specific function to a computer user. Word processors, databases and spreadsheets are examples of three types of commonly used applications. The application software interfaces with the computer through the operating system API. Some applications can be automatically configured for a particular user through an ACAP server.

Applications are software programs written to accomplish specific tasks for the computer users. Word processors, databases and spreadsheets are examples of three types of commonly used application software. The application's interface with the computer operating system goes through the API. Applications can be automatically configured for a particular user through an ACAP server.

Ar

Architecture is the fundamental layout that provide the blueprints of a network, computer, operating system or one of its component parts.

Archives are special compressed files or directories that usually hold back up data. The archived files can reside in special safe storage areas such as a remote drive on a network or on a removable tape drive. When archived the original file or directory is first compressed then saved to the back up drive.

ARP stands for Address Resolution Protocol. The Internet protocol is used to dynamically map Internet addresses to physical hardware on local area networks. This protocol is limited to networks that also support a hardware broadcasting protocol.

ARPANET is an acronym for the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. This was a historic network originated in the early 1970s by the Defense Department. It would eventually become the precursor public network prior to the Internet. Computer scientists created the network to collaborate on projects among several research facilities. It was the first large packet switching network. This network made public network communications more practical. The network was decommissioned in June 1990.

Artificial intelligence is the ability of computer programs to mimic human intelligence by simulating the way the human brain thinks.

ASCII is an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII is an international standard set by the ISO in which all computer characters: numbers, letters, punctuation marks, symbols and control codes are assigned code numbers from 0 to 127. ASCII code includes the special characters available on keyboards. Easily transferred over networks, an ASCII text file is a plain, unadorned text file without style or font specifications.

Asia and Oceania Workshop (AOW) is one of the three regional OSI groups that implements network workshops along with OIW and EWOS.

ASN stands for Abstract Syntax Notation. This is the OSI language for describing abstract syntax. The ASN contains the BER encoding standards.

Assemblers are computer utilities that transforms low level assembly language into machine language to make another program into an executable file.

Assembly language is a low level computer software language where each command statement corresponds to an instruction in the basic processing of the computer. Some of this is done in the assembler utility. It is a procedural language that has the advantage of high speed, but is tedious to use for programming application software.

Association Control Service Element (ACSE) is a method used in OSI for establishing communication between two applications. It verifies the identities and contexts of the application entities, and can also apply an authentication security check.

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is a type of DSL line for network digital communications of data. In ADSL the upload speed is typically slower than the download speed. In theory ADSL allows download speeds of up to 9 MBPS and upload speeds of up to 640 KBPS.

Asynchronous is a type of network communication connection that does not need to be synchronized by a mutual timing signal or timing device. The most common asynchronous connection is a modem over an analog phone line. Most network data communications are digital and synchronous.

AT

AT Attachment Data Interface (ATAPI) is a hard drive standard that recognizes the interface to special AT hard drives in certain UNIX computers.

AT Hard Drive is a hard drive that recognizes a special data interfaces used in certain UNIX computers.

ATAPI stands for AT Attachment Data Interface. This is a hard drive standard that recognizes the interface to AT hard drives in certain UNIX computers.

Attributes associated with the operating system are pieces of code stored with a file, directory or drive that contains information pertaining to ownership, and what users have read, write and executable rights. Attributes are similar in concepts to file permissions. There are also HTML attributes which are different from file attributes.

Authentication is the process of verifying a user or computer system. This is normally done by a special authenticating application which sends out security certificates.

Autonomous system is a TCP/IP term for a series of computer gateways, as in a subnetwork, defined under one administrative entity. All cooperating using a common Interior Gateway Protocol.

Autoresponders are email applications that send an email message back to the user automatically when it receives email. The message is usually a personalized form letter that is saved on the email server.

Av

Avatars are interactive representation of a user in a virtual reality environment. The term was popularized in the novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. The avatar is usually a human representation that can then interact with other avatars over the network or Internet. A virtual reality environment can be created using the VRML language.

(Letter A Totals - 64 Terms - 606 Links)

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Glossary

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