The Techie Glossary
Version 2.0 By The WIDM Technology Transference Project

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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

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A B E I L O P R S U Y

Back buttons in web browsers go back one page at a time through the browser's history of previously viewed web sites. It is a functional application button usually located on the browser's toolbar. The back function can also be accessed through the menu.

Back doors are hidden ways into a computer system. They are sometimes intentionally built into a computer program to give the software programmer easy access to fix problems. Back doors can sometimes also allow hackers or crackers to exploit a program or the entire computer operating system without the user's knowledge.

Backbone is a network term for the primary connectivity mechanism of a hierarchical distributed network of computers. All the systems that have connectivity to the backbone are ensured of connectivity to each other. Nodes on the network can also be connected with each other and bypass the backbone.

Backing up is a term for copying a file, a group of files or an entire directory and storing it for future retrieval. Backing up computer files is important to protect irreplaceable files created by the user. These files are usually placed in archives. The backups are stored in a separate location from the originals. They can be sent to a separate hard drive, to a remote drive on a network, to a removable tape drive, or to a floppy disk, CD, or DVD.

Backslashes are created with a special key on the computer keyboard that types this character. The key is sometimes located below the Enter key on the right side of the keyboard. The backslash character angles from upper left to lower right opposite to the forward slash.

Backspace key refers to a special key on the computer keyboard that allows the user to move the cursor back and delete one character at a time. This key is usually located above the Enter key on the right side of the keyboard. In most word processors and text editors the Control key and Backspace key together delete a word at a time.

Backups are the copies made when backing up a file, a group of files or a directory. The backup files are usually placed in archives on a computer in a separate location from the original files.

Bandwidth is a term for the data capacity range of a network transmission. Greater bandwidth means more data throughput and more information transferred over that network. Broadband and baseband are terms related to bandwidth describing the frequencies and amount of data being sent.

Baseband is the characteristic of any network technology that uses a single carrier frequency and requires all stations attached to the network to participate in every transmission.

BASIC was one of the first programming languages made for personal computers.

Basic Encoding Rules (BER) are standard syntax rules for encoding data units. ASN is the abstract syntax description language referenced in the BER encoding technique.

Basic Input Output Systems (BIOS) for personal computers are a set of hardware commands regarding basic input and output choices that initiate upon booting the computer system. These instructions facilitate the transfer of data and control fundamental tasks like configuring the hard drive settings and the boot protocol. BIOS can define the boot sequence for the system telling it where to look for the boot sector.

Batch files are computer files containing a series of commands that the user can execute from the command prompt. In DOS the BAT extension is used to indicate that a file is a batch file. By typing in the name of a batch file and pressing the enter key a user will execute the batch file, if that user has the proper permissions.

Baud is a unit of speed in a data transmission. It is the maximum speed at which data can be sent down a network channel and is calculated by monitoring the changes that can occur per second of transmission. The baud rate is used in asynchronous network transmissions, such as from a phone modem. The baud rate is often expressed in BPS. Baud is named after J. M. E. Baudot the inventor.

BBS stands for Bulletin Board System. This network dial up service resides on a server computer especially equipped to allow it to act as an information host for remote computer systems. BBSs were widely used before the Internet. Users would log on through a modem over a phone line to a BBS service and communicate with others, get information and transfer files.

Benchmark standards are the listed standards on the performance of computer equipment after engineering performance testing. The results of further testing can be compared to the benchmarks as a guideline.

BER stands for Basic Encoding Rules. These are standard syntax rules for encoding data units. ASN is the abstract syntax description language referenced in the BER encoding technique.

Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) is a freely distributed UNIX open source software operating system from the University of California in Berkeley.

Beta software is unreleased software that is distributed to a group of computer users who test the program before its final release. The final version of the program benefits from the beta software user's input.

Big-endian is a format for storage or transmission of binary code in which the most significant bit comes first. The reverse convention is called little-endian.

Binary code is the encoding of data as binary digits at the lowest communication level of a computer system. This code is based on the numeric binary system. Binary code can also be converted and viewed as hexadecimal code that uses the hexadecimal system.

Binary files on a computer system are expressed in binary code using binary numbers. All the files on a computer are technically binary files, but some binary files can also be read as text files. A file that is viewable by the user is a text file, if not, then it is strictly a binary file. This distinction is important when using FTP to transfer files to a web sites, so that the client application can distinguish the binary files from the text files for proper transfer. BINHEX is a method for converting binary files into ASCII text files for viewing.

Binary numbers are used in computer systems for precision and speed. The binary system uses a base of two numbers, the digits zero and one. Our normal numeric system is based on the decimal system with a base of ten numbers.

Binary system refers to a number system with a base of two using only the digits zero and one. Our normal numeric system is based on the decimal system with ten numbers. Binary numbers are used in computer systems at the lowest level. The circuitry can send either a high current or low current that is easily detected representing either on or off.

BINHEX stands for BINary HEXadecimal is a method for converting non-text binary files into ASCII text files. This can be used to interpret Internet email which can only handle ASCII text.

BIOS stands for the Basic Input Output System of a personal computer. It is a set of hardware commands regarding basic input and output choices that initiate upon booting the computer system. These instructions facilitate the transfer of data and control fundamental tasks like configuring the hard drive settings and the boot protocol. BIOS can also define the boot sequence for the system telling it where to look for the boot sector.

Bit is a contraction from the phrase binary digit. In a computer system a bit is the quantum amount of data as the smallest unit of information that it can hold. Eight bits is equivalent to a byte. Each bit represents a zero or a one of the binary code. The speed at which bits are transmitted is the bit rate and is usually expressed as bits per second or BPS.

Bitmaps are the representation of a image where each pixel is controlled by an individual code for color representation. There is no compression used in bit map images, so the file sizes are larger than similar compressed images.

BITNET is an acronym for Because It's Time Network. An academic computer network based originally on mainframe computer systems interconnected via leased 9600 BPS lines. BITNET has is now referred to as CSNET, part of the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking.

Bits Per Second (BPS) is a measurement of data speed for an asynchronous transmission. Usually a modem connection is measured using the BPS scale. The bit rate for network communications is usually expressed as BPS, for instance a modem can operate at up to 56,000 BPS.

Blog is the term used for an ongoing journal that is published on the web. There the blog can be read by any user on the web. The activity of updating a blog is called blogging and a person who keeps a blog is known as a blogger. Blogs are typically updated easily by the blogger. Postings on a blog are usually arranged with the most recent at the top.

BOC stands for Bell Operating Company. This network term describes a series of locally operated regional phone companies across the country that sometimes provide backbone Internet connectivity. These are commonly referred to as baby bells. They are also known as Regional Bell Operating Company.

Bookmarks are a way for a web browser to save the URL of a web page or web site to easily retrieve the information and relocate the resource. Bookmarks are also known on some browsers as favorites.

Boolean operators are logical operators used in a logic equations. These equations result in either a true or a false. Boolean operators which can be used by typing them into some search engines include the AND operator, the OR operator and the NOT operator.

Boolean searches use Boolean operators to enhance search functionality. They are used in some web search engines that allow the use of the AND operator, the OR operator or the NOT operator.

Boot loaders are utility programs that work on dual boot and multi-boot systems. After the computer system starts a boot process a boot loader may allow the user options to chose an operating system. The computer will then boot up to the chosen system.

Boot sector is the portion of a disk is the part that is searched by the computer system when started to see if there is a disk available can be booted by the system. Every bootable disk or drive has a boot sector on it. The disk can be a hard drive a CD disc or a floppy disk.

Booting a computer system is to turn on the computer and have it recognize the boot sector on a disk. The term boot comes from the phrase, to pull oneself up by the bootstraps This is because the system accesses the boot sector of the disk and attempts to load the operating system by first loading the boot utility, that loads itself, and then it loads the operating system.

BPS stands for Bits Per Second. This is a measurement of data speed for an asynchronous transmission. Usually a modem connection is measured using the BPS scale. The bit rate for network communications is usually expressed as BPS, for instance a modem can operate at up to 56,000 BPS.

Bridges are hardware devices that allow two networks to exchange data. Usually they are located on the client computer and associated with a local device driver. A device is considered to be a bridge if it is a intermediate system on the data link layer that connects two or more physical networks and forwards packets between them. Bridges can usually be made to filter packets and forward only certain traffic. Related devices are repeaters that simply forward electrical signals from one cable to another, and full-fledged routers that are more intelligent make routing decisions based on several criteria.

Broadband is a network transmission with a wide comparative bandwidth. Compared with a modem connection a broadband connection from ADSL, DSL or cable modem is a much bigger connection with more bandwidth. Networks that use broadband technologies usually multiplex many independent network carriers onto a single cable. This is usually done using frequency division multiplexing. This particular broadband technology allows several networks to coexist on one single cable.

Broadcasting is a packet delivery system where a copy of a given packet is sent to a large number of hosts attached to the network. The Ethernet delivery system uses a broadcasting protocol to identify what nodes on a network are available.

Browsers are software applications that reside on a local computer system that is used to view web sites. They interpret HTML documents on the web for the user. They can also run web applications locally or over a network. They are client applications that run on client computers in the client-server web environment. According to the W3C the web browser is a user agent that uses the TCP/IP protocol suite and if it complies to standards it can be termed a conforming user agent.

Browsing is the viewing of web sites through a web browser. Browsing is also known as surfing the web.

BSD stands for Berkeley Software Distribution which is a freely distributed UNIX open source software operating system from the University of California in Berkeley.

Buffer overflows are attacks on a computer system's memory that causes the system to overfill temporary data storage areas known as buffers. This method is used to attack servers by allowing hackers the ability to overwrite part of a program by inserting code into it through the buffer.

Buffers are storage areas in a computer memory that temporarily house data. Buffers build up as the user works in the background until the information is needed, then it is purged when the work is finished.

Bugs are pieces of unintentional code in software that can cause problems on a computer system. It can infect a software application or the whole operating system. Even though a bug is not considered malicious it can still be harmful to a computer system. It can cause a computer to crash, but this is normally not the case. There are still a lot of bugs in software and the more complicated the program the greater the chance of bugs. One method programmers use to minimize bugs in their software is testing it.

Bulletin Board Services (BBS) are network dial up services equipped to act as an information host for remote computer systems. BBSs were widely used before the Internet. The service resided on special server computers and users would log on through a modem over a phone line to communicate with other people, get information and transfer files.

Bullets are symbols used in desktop publishing and word processing that accentuate a line of text. They are located at the front of a paragraph and can usually be added to the paragraph through a menu function.

Bundles are groupings of software programs for a specific type of computer system. It is sometimes called bundled software.

Buses are the internal pathways within a computer system used to send signals from one component to another. Most buses have three separate pathways for the data, the address and the command.

Bus topology is a network topology where all nodes share a common physical wire for their buses.

Buttons are graphical representations of a choice making mechanism for user input. A button can be selected by clicking on it with the mouse. Buttons can be seen in many different shapes and sizes in applications, in GUI operating systems and on the web. The mouse button is different type of physical button which is located on the mouse.

Bytes are fundamental data units that each stores the equivalent of one character. A byte consists of exactly eight contiguous bits of binary code. So there are eight bits in every byte.

The Techie Glossary Version 2.0 By The WIDM Technology Transference Project