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Computing Topics

Abend: A procedure to halt a computer program prematurely, ABnormal END.
Access Time: The average time interval between a storage peripheral receiving a request to read or write a certain location and returning the value read or completing the write.
Active High: The active, true, one, or asserted case of a binary signal is the high or most positive voltage level.
Active Low: The active, true, one, or asserted case of a binary signal is the low or less positive voltage level.
Ada: A large, complex, block-structured computer language aimed primarily at embedded applications.
Adaptive Learning: Learning where a system programs itself by adjusting weights or strengths until it produces the desired output.
Address: The binary number that represents the collection of binary signals used by memory hardware to determine which memory register to access.
AI: Abbreviation of Artificial Intelligence.
Algol: A high-level programming language developed in the 1950s.
Algorithm: A logical sequence of instructions that explain how to accomplish a task. It must explain exactly how to go from one step to the next and have a finite amount of steps.
Alphanumeric: A character set that contains both letters and digits.
American Standard Code for Information Interchange: Coding for text files.
Ampersand: The character &
AND Gate: Gate that produces a logic 1 when all of its inputs are 1. In all other cases the output is 0.
Applet: A small application, often downloaded from a remote server and run in a controlled environment.
Arithmetic Error: As error that occurs when discarding least significant bits of a fixed-point arithmetic operation.
Artificial Intelligence: Field of computer science concerned with the concepts and methods of symbolic inference by computer, and the symbolic representation of the knowledge to be used in making inferences.
ASCII: Coding for text files.
Aspect Ratio: Fo a graphics device it is the ratio of the screen dimensions, normally defined as vertical screen dimension divided by horizontal screen dimension.
Assembler: A computer program that converts symbolic assembly language programs into equivalent binary machine language programs.
Asserted High: The asserted, true, one, or active case of a binary signal is the high or most positive voltage level.
Asserted Low: The asserted, true, one, or active case of a binary signal is the low or less positive voltage level.
Asynchronous: The transmission of data between a transmitting and a receiving device that occurs as a series of zeros and ones.
Auralization: The technique of using computer-based mathematical models of an acoustic environment and 3D sound processing methods to make audible the sound field of a source in the modeled space.
Babbage, Charles: The British inventor known to some as the Father of Computing.
Bar Code: Coded labels that contain information about the item they are attached to, the information is contained in a numerical code, usually containing 12 digits.
Baud Rate: The speed of information being transmitted across a serial interface, expressed in units of bits per second (bps).
Big Endian: A byte ordering system where the most-significant byte of a multiple byte number is placed in memory at the lowest address.
Binary Coded Decimal: A number system where each decimal digit is separately represented by a 4-bit binary code.
Binary Coded Digit: A digit of any number system that is represented as a fixed number of binary digits
Binary Notation: In order to understand how a number in binary notation is constructed, the decimal notation is first discussed.
Binary Number: A number written to base 2.
Biometrics: The recognition of people from characteristics such as fingerprints, facial-geometry, iris patterns or voice.
Bit: Binary Digit - the smallest unit of binary data.
Bit Depth: The number of bits used to represent each pixel in an image, determining its colour or tonal range.
Bitrate: The rate at which the compressed bitstream is delivered from the storage medium to the input of a decoder.
bits per second: A measurement of data transmission speed in a communications system, the number of bits transmitted or received each second.
Bitstream: An ordered series of bits that forms the coded representation of the data.
bps: bits per second, the number of bits transmitted or received each second.
Buffer: A memory location in a computer or digital instrument which is set aside for temporarily storing digital information while it is waiting to be processed.
Bug: A mistake or problem in software or hardware.
Byte: A group of binary digits that combine to make a word. Generally 8 bits.
Cache: Static random access memory containing recently used information.
CAD: Abbreviation of Computer Aided Design.
CAE: Abbreviation of Computer Aided Engineering.
Cathode Ray Tube: An evacuated tube containing an anode and a cathode that generates cathode rays when operated at a high voltage.
CD: Abbreviation of Compact Disc, an optical disc designed to store digitally 74 minutes of stereo audio data.
Central Processing Unit: The computer chip primarily responsible for executing instructions.
Checksum: A number formed by an algorithm, possibly addition, applied to a data record.
CMYK: Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black are the base colours used in printing processes.
Code: When used as a verb, code means to write a program. As a noun, code refers to the binary instructions of a program.
Cognition: The processes of human or animal thought. The acquisition, understanding, representation and manipulation of knowledge.
Cognitive Science: The study of thought processes in animals and machines.
Compact Disc: An optical disc designed to store digitally 74 minutes of stereo audio data.
Compiler: A computer program that translates high-level language statements to machine language.
Computational Chemistry: A branch of chemistry concerned with the prediction or simulation of chemical properties, structures, or processes using numerical techniques.
Computer: Charles Babbage began construction of the first mechanical computer for calculating logarithms and trigonometric functions in 1822.
Computer Aided Design: Usually applied to that part of CAE which has to do with the drawing or physical layout steps of engineering design.
Computer Aided Engineering: A technique for using computers to help with all phases of engineering design work.
Concatenate: To link together or place end to end.
Constant: A quantity that does not change. This quantity may be a number or a variable.
Control Variable: The inputs and outputs which a control system manipulates and measures to keep proper control.
CPU: Abbreviation of Central Processing Unit, the computer chip primarily responsible for executing instructions.
Crash: Slang used to describe a program with errors that cause it to stop functioning correctly.
Cross Assembler: An assembler program that runs on a different kind of computer than that for which it generates code.
CRT: An evacuated tube containing an anode and a cathode that generates cathode rays when operated at a high voltage.
Cryptography: Field of mathematics and computer science concerned with information security and related issues, particularly encryption and authentication.
Cursor: A bright figure used as a pointer on a computer screen.
Data: A series of facts or statements that may have been collected, stored, processed or manipulated but have not been organized.
Data Mining: Using automated data anlysis techniques to find themes or relationships.
Database: Information organised into interrelated tables of data and information.
Debug: To correct mistakes in both software and hardware.
DFT: The Discrete Fourier Transform, the digital version of the fourier transform.
Digital Signatures: The electronic equivalent of a signature used for authentication.
Digital Versatile Disc: Optical disc used for data, video and audio storage.
Discrete Fourier Transform: The digital version of the fourier transform.
Double Word: Unit of information equal to 2 short words, 4 bytes or 32 bits.
D-Sub Connector: A connector whose male end has a D shaped raised shield that protects the connecting pins.
DVD: Digital Versatile Disc, optical disc used for data, video and audio storage.
EEPROM: Acronym for electrically erasable programmable read only memory.
Effective Address: The final memory address used by an instruction.
EiB: Abbreviation of exbibyte, equal to two to the power of sixty bytes.
Entropy: A measure of the information contained in a message, it's the lower bound for compression.
EPROM: Acronym for erasable programmable read only memory.
Error Correction: A method using a coding system to correct data errors by use of redundant data within a data block.
Euler Codes: Computer software that is a mathematical representation of the motion of a fluid whose behavior and properties are described at fixed points in a coordinate system.
exbibyte: Equal to two to the power of sixty bytes.
Extensible Markup Language: Better known in the abbreviated form as XML. XML is a markup language much like HTML.
FIFO Buffer: A first in, first out, store.
Firewire: A very fast external bus standard that supports data transfer rates of up to 400 Mbps.
Flag: A variable which can take one of only two values.
Flash Memory: Non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.
Floating Point Number: A number represented in the computer in mantissa and exponent form.
Fortran: From Formula Translation this is a computer programming language that is best known amongst scientists and engineers. Within the engineering community it is being replaced by packages such as Matlab.
Fractals: Discovered by Benoit Mandelbrot in 1964.
Fuzzy Logic: Invented by Lofti Zadeh in 1962.
GiB: Abbreviation of gibibyte, equal to two to the power of thirty bytes.
gibibyte: Equal to two to the power of thirty bytes.
Graphical User Interface: Abbreviated to GUI and pronounced "gooey". It is the programming code defining the operation and graphics displayed on a computer monitor.
GUI: An abbreviation of Graphical User Interface, it is the programming code defining the operation and graphics displayed on a computer monitor.
Half Duplex: Describes a circuit capable of transmitting in either direction, but only one direction at a time.
Handshaking: The initial exchange between two communications systems prior to and during transmission to ensure proper data transfer.
Hexadecimal: Counting system based on 16.
High Level Language: A computer language with commands that do not directly represent the machine instructions.
HMI: Abbreviation of Human Machine Interface.
Human Machine Interface: The interface between man and machine.
IEEE 1394: A very fast external bus standard that supports data transfer rates of up to 400 Mbps.
Index Register: A microprocessor register that holds part of or all the effective address used by an instruction.
Inherited Error: The error in initial values used in a computation; especially the error introduced from the previous steps in a step-by-step integration.
Instruction: A binary code number that directs the control unit of a computer to perform a certain operation.
Instruction Set: The collection of the instruction codes recognized by the control unit of a computer.
Interface: A boundary across which two systems communicate.
Interrupts: An efficient method to quickly request a computer′s attention to a particular external event.
kB: In SI units this is 1000 bytes.
KiB: Abbreviation of kibibyte, equal to two to the power of ten bytes.
kibibyte: Equal to two to the power of ten bytes.
Kilobyte: In SI units this is 1000 bytes.
Landauer′s Principle: A principle which states that it doesn′t explicitly take energy to compute data.
Lempel-Ziv Welch Compression: Algorithm used by the Unix compress command to reduce the size of files, eg. for archival or transmission.
LISP: Abbreviation for list processing.
Little Endian: A byte ordering system where the least-significant byte of a multiple byte number is placed in memory at the lowest address.
Load: The weight supported by a structure.
Logic: The study of the formal laws of reasoning.
Matlab: High-performance numeric computation language from Mathworks.
mebibyte: Equal to two to the power of twenty bytes.
Memory: In a computer system memory is used to store data temporarily or permanently. The capacity of the memory is normally measured in bytes.
MiB: Abbreviation of mebibyte, equal to two to the power of twenty bytes.
Microcomputer: One integrated circuit or a collection of integrated circuits including a microprocessor that make a computer.
Microprocessor: The single integrated circuit or the portion of a single-chip microcomputer that implements the processor and control unit of a microcomputer.
Minuend: A number from which another number is to be subtracted.
Modem: A device whose name combines the term modulate with demodulate which refers to its ability to transmit and receive data superimposed on a carrier frequency.
Modular Number System: A number system represented best by numbers on a circle because the numbers repeat.
Moore′s Law: This states that the number of devices on a silicon chip could double each year.
Nonmaskable Interrupt: A hardware interrupt that software cannot disable.
Nonvolatile Memory: A type of memory that retains information without electrical power.
Offset Binary Coding: For bipolar signals, offset binary is a digital coding scheme in which the most negative value is represented by all zeros (00000000) and the most positive value is represented by all ones (11111111).
OpenGL: A graphics standard providing advanced rendering capabilities.
Parallel Transfer: A transfer of multiple bits from one register to another simultaneously.
Pattern Recognition: A computational technique used to find patterns and develop classification schemes for data in very large data sets.
pebibyte: Equal to two to the power of fifty bytes.
Perl: An interpreted language optimised for scanning arbitrary text files.
PiB: Abbreviation of pebibyte, equal to two to the power of fifty bytes.
Pointer: A register that holds an address of data rather than the data.
Program Counter: A microprocessor register that holds the memory address of the next instruction to be fetched.
Programming Languages: A list of programming languages with their main fields of use.
PROM: An acronym for programmable read only memory.
Protocol: The set of conventions that govern the treatment and formatting of data in an electronic communications system.
Pulse Code Modulation: Coding where the input signal is represented by a given number of fixed-width samples per second.
Pure Procedure Code: Program code that does not modify itself as it runs.
RAM: Abbreviation of Random Access Memory, a data storage device for which the order of access to different locations does not affect the speed of access, except for bursts.
Random Access Memory: A data storage device for which the order of access to different locations does not affect the speed of access, except for bursts.
Reduced Instruction Set Computer: A computer architecture that has reduced chip complexity by using simpler processing instructions.
Register: An electronic device that holds a binary number.
RGB: Abbreviation of Red, Green, Blue.
Ribbon Cable: Any cable constructed as a ribbon with parallel elements.
RISC: Reduced Instruction Set Computer, a computer architecture that has reduced chip complexity by using simpler processing instructions.
ROM: Read only memory (permanent memory that cannot be changed).
RS232: Serial communications system.
Sequential Access Memory: A memory in which access of the registers must be in sequential order.
Serial Communications: Transmission of binary data from one device to another one bit at a time.
Shortword: A word or shortword is 16 bits.
Speech Coding: Excellent speech quality implies that coded speech is indistinguishable from the original and without perceptible noise.
SRAM: An integrated circuit similar to a DRAM with the exception that the memory does not need to be refreshed.
Static Random Access Memory: An integrated circuit similar to a DRAM (dynamic random access memory) with the exception that the memory does not need to be refreshed.
Subroutine: A previously known algorithm used in another algorithm.
Subtrahend: A number that is to be subtracted from another number.
Sum: The result of the addition of numbers.
Supercomputer: A general term used to describe the fastest available mainframe computers.
Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory: SDRAM delivers bursts of data at high speeds using a synchronous interface.
tebibyte: Equal to two to the power of forty bytes.
TiB: Abbreviation of tebbyte, equal to two to the power of forty bytes.
Timeline: A brief overview of the major milestones in science and engineering.
Toggle: A word meaning to reverse or complement the state of something.
Toolbox: A box design to protect and allow a set of tools to be carried around.
Typematic Rate: The rate at which keys repeat when held down.
Typematic Rate Delay: The initial delay before key auto-repeat starts.
Unicode: A standard of computer character set.
Uninterruptible Power Supply: A type of power supply designed to support the load for specified periods when the line varies outside specified limits.
Universal Serial Bus: An external bus standard that supports data transfer rates of 12 Mbps.
Unsigned Binary Number: A binary number in which all the bits are used to represent positive quantities.
UPS: A type of power supply designed to support the load for specified periods when the line varies outside specified limits.
USB: An external bus standard that supports data transfer rates of 12 Mbps.
Variable: A letter that is used to represent a numerical quantity whose value may or may not yet be known.
Volatile Memory: A type of memory that loses the numbers stored in it when electrical power is removed from it.
Word: An ordered set of bits that is the normal unit in which information may be stored.
Wyde: The name for 2 bytes or 16 bits.
XML: An abbreviation of extensible markup language, a markup language much like HTML.