Computer Terms

The following terms starting with the letter "A" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

A/D = Analog to Digital A/V = Audio/Visual AAC = Advanced Audio Coding AARP = AppleTalk Address Resolution Protocol ABBH = Average Bouncing Busy Hour ABC = Atanasoff-Berry Computer ABEND = Abnormal End AC = Alternating Current ACD = Automatic Call Distributor ACeS = Asia Cellular Satellite System ACK = Acknowledge Character ACL = Access Control List ACM = Association for Computing Machinery ACPI = Advanced Configuration and Power Interface ACTA = America's Carriers Telecommunications Association ACU = Automatic Calling Unit ADB = Apple Desktop Bus ADCCP = Advanced Data Communications Control Protocol ADO = ActiveX Data Objects ADP = Automatic Data Processing ADPCM = Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation ADS = Alternate Data Streams ADSL = Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ADVEIS = Anti-Virus Dependent Vulnerabilities in E-mail Infrastructure Security AES = Asynchronous Event Scheduler AFAIK = As Far As I Know AGP = Accelerated Graphics Port AH = Authentication Header AI = Artificial Intelligence AIFF and AIFF-C = Audio Interchange File Format AIML = Astronomical Instrument Markup Language AIX = Advanced Interactive Executive ALGOL = Algorithmic Language ALU = Arithmetic (and) Logic Unit AMANDA = Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver AMD = Advanced Micro Devices

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AML = Astronomy Markup Language AMP = Advanced Metal Powder AMPS = Advanced Mobile Phone System AMS = American Mobile Satellite Corporation AN = Active Network ANSA = Adaptive Network Security Alliance ANSI = American National Standards Institute AOL = America Online APA = All Points Addressable API = Application Program(ming) Interface APM = Advanced Power Management APP = Application Portability Profile APWG = Anti-Phishing Working Group ARLL = Advanced Run Length Limited ARM = Advanced (Acorn) RISC Machine ARM = Advanced RISC Machines Ltd ARP = Address Resolution Protocol ARPA = Advanced Research Projects Agency ARQ = Automatic Repeat Request ASAP = Activate Secure Authentication Protocol ASAP = As Soon As Possible ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange ASF = ActiveMovie Streaming Format ASIC = Application-Specific Integrated Circuit ASP = Active Server Pages ASP = Application Service Provider ASP = Association of Shareware Professionals AT = Attention ATA = AT Attachment ATL = Active (ActiveX) Template Library ATM = Asynchronous Transfer Mode AUI = Attachment Unit Interface AVI = Audio/Video Interleaved format AWHFY = Are We Having Fun Yet AWT = Abstract Windows Toolkit

The following terms starting with the letter "B" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

B-ISDN = Broadband-Integrated Services Digital Network B2B = Business-to-Business BAPI = Business Application Programming Interface Baseband = A computer networking techinque BASIC = Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code BAT = Bandwidth Allocation Technology BBS = Bulletin Board System BCC = Blind Carbon Copy BCC = Block Check Character BCD = Binary Coded Decimal BDP = Bandwidth-delay Product BEDO RAM = Burst EDO RAM BeOS = Be, Inc. Operating System BG = Big Grin BGA = Ball-grid Array BGP = Border Gateway Protocol BICMOS = Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor Biometrics = Science of using one or more bodily characteristics BIOS = Basic Input/Output System Bistable Display = A stable display when power is off. bit = Binary Digit BITNET = Because Its Time Network BLOB = Binary Large Object Bluetooth = A short-range wireless technology BNC = Bayonet Neill Concelman BOOTP = BOOTstrap Protocol Botnet = A network of remote-controlled zombie computers. BPEL = Business Process Execution Language BPL = Bits Per Line BPP = Bits Per Pixel BPS = Bits Per Second BRI = Basic-Rate Interface BSC = Base Station Controller BSD = Berkeley Software (System) Distribution (Design) BSML = Biosequence Markup Language BSWD = BellSouth Intelligent Wireless Data Network BTW = By The Way

The following terms starting with the letter "C" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

CA = Certificate Authority CAD = Computer-Aided Design CAE = Computer-Aided Engineering CASE = Computer-Aided Software Engineering CAV = Constant Angular Velocity CBT = Computer-Based Training CCD = Charge-Coupled Device CCI = Common Content Inspection CCITT = Consultative Committee for International Telephony and Telegraphy CD = Carrier Detect cDc = Cult of the Dead Cow CDDI = Copper Data Distribution Interface CDF = Channel Definition Format CDFS = Compact Disk File System CDI = Common Data Interface CD-I = Compact Disc-Interactive CDIF = CASE Definition Interchange Facility CDMA = Code Division Multiple Access CDPD = Cellular Digital Packet Data CD-PROM = Compact Disc-Programmable Read Only Memory CD-R = Compact Disc-Recordable CDRAM = Cached Dynamic Random Access Memory CD-ROM = Compact Disc, Read Only Memory CD-RW = Compact Disc-Rewritable CERN = Conseil Europeen pour le Recherche Nucleaire CERT = Character Error Rate Testing CERT = The CERT Coordination Center CFI = Common Flash Interface CGA = Color Graphics Adapter CGI = Common Gateway Interface CGM = Computer Graphics Metafile CHAP = Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol CHRP = Common Hardware Reference Platform CIDR = Classless Inter-Domain Routing CIE Color Model = Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage Color Model CIFF = Camera Image File Format CIR = Committed Information Rate CISC = Complex Instruction-Set Computing CISC = Creative Integrated Solutions Consortium, LLC CIX = Commercial Internet Exchange Association CLEC = Competitive Local Exchange Carriers

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CLV = Constant Linear Velocity CME = Common Malware Enumeration CMIP = Common Management Information Protocol CML = Chemical Markup Language CMMI = Capability Maturity Model Integration CMOS = Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor CMS = Color Management System CMTS = Cable Modem Termination System CMYK = Cyan Magenta Yellow Black (Key) CNG = Calling tone COBOL = Common Business Oriented Language CODASYL = Conference on Data Systems Languages CODEC = Compression/Decompression COM = Component Object Model COMDEX = Communications and Data processing Exposition Connector = Termination on the end of a cable CORBA = Common Object Request Broker Architecture CP/M = Control Program for Microprocessors (Control Program/Monitor) CPE = Customer Premises Equipment cps = Characters Per Second CPU = Central Processing Unit CR = Carriage Return CRAM = Card RAM CRAM = Computational RAM CRC = Cyclic Redundancy Check (Code) CRM = Customer Relationship Management CRT = Cathode-Ray Tube CSDGM = Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata CSMA/CA = Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance CSMA/CD = Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection CSS = Cascading Style Sheets CSTN = Color Supertwist Nematic CSU = Channel Service Unit CSV = Comma-Separated Value (Variable) CTI = Computer-Telephony Integration CTP = Community Technical Preview CTR = Click-Through Ratio CUA = Common User Access Cuckoo Egg = A munged copy of what appears to be copyright-protected material. CU-SeeMe = (Cornell University)-SeeMe CWM = Common Warehouse Metadata CWR = Congestion Window Reduced CYA = Cover Your ___ (Rear) Cyberloafing = Doing non-work activities at work on a computer.

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CYBORG = Cybernetic Organism CYMK = Cyan Yellow Magenta Black (Key)

The following terms starting with the letter "D" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

DAC = Digital-to-Analog Converter DAFS = Direct Access File System DAFS = Document Attribute Format Specification DAO = Data Access Objects DAO = Disk At Once DASD = Direct Access Storage Device DAT = Digital Audio Tape DB = Database DB2 = Database 2 DBMS = Database Management System DCC = Direct Cable Connection DCE = Data Communications Equipment DCF = Design Rule for Camera File Systems DCI = Display Control Interface DDE = Dynamic Data Exchange DDI = Direct Draw Interface DDR SDRAM = Double Data Rate-Synchronous DRAM DDS = Digital Data Storage DEBI = DMA Extended Bus Interface DEC = Digital Equipment Corporation DES = Data Encryption Standard DFM = Design for Manufacturing DHCP = Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol DID = Direct Inward Dialing DIF = Data Interchange Format DIF = Directory Interchange Format Digital Certificate = A form of secure identification DIMM = Dual In-Line Memory Module DIN = Deutsches Institut für Normung DINOR = Divided bit-line NOR DIP = Dual In-line Package Disintermediation = Remove the middleman Divx = Digital video express DIZ = Description in ZIP DLC = Data Link Control DLL = Dynamic Link Library DLP = Digital Light Processing DLT = Digital Linear Tape

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DMA = Direct Memory Access DMCA = Digital Millennium Copyright Act DMG = Data Mining Group DMI = Desktop Management Interface DNS = Domain Name Service (System) DOCSIS/MCNS = Data Over Cable Services and Interface Specifications for Multimedia Cable Network Systems DOM = Document Object Model Donder vs Donner = That's right Santa's reindeer DoS = Denial-of-Service DOS = Disk Operating System Dot-matrix Printer = A printer that uses impact of pins against a ribbon dpi = Dots Per Inch DPMI = DOS Protected Mode Interface DRAM = Dynamic Random Access Memory DSL = Digital Subscriber Line DSLAM = Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (Module) DSOM = Distributed System Object Model DSP = Digital Signal Processor DSR = Data Set Ready DSTN = Double-layer Supertwist Nematic DSU = Data Service Unit DSVD = Digital Simultaneous Voice and Data DTD = Document Type Definition DTE = Data Termination (Terminal) Equipment DUN = Dial-Up Networking DVD = Digital Versatile (Video) Disc DVD+RW = Digital Versatile (Video) Disc + Read/Write DVD-RAM = Digital Versatile (Video) Disc - Random Access Memory DVD-ROM = Digital Versatile (Video) Disc - Read Only Memory DVI = Digital Video Interactive DWDM = Dense Wave Division Multiplexing DXF = Data Exchange File (Format)

The following terms starting with the letter "E" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

EAP = Extensible Authentication Protocol EBCDIC = Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code ECC = Error Correction Code (Error Checking and Correction) ECN = Explicit Congestion Notification EDGE = Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution EDI = Electronic Data Interchange EDLC = Electrochemical Double-layer Capacitor EDO RAM = Extended Data-Out Random Access Memory EDP = Electronic Data Processing EDRAM = Enhanced Dynamic Random Access Memory EEMS = Enhanced Expanded Memory Specification EEPROM = Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory EFT = Electronic Funds Transfer EGA = Enhanced Graphics Adapter EIA = Electronic Industries Alliance (Association) EIDE = Enhanced Integrated Device (or Intelligent Drive) Electronics EISA = Extended Industry Standard Architecture ELD = Electroluminescent Display ELF = Extremely Low Frequency EMM = Expanded Memory Manager EMS = Expanded Memory Specification EOF = End Of File EPP = Enhanced Parallel Port EPROM = Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory EPS = Encapsulated PostScript ERP = Enterprise Resource Planning ESC = Escape Character ESCD = Extended System Configuration Data ESDI = Enhanced System Device Interface ESP = Encapsulating Security Payload ESP = Eudora Sharing Protocol etard = A stupid user ETOX = EPROM Tunnel Oxide EULA = End User License Agreement EWAN = Emulator Without A Name Exif = Exchangeable Image File

The following terms starting with the letter "F" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

FAHQT = Fully Automatic High-Quality Translation FAMOS = Floating Gate Avalanche MOS FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions FAT = File Allocation Table FBGA = Fine-pitch Ball-grid Array FCB = File Control Block FCC = File Carbon Copy FDD = Floppy Disk Drive FDDI = Fiber Distributed Data Interface FDHD = Floppy Drive, High Density FDM = Frequency Division Multiplexing FF = Form Feed FFS = Flash File System Fiber Optics = Optical information carried over a fiber FIF = Fractal Image Format FIFO = First In, First Out FLOPS = Floating-point Operations per Second Fortran = Formula Translator FPM RAM = Fast Page Mode RAM FPU = Floating-Point Unit FR = Frame Relay FRAD = Frame Relay Assembler/Disassembler FRAM = Ferroelectric RAM FSK = Frequency Shift Keying FSP = File Service Protocol FTP = File Transfer Protocol FWIW = For What It's Worth FYI = For Your Information

he following terms starting with the letter "G" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

GbE = Gigabit Ethernet GDI = Graphics Device Interface GIF = Graphical Interchange Format GIGO = Garbage In, Garbage Out GIMP = General (GNU) Image Manipulation Program GIS = Geographic Information System GM = General MIDI GMT = Greenwich Mean Time GNU = GNU is Not UNIX GPF = General Protection Fault GPRS = General Packet Radio Service GPS = Global Positioning Satellite (System) grep = Globally search for the Regular Expression and Print (Generalized Regular Expression Pattern-Matcher) GRiNS = Graphical Interface to SMIL GSM = Global System for Mobiles GUI = Graphical User Interface GUID = Globally Unique Identifier

The following terms starting with the letter "H" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

HAL = Hardware Abstraction Layer HD = High Density HDD = Hard Disk Drive HDLC = High-level Data Link Control HDML = Handheld Device Markup Language HDR = High Data Rate HDTV = High-Definition Television HFS = Hierarchical Filing System HMA = High Memory Area HMD = Head-Mounted Display HP = Hewlett-Packard HP-GL = Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language HPAS = Hypermedia Presentation and Authoring System HPFS = High Performance File System HSL = Hypermedia Synchronization Language HSM = Hierarchical Storage Management HTML = Hypertext Markup Language HTTP = Hypertext Transfer Protocol HTTPD = Hypertext Transfer Protocol Daemon (Server)

The following terms starting with the letter "I" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

I/O = Input/Output IAB = Internet Architecture Board IAC = Internet Access Coalition IAD = Integrated Access Device IAHC = Internet International Ad Hoc Committee IANA = Internet Assigned Numbers Authority IANAL = I Am Not A Lawyer IAS = Internet Authentication Service IBM = International Business Machines IBM 1401 = Second-generation IBM mainframe IBM 650 = First successful IBM mainframe ICA = Independent Computing Architecture ICANN = The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ICMP = Internet Control Message Protocol Icon = A form of on-screen graphic ICQ = [No specific expansion] IDE = Intelligent (Integrated) Drive Electronics IDEA = International Data Encryption Algorithm IDSL = ISDN Digital Subscriber Line IEEE = Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IETF = Internet Engineering Task Force IGES = Initial Graphics Exchange Specification IGMP = Internet Group Management Protocol IIM = Internet Interaction Management IIOP = Internet Inter-ORB Protocol IIS = Internet Information Server IMAP = Internet Message Access Protocol IMHO = In My Humble Opinion Impact Printer = Uses a character image to press against a ribbon Incremental Backup = A backup of only files that have changed Indent = A movement inward from the left or right margin Index = A pointer to data Input = Method of getting data into a computer

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Insert Mode = Entered text pushes existing to the right Integer = Number with no decimal places Intel 80x Processors = Description of early Intel CPUs Interleave Factor = Number of sectors skipped between write operations InterNIC = Internet Network Information Center Interpreter = A form of program used to run other programs Interrupt = Signal that stops some operation IOS = Input Output System IP = Internet Protocol IPSec = Internet Protocol Security IPTV = Internet Protocol Television IPX = Internetwork Packet Exchange IRC = Internet Relay Chat IrDA = Infrared Data Association IRQ = Interrupt Request ISA = Industry Standard Architecture ISAM = Indexed Sequential Access Method ISAPI = Internet Server API ISDN = Integrated Services Digital Network ISO = International Organization for Standardization ISP = Internet Service Provider ITU = International Telecommunications Union IX = Internet Exchange

The following terms starting with the letter "J" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • •

JBIG = Joint Bi-level Image Experts Group JCL = Job Control Language JDBC = Java Database Connectivity JDK = Java Developers (Development) Kit JEIDA = Japan Electronic Industry Development Association JFIF = JPEG File Interchange Format Joe Job = Use of a fake return address in a spam message JOVIAL = Jules' Own Version of the International Algebraic Language JPEG = Joint Photographic Experts Group Jump Line = A continuation link for split articles

he following terms starting with the letter "K" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • •

kb = Kilobit KB = Kilobyte Kbps = Kilobits per second Kernal = Core portion of an operating system Keychord = Combination of two or more keys pressed at the same time

The following terms starting with the letter "L" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

L2TP = Layer Two Tunneling Protocol LAN = Local Area Network Laser Printer = Output device that uses a laser to form the output LAWN = Local-Area Wireless Network LBA = Logical Block Addressing LBV = Layered Biometric Verification LCD = Liquid-Crystal Display LDAP = Lightweight Directory Access Protocol Leading = Space between lines of type LED = Light Emitting Diode LEP = Light Emitting Polymers LGMR = Laser Guided Magnetic Recording Li-ion = Lithium Ion LIFO = Last In, First Out Ligature = Two or more letters printed as one LILO = Linux Loader LIM = Lifeline Interface Module LIM = Lotus-Intel-Microsoft Line Art = Drawing with no halftones Link = A connection of some sort LMB = Left Mouse Button LoD = Legion of Doom Log On/Off = Process used to gain access LPM = Lifeline Port Module lpm = Lines Per Minute LPT = Local Printer Terminal LTO = Linear Tape Open LZW = Lempel-ZifWelsh

The following terms starting with the letter "M" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • •

Machine Language = Binary commands used by the computer hardware Macro = Stored list of commands MAE = Metropolitan Area Exchange (Ethernet) Mail Merge = Combination of a database and document MAN = Metropolitan Area Network MAPI = Messaging Application Programming Interface Mapping = Way of converting encoded data MARS = Multi-player Animated Role-playing System

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Mashup = Web site or application developed from combinations of content. Mask = A pattern or outline MathML = Mathematical Markup Language MAU = Media (Multistation) Access Unit MAU = Multistation Access Unit Mb = Megabit MB = Megabyte Mbps = Megabits per second MBR = Master Boot Record MCA = Micro Channel Architecture MCGA = Multi-Color Graphics Array MCI = Media Control Interface MDA = Monochrome Display Adapter MDC = Metadata Coalition MDI = Multiple Document Interface MDIS = Metadata Interchange Specification MEMS = MicroElectro-Mechanical System MFLOPS = Millions of Floating Point Operations per Second MFM = Modified Frequency Modulation MIB = Management Information Base MICR = Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (Reader) MIDI = Musical Instrument Digital Interface MIF = Management Information Format MILNET = Military Network MIME = Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension MIPS = Millions of Instructions Per Second MIS = Management Information System (or Services) MLC = Multilevel Cell MMDS = Multichannel Multipoint Distribution System MMU = Memory Management Unit MMX = Matrix Math Extensions (Multimedia Extensions) MNG = Multiple-image Network Graphics MNP = Microcom Networking Protocol MODEM = Modulator/Demodulator Modular Programming = Small elements of a larger whole MOF = Meta Object Facility MOO = Mud, Object Oriented MOS = Metal Oxide Semiconductor MOSFET = Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor MOSIS = MOS Implementation System MOSS = Mime Object Security Services MP3 = MPEG layer 3 MPC = Matchbox PC MPC = Multimedia Personal Computer MPEG = Motion Picture Experts Group

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MPI = Message Passing Interface MRC = Magneto-Resistive Cluster

The following terms starting with the letter "N" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

NAP = Network Access Point NAS = Network-Attached Storage NAT = Network Address Translation NCSA = National Center for Supercomputing Applications NDIS = Network Driver Interface Specification NDMP = Network Data Management Protocol NDS = Novell Directory Services NetBEUI = Network BIOS Extended User Interface NetBIOS = Network Basic Input Output System NFBSK = Not For British School Kids NFS = Network File System NGI = Next Generation Internet NIC = Network Interface Card NiMH = Nickel Metal Hydride NNTP = Network News Transfer Protocol NOP = No Operation NOS = Network Operating System NSAPI = Netscape Server API NSF = National Science Foundation NSFnet = National Science Foundation network NSP = Network Service Provider NTFS = NT File System NTSC = National Television Standards Committee NUMA = Non-Uniform Memory Access NURBS = Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline NVRAM = Non-Volatile RAM

The following terms starting with the letter "O" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. •

OC = Optical Carrier

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OCR = Optical Character Recognition OCX = OLE Custom Control ODBC = Open Database Connectivity ODI = Open Data-link Interface OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer OIM = Open Information Model OLAP = Online Analytical Processing OLE = Object Linking and Embedding OLED = Organic Light-Emitting Diode OLTP = On-Line Transaction Processing OMG = Object Management Group OOP = Object-Oriented Programming OpenSRS = Open Shared Registration System OPSEC Alliance = Open Platform for Secure Enterprise Connectivity Alliance OSF = Open Software Foundation OSI = Open System Interconnection OSPF = Open Shortest Path First OSR = OEM System Release OTOH = On The Other Hand

The following terms starting with the letter "P" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

P-SRAM = Pseudo-Static RAM P3P = Platform for Privacy Preferences PAD = Portable Application Description PAL = Phase Alternating Line PAL = Programmable Array Logic PAN = Personal Area Network PAP = Password Authentication Protocol PB SRAM = Pipelined Burst Static RAM PBX = Private Branch Exchange PC = Personal Computer PC/TV = Personal Computer and Television PCB = Printed Circuit Board PCI = Peripheral Component Interface PCL = Printer Control Language PCM = Pulse Code Modulation PCMCIA = Personal Computer Memory Card International Association PCS = Personal Communications System PDA = Personal Digital Assistant PDC = Primary Domain Controller

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PDF = Portable Document Format PDL = Page Description Language PE = Portable Executable Perl = Practical Extraction and Report Language PFR = Portable Font Resource PGA = Pad Grid Array PGA = Pin Grid Array PGA = Professional Graphic Adapter PGM = Pragmatic General Multicast (was Pretty Good Multicast) PGP = Pretty Good Privacy Pharming = Redirection of a User to Bogus Websites PHB = Photochemical Hole Burning Phishing = Social Engineering for Stealing Information PHP = PHP Hypertext Preprocessor (Personal Home Page) PIC = Programmable Interrupt Controller PICNIC = Problem In Chair, Not In Computer PIF = Program Information File PIM = Personal Information Manager PIN = Personal Identification Number Pine = Pine Is Not Elm (or Program for Internet News and E-mail) PING = Packet Internet Groper PIO = Programmed Input Output PIP = Peripheral Interchange Program PISO = Parallel-In/Serial-Out PITA = Pain In The A__ (Rear) PJTF = Portable Job Ticket Format PKI = Public Key Infrastructure PLA = Programmable Logic Array PLD = Programmable Logic Device PMML = Predictive Modeling Markup Language PMS = Pantone Matching System PMT = Photomultiplier Tube PNG = Portable Network Graphics PnP = Plug and Play Pod Slurping = Use of the iPod to steal data POP = Post Office Protocol Port Knocking = Pinging a combination of ports before entry is allowed. POS = Pivoting Optical Servo POSIX = Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX POST = Power On Self Test POTS = Plain Old Telephone Service PPCP = PowerPC Platform ppm = Pages Per Minute PPP = Point-to-Point Protocol PPPTP = Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol

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PQDIF = Power Quality Data Interchange Format PRAM = Parameter RAM PRI = Primary-Rate Interface PRL = Packetized Residential Lifeline PROM = Programmable Read-Only Memory PSTN = Public Switched Telephone Network PTH = Plated Through-Hole PUP = Potentially Unwanted Program PURL = Persistent URL PVC = Permanent Virtual Circuit PWB = Printed Wire Board

he following terms starting with the letter "Q" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • •

QBE = Query By Example QCELP = QualComm Code Excited Linear Predictive Coding QCIF = Quarter Common Intermediate Format QIC = Quarter-Inch Cartridge QoS = Quality of Service QSIG = Q (point of the ISDN model) Signaling Query = A structured database statement QWERTY = QWERTY

The following terms starting with the letter "R" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • •

RADIUS = Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service RADSL = Rate-Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line RAID = Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks RAM = Random Access Memory RAMDAC = Random Access Memory Digital-to-Analog Converter RARP = Reverse Address Resolution Protocol RAS = Remote Access Services RC4 = RC4 Stream Cipher (Rivest Cipher 4 or Ron's Code) RDBMS = Relational Database Management System RDF = Resource Description Framework RDRAM = Rambus DRAM Registry = A guide to Windows registry information RFC = Request for Comments

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RFI = Radio Frequency Interference RFID = Radio Frequency Identification RFP = Request for Proposal RGB = Red Green Blue RIP = Raster Image Processor RIP = Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 RISC = Reduced Instruction-Set Computing RJ-11 & RJ-45 = Registered Jack-11 & Registered Jack-45 RLL = Run Length Limited RMB = Right Mouse Button RMON = Remote Monitoring RMTP = Reliable Multicast Transport Protocol ROFL = Rolling On Floor, Laughing ROM = Read-Only Memory RPG = Report Program Generator RPG = Role-Playing Game rpm = Revolutions per Minute RSN = Real Soon Now RSVP = Resource Reservation Setup Protocol RTF = Rich Text Format RTFM = Read The F___ing Manual RTSP = Realtime Streaming Protocol RTT = Round-trip Time

The following terms starting with the letter "S" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

S-HTTP = Secure HTTP S/MIME = Secure/MIME SAA = System Application Architecture SAN = Storage Area Network SAP = SAP America, Inc. (SAP AG) SAP = Secondary Audio Program SAP = Service Advertising Protocol SAS = Serial Attached SCSI SBB = Storage Bridge Bay Working Group SCAM = SCSI Configuration Automatically SCART = Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs Script Kiddie = A shameful description of someone who was not smart enough to build malware from scratch. SCSI = Small Computer System Interface SDH = Synchronous Digital Hierarchy SDK = Software Development Kit

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SDRAM = Synchronous Dynamic RAM SDSL = Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line SET = Secure Electronic Transaction SFF = Small Form-Factor SGI = Silicon Graphics Incorporated SGML = Standard Generalized Markup Language SGRAM = Synchronous Graphic RAM SIG = Special Interest Group SIMD = Single Instruction Multiple Data SIMM = Single In-line Memory Module SIP = Single In-line Package SLDRAM = SyncLink DRAM SLED = Single Large Expensive Disk SLIP = Serial Line Internet Protocol SMART = Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology SMB = Server Message Block SMDS = Switched Multimegabit Data Services SMIF = Stream-based Model Interchange Format SMIL = Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language SMP = Simple Management Protocol SMP = Symmetric Multiprocessing SMS = Systems Management Server SMTP = Simple Mail Transfer Protocol SNA = Systems Network Architecture SNMP = Simple Network Management Protocol SOAP = Simple Object Access Protocol SOC = System-on-a-Chip SOHO = Small Office/Home Office SONET = Synchronous Optical Network SPARC = Scalable Processor Architecture SPE = Superparamagnetic Effect SPEC = Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation SPID = Service Profile (Provider) Identification SPIM = Spam Over Instant Messaging SPX = Sequenced Packet Exchange SQL = Structured Query Language SRAM = Static Random Access Memory SSD = Solid-state Disk SSI = Server-Side Include SSL = Secure Sockets Layer SSL Trojan = Money-stealing Trojan that attacks banking sites. SSSCA = Security Systems Standards and Certification Act ST506/412 = Seagate Technologies 506 and 412 Controller SVC = Switched Virtual Circuit SVG = Scalable Vector Graphics

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SVGA = Super Video Graphics Array SWISH = Simple Web Indexing System for Humans SYN = Synchronize sequence Number SYSOP = System Operator

The following terms starting with the letter "T" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

T1 = T-One T3 = T-Three TA = Terminal Adapter TANSTAAFL = There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch TAPI = Telephony Application Programming Interface TCP/IP = Transmission (Transport) Control Protocol/Internet Protocol TDM = Time Division Multiplexing TDMA = Time Division Multiple Access TFT = Thin Film Transistor TFTP = Trivial File Transfer Protocol TIA = Thanks In Advance TIFF = Tagged Image File Format TIGA = Texas Instruments Graphics Architecture TLD = Top-Level Domain TOPS = Transparent Operating System tpi = Tracks Per Inch TRAM = Transactional RAM TSAPI = Telephony Service API TSR = Terminate-and-Stay-Resident TTF = True Type Font TTL = Transistor-Transistor Logic TWAIN = [No present expansion] TWIP = Twentieth of a Point

The following terms starting with the letter "U" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • •

UAC = User Account Control UART = Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter UCITA = Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act UDDI = Universal Description, Discovery and Integration UDP = UDP - User Datagram Protocol UIN = Universal Internet Number ULSI = Ultra Large Scale Integration UltraATA = Ultra AT Attachment

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UltraDMA = Ultra Direct Memory Access UMB = Upper Memory Block UML = Unified Modeling Language UNC = Universal Naming Convention UNIX = niversal Interactive eXecutive UPS = Uninterruptible Power Supply URI = Uniform Resource Indicator URL = Uniform Resource Locator USB = Universal Serial Bus USENET = User Network USR = U.S. Robotics UTP = Unshielded Twisted Pair UUCP = UNIX-to-UNIX Copy UUENCODE = UNIX-to-UNIX Encode

he following terms starting with the letter "V" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

VAR = Value-Added Reseller VAX = Virtual Address Extension VBE = Vesa Bios Extension vBNS = very high-speed Backbone Network Service VCM SDRAM = Virtual-Channel Memory SDRAM VCPI = Virtual Control Program Interface VCSEL = Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser VDSL = Very High Bit Rate DSL VDT = Video Display Terminal VERONICA = Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Networkwide Index to Computerized Archives VESA = Video Electronics Standards Association VFAT = Virtual File Allocation Table VFW = Video For Windows VGA = Video Graphics Array (Adapter) VLAN = Virtual LAN VLB = VESA Local Bus (or VL Bus) VME bus = VersaModule Eurocard bus VMS = Virtual Memory System VoB = Voice over Broadband VoDSL = Voice over Digital Subscriber Line VoIP = Voice Over IP VPN = Virtual Private Network VR = Virtual Reality VRAM = Video Random Access Memory VRM = Voltage Regulator Module

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VRML = Virtual Reality Modeling Language VRU = Virus Research Unit VSA = Virtual Storage Architecture VTAM = Virtual Telecommunications Access Method VTC = Virus Test Center

The following terms starting with the letter "W" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

W3C = World Wide Web Consortium WAFS = Wide-area File Sharing WAI = Web Accessibility Initiative WAIS = Wide-Area Information Server WAN = Wide Area Network WAP = Wireless Application (Access) Protocol WATS = Web-based Assessment and Testing Systems WATS = Wide Area Telecommunications System WCS = World Coordinate System WDM = Wavelength Division Multiplexing WebCGM = Web Computer Graphics Metafile Webinar = Web-based sponsored educational seminar WEP = Wireless Equivalent Privacy WFW = Windows For Workgroups WIAD = Wireless Integrated Access Device WIMP = Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointing Device WinCE = Windows CE WINS = Windows Internet Name Service WINSOCK = Windows Socket WINTEL = Windows/Intel WIT = ireless Information Terminal WLAN = Wireless Local Area Network WLANA = Wireless LAN Association (Alliance) WMF = Windows Meta File WML = Wireless Markup Language WNIU = Wireless Network Interface Unit WORM = Write Once Read Many WOSA = Windows Open Services Architecture WP = WordPerfect WPA = Windows Product Activation WRAM = Windows Random Access Memory WSDL = Web Services Description Language WWW = World-Wide Web

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WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get WYSIWYP = What You See Is What You Print

The following terms starting with the letter "X" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • • • • • •

xDSL = x Digital Subscriber Line XGA = Extended Graphics Array (Adapter) XMI = XML Metadata Interchange XML = Extensible Markup Language XMLC = Extensible Markup Language Compiler XMS = Extended Memory Specification XPS = XML Paper Specification XSL = Extensible Style Language XT = Extended XTA = XT Attachment XUL = XML-based User Interface Language

The following terms starting with the letter "Y" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • •

Y2K = Year 2000 YAHOO = Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle YTD = Year To Date

The following terms starting with the letter "Z" have specific pages dedicated to them. You can come back to this page or the main Computer Terms page by using the navigation breadcrumbs at the bottom of each page. • • • • • • •

ZAW = Zero Administration for Windows ZCAV = Zoned Constant Angular Velocity ZD = Ziff-Davis ZDI = Zero Day Initiative Zero Day Attack = Disclosure of a vulnerability before notifying a concerned producer ZIF = Zero Insertion Force ZV = Zoomed Video Port