COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY

COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY:-

Terms Beginning with "N"

Name Server	A name server translates domain names into IP addresses. This makes it possible for a user to access a website by...
NAS	NAS is short for "Network Attached Storage." It refers to a network storage system in which shared data is stored in a...
NAT	Stands for "Network Address Translation." NAT translates the IP addresses of computers in a local network to a single...
Native File	When you save a file using a certain program, the file is often saved in a proprietary format only that program can...
NetBIOS	Stands for "Network Basic Input/Output System." NetBIOS was introduced in 1983 by IBM as an improvement to the...
Netiquette	Netiquette, or net etiquette, refers to etiquette on the Internet. Good netiquette involves respecting others' privacy...
Netmask	A netmask is used to define a range of IP addresses. It is similar to a subnet mask, but is used to define classes of...
Network	When you have two or more computers connected to each other, you have a network. The purpose of a network is to enable...
Network Topology	A network topology describes the arrangement of systems on a computer network. It defines how the computers, or nodes...
Newbie	A new user of a technology, such as a computer, a certain computer program, or the Internet, is often referred to as a...
Newsgroup	A newsgroup is an Internet-based discussion about a particular topic. These topics range from sports, cars, investing...
NIC	Stands for "Network Interface Card." Pronounced "nick," this is the card that physically makes the connection between...
NNTP	Stands for "Network News Transfer Protocol." For a message to be posted to a newsgroup, it must be sent through this...
NOC	Stands for "Network Operations Center." It is the central location where a company's servers and networking equipment...
Node	Any system or device connected to a network is also called a node. For example, if a network connects a file server...
Non-Impact Printer	Most modern printers are called non-impact printers since they do not operating by striking a print head against an ink...
Northbridge	The northbridge is a chip inside a computer that connects the central processing unit (CPU) to other primary components...
NTFS	Stands for "New Technology File System." NTFS is a file system introduced by Microsoft with Windows NT and is...
Null	When a variable has no value, it considered to be null. Having a null value is different than having a value of...
Null Character	A null character is a character with all its bits set to zero. Therefore, it has a numeric value of zero and can be...
Num Lock	Num Lock is a toggle key that toggles the input of the numeric keypad. When Num Lock is on, the keypad can be used to...
Nybble	A nybble, sometimes spelled "nibble," is a set of four bits. Since there are eight bits in a byte, a nybble is half of...

Terms Beginning with "O"

OASIS	Stands for "Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards." To someone backpacking through the...
OCR	Stands for "Optical Character Recognition." This technology is what allows you to scan that paper you lost on your...
ODBC	Stands for "Open Database Connectivity." With all the different types of databases available, such as Microsoft...
OEM	Stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer." This refers to a company that produces hardware to be marketed under...
Offline	When a computer or other device is not turned on or connected to other devices, it is said to be "offline." This is...
OLAP	Stands for "Online Analytical Processing." OLAP allows users to analyze database information from multiple database...
OLE	Stands for "Object Linking and Embedding." It can be pronounced as "O-L-E," or "Oh-lay!" if you are feeling Spanish...
Online	In general, when a machine is "online," it is turned on and connected to other devices. For example, when a network...
OOP	Stands for "Object-Oriented Programming." OOP (not Oops!) refers to a programming methodology based on objects...
Open Firmware	Open Firmware is a type of firmware that some computer systems use when they boot up. It controls the processor and...
Open Source	When a software program is open source, it means the program's source code is freely available to the public. Unlike...
OpenGL	OpenGL, or the Open Graphics Library, is a 3D graphics language developed by Silicon Graphics. Before OpenGL was...
Operating System	Also known as an "OS," this is the software that communicates with computer hardware on the most basic level. Without...
Optical Drive	In the real world, "optical" refers to vision, or the ability to see. In the computer world, however, "optical" refers...
Optical Media	Media, in the computer world, refers to various types of data storage. For example, hard drives, CDs, DVDs, and USB...
OSD	OSD is short for "On Screen Display." An OSD is an onscreen menu included with most monitors that allows users to make...
OSPF	Stands for "Open Shortest Path First." OSPF is a method of finding the shortest path from one router to another in a...
Outbox	An outbox is where outgoing e-mail messages are temporarily stored. While you are composing a message, most mail...
Output	Data generated by a computer is referred to as output. This includes data produced at a software level, such as the...
Output Device	Any device that outputs information from a computer is called, not surprisingly, an output device. Since most...
Overclocking	For some people, fast is never fast enough. In the world of computers, a fast processor can be made even faster by...
Overwrite	In computing, overwriting refers to replacing old data with new data. There are two primary types of overwriting...

Terms Beginning with "P"

P2P	Stands for "Peer to Peer." In a P2P network, the "peers" are computer systems which are connected to each other via...
Packet	This is a small amount of computer data sent over a network. Any time you receive data from the Internet, it comes to...
Page Orientation	Page orientation describes the way a document is printed or displayed on a screen. The two main types are "Portrait...
Page View	Each time a user visits a Web page, it is called a page view. Page views, also written "pageviews," are tracked by...
Parallel Port	This interface is found on the back of older PCs and is used for connecting external devices such as printers or a...
Parse	No, this is not a typo of the word "sparse." The word "parse" means to analyze an object specifically. It is commonly...
Partition	A partition is a section of a hard disk. When you format a hard disk, you can usually choose the number of partitions...
Password	A password is a string of characters used for authenticating a user on a computer system. For example, you may have an...
Paste	Just like you can paste a note on a sheet of paper, you can paste data into a document on a computer. The paste...
Path	A path, also known as a "file path" or "directory path," defines the location of a file or folder. Paths can either be...
Payload	When data is sent over the Internet, each unit transmitted includes both header information and the actual data being...
PC	Stands for "Personal computer." PCs are are what most of us use on a daily basis for work or personal use. A typical...
PCB	Stands for "Printed Circuit Board." A PCB is a thin board made of fiberglass or a similar material. Electrical wires...
PCI	Stands for "Peripheral Component Interconnect." It is a hardware bus designed by Intel and used in both PCs and Macs...
PCI Express	First came PCI, then PCI-X, then PCI Express. PCI Express can be abbreviated as PCIe or, less commonly and more...
PCI-X	Stands for "Peripheral Component Interconnect Extended." Once again, "Ex" is abbreviated with an "X" instead of an...
PCMCIA	Stands for "Personal Computer Memory Card International Association." It can also mean, perhaps more appropriately...
PDA	Stands for "Personal Digital Assistant." These are the little electronic devices you see people jotting stuff down on...
PDF	Stands for "Portable Document Format." PDF is a multi-platform file format developed by Adobe Systems. A PDF file...
Pebibyte	A pebibyte is a unit of data storage that equals 2 to the 50th power, or 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes. While a...
Peopleware	Peopleware refers to the role of people in the computing process. While hardware and software make up a computer...
Peripheral	A computer peripheral is any external device that provides input and output for the computer. For example, a keyboard...
Perl	Perl actually stands for "Practical Extraction and Report Language," but you don't really need to know that unless you...
Permalink	Short for "permanent link." A permalink is a URL that links to a specific news story or Web posting. Permalinks are...
Personal URL	A personal URL, or "purl," is a custom Web address that you can select for your profile page within a website...
Petabyte	A petabyte is 2 to the 50th power, or 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes. However, petabytes are often estimated as 10 to the...
Petaflops	Petaflops (also PFLOPS) is used to measure the performance of a computer's floating point unit (FPU). One petaflops...
Pharming	Pharming is yet another way hackers attempt to manipulate users on the Internet. While phishing attempts to capture...
Phishing	Phishing is similar to fishing in a lake, but instead of trying to capture fish, phishers attempt to steal your...
PHP	Stands for "Hypertext Preprocessor." (It is a recursive acronym, if you can understand what that means.) PHP is an...
Phreaking	Phreaking refers to experimenting with or exploiting a telephone system and is often considered to be the predecessor...
Piconet	A piconet is a network that is created using a wireless Bluetooth connection. Some examples of piconets include 1) a...
PIM	Stands for "Personal Information Manager." A PIM is a software application that serves as a planner, notebook, and...
Ping	This term refers to a golf equipment brand, as well as the sound made by striking your glass with a spoon at the dinner...
Pipeline	Computer processors can handle millions of instructions each second. Once one instruction is processed, the next one...
Piracy	When someone installs and uses commercial software without paying for the program, it is called "pirating" the...
Pixel	The term "pixel" is actually short for "Picture Element." These small little dots are what make up the images on...
Plain Text	Plain text is another name for unformatted text. Unlike rich text, plain text does not support italics, underlining...
Platform	In the computer world, a "platform" typically refers to a computer's operating system. For example, a Dell computer...
Plug and Play	Plug and Play, sometimes, abbreviated PnP, is a catchy phrase used to describe devices that work with a computer system...
Plug-in	A plug-in (also "plugin") is software add-on that adds extra features and capabilities to an application. Typically...
PMU	Stands for "Power Management Unit." The PMU is a microcontroller, or integrated circuit, that controls the power...
PNG	Stands for "Portable Network Graphic." This format was designed as an alternative to the GIF format (which has been...
Podcast	The name "podcast" combines the terms iPod and broadcast into a single catchy word. As the name suggests, podcasts are...
Pop-Up	The term "pop-up" has two computer-related meanings. One refers to a window and the other is a type of menu. ...
POP3	Stands for "Post Office Protocol." POP3, sometimes referred to as just "POP," is a simple, standardized method of...
Port	As if computer terms weren't hard enough to understand, there are three different meanings of the word "port." 1. An...
Portal	While this term can also refer to a matterless vortex used to travel between different dimensions, an Internet portal...
PostScript	PostScript is a page description language (PDL) that describes a page's text and graphical content. It can be used to...
Power Cycle	While the phrase "power cycle" appears to be a noun, it is actually more commonly used as a verb. In simple terms, to...
Power Supply	A power supply is a component that regulates and provides power to an electrical device. It receives power from a wall...
Power User	When it comes to computers, there are regular users and there are power users. Most people fall into the regular...
PowerPoint	PowerPoint is a presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is included in the standard Office suite along with...
PPC	Stands for "Pay Per Click," and is used in online advertising. PPC advertisements generate revenue for Web publishers...
PPGA	Stands for "Plastic Pin Grid Array" (not the Pretty People Golfer's Association). PPGA is a type of processor design...
PPI	Stands for "Pixels Per Inch." The resolution of a printed photo is often measured in DPI, or "dots per inch." The DPI...
PPL	Stands for "Pay Per Lead." PPL is similar to CPL, but measures the cost per lead from the advertiser's perspective...
PPM	Stands for "Pages Per Minute." PPM is used to measure the printing speed of both inkjet and laser printers. Most...
PPP	Stands for "Point to Point Protocol." It is the Internet standard for dial-up modem connections. PPP is a set of...
PPPoE	PPPoE is short for "Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet" and is pronounced "P-P-P-oh-E." It is a protocol commonly...
PPTP	Stands for "Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol." PPTP is a networking standard for connecting to virtual private...
PRAM	Stands for "Parameter Random Access Memory," and is pronounced "P-ram." PRAM is a type of memory found in Macintosh...
Prebinding	Prebinding is an optimization process that allows faster launching of applications in Mac OS X. Often, when a program...
Primary Key	A primary key is a unique identifier for a database record. When a table is created, one of the fields is typically...
Printer	A printer is an output device that prints documents from a computer. Common printers include inkjet and laser...
Process	A process is a program that is running on your computer. This can be anything from a small background task, such as a...
Processor	This little chip is the heart of a computer. Also referred to as the "microprocessor," the processor does all the...
Program	Program is a common computer term that can be used as both a noun and a verb. A program (noun) is executable software...
Progressive Scan	Video signals are generated using horizontal lines. An interlaced picture draws every other line and alternates...
PROM	PROM stands for "Programmable Read-Only Memory" and is pronounced "P-ROM." It is a type of ROM used in small...
Protocol	When computers communicate with each other, there needs to be a common set of rules and instructions that each computer...
Proxy Server	Most large businesses, organizations, and universities these days use a proxy server. This is a server that all...
PS/2	PS/2 is a type of port used by older computers for connecting input devices such as keyboards and mice. The port was...
Pseudocode	Most software programs are developed using a programming language, like (C++|cplusplus) or Java. These languages have...
Push	Push refers to a system in which data is "pushed" to a user's device rather than "pulled" by the user. In other words...
Python	Python is a programming language commonly used for creating Web applications and software plug-ins. It is designed to...

Terms Beginning with "Q"

QBE	Stands for "Query By Example." QBE is a feature included with various database applications that provides a...
Quad-Core	Quad-core CPUs have four processing cores. These cores act as separate processors, but reside in a single chip. A...
Queue	To avoid any confusion, this term is pronounced exactly like the letter "Q". It is not pronounced "kay" or "kyoo-ee...
QuickTime	This is a multimedia technology developed by our friends at Apple Computer. It is a popular format for creating and...
QWERTY	This term is used to describe a standard (Latin alphabet-based) keyboard. Why? Because the first six keys in the...

Terms Beginning with "R"

RADCAB	RADCAB is a mnemonic acronym that helps people evaluate information found online. It was created by Karen...
RAID	Stands for "Redundant Array of Independent Disks." RAID is a method of storing data on multiple hard disks. When...
RAM	Stands for "Random Access Memory," and is pronounced like the male sheep. RAM is made up of small memory chips that...
Raster Graphic	Most images you see on your computer screen are raster graphics. Pictures found on the Web and photos you import from...
Raw Data	Raw data is unprocessed computer data. This information may be stored in a file, or may just be a collection of...
Raw File	A raw file is a collection of unprocessed data. This means the file has not been altered, compressed, or manipulated...
RDF	Stands for "Resource Description Framework." RDF is a specification that defines how metadata, or descriptive...
RDRAM	Stands for "Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory." It is a type of RAM made by Rambus (big surprise) and is the fastest...
Readme	A readme file, often named "READ ME" to get the user's attention, is a text file containing useful information about a...
Real Number	Real numbers include all positive and negative numbers. They may be integers (e.g. -12), rational numbers (e.g...
Real-Time	When an event or function is processed instantaneously, it is said to occur in real-time. To say something takes place...
Recursion	Recursion is a process in which a function calls itself as a subroutine. This allows the function to be repeated...
Recursive Function	A recursive function is a function that calls itself during its execution. This enables the function to repeat itself...
Recycle Bin	The Recycle Bin in used by Windows computers to store deleted items. It temporarily stores files and folders before...
Refresh	Refresh is a command that reloads the contents of a window or Web page with the most current data. For example, a...
Refresh Rate	Computer monitors often have a "maximum refresh rate" listed in their technical specifications. This number, measured...
Registry	This is a database used by Microsoft Windows to store configuration information about the software installed on a...
Reimage	Reimaging is the process of restoring data to a hard disk from a disk image. When a hard disk is reimaged, the data on...
Remote Access	Remote access is just what it sounds like -- the ability to access your computer from a remote location. Programs like...
Remote Desktop	Remote desktop technology makes it possible to view another computer's desktop on your computer. This means you can...
Remote User	A "remote user" is how a woman might refer to her husband while he is watching TV. In the computer world, however, a...
Repeater	A repeater is an electronic device that relays a transmitted signal. It receives a signal on a specific frequency...
Resolution	This term can describe either how many pixels a monitor can display or how fine a printer can print. 1. Monitors. A...
Restore	The word "restore" means to return something to its former condition. Therefore, when you restore a computer or other...
RFID	RFID is short for "Radio-Frequency Identification." RFID tags are small integrated circuits that can be scanned with a...
RGB	Stands for "Red Green Blue." It refers to the three hues of light (red, green, and blue, for those of you that are a...
Rich Text	Rich text is more exciting than plain text. It supports text formatting, such as bold, italics, and underlining, as...
Right Click	Most computer mice have at least two mouse buttons. When you press the left one, it is called a left click. When you...
Ripcording	Recording audio with a computer involves capturing an audio signal and saving it digitally on a hard drive. Ripping an...
RISC	Stands for "Reduced Instruction Set Computing,"and is pronounced "risk." It is arguably the fastest and most...
ROM	Stands for "Read-Only Memory." Please do not confuse this term with RAM or a hard drive, as many people already do...
Root	Root, or the "root node," refers to the top level of a file system. Since file systems are organized by directories...
Rootkit	A rootkit is not a collection of tree roots, as you might be picturing in your head. Instead, a rootkit is a group of...
Rosetta	Rosetta is technology included in Mac OS X that allows software written for PowerPC processors to run on Intel...
Router	This is a hardware device that routes data (hence the name) from a local area network (LAN) to another network...
RPC	Stands for "Remote Procedure Call." Most computer programs run procedures, or sets of instructions, using the...
RPM	Stands for "Revenue Per 1,000 Impressions." RPM is similar to CPM, but measures the revenue from 1,000 ads impressions...
RSS	Stands for "RDF Site Summary," but is commonly referred to as "Really Simple Syndication." RSS is method of providing...
RTE	Stands for "Runtime Environment." As soon as a software program is executed, it is in a runtime state. In this state...
RTF	Stands for "Rich Text Format." RTF is a file format standardized by Microsoft for creating formatted text files...
Ruby	While in the physical world, "ruby" refers to a red gemstone, in the computer world, ruby is an object-oriented...
Runtime	When a program is running, or executing, it is said to be in runtime. The term is mostly used by software developers...
RUP	Stands for "Rational Unified Process." RUP is a software development process from Rational, a division of IBM. It...