Acronyms Part 1

Front 1

A collection of wires connecting the CPU with main memory that is used to identify particular locations (addresses) in main memory

Back 1

Address Bus

Hint 1

"Public Transportation" to an Address

Front 2

hardware lines over which devices can send interrupt signals to the microprocessor. When you add a new device to a PC, you sometiems need to set its number by setting a DIP switch. This specifies which interrupt line the device may use.

Back 2

IRQ

Hint 2

short for interrupt request line

Front 3

A special type of EEPROM that can be erased and reprogrammed in blocks instead of one byte at a time. Many modern PCs have their BIOS stored on such a memory chip.

Back 3

Flash memory

Hint 3

like the "flash" of a camera, it remembers

Front 4

built-in software that determines what a computer can do without accessing programs from a disk. On PCs, contains all the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial communications, and a number of miscellaneous functions.

Back 4

BIOS

Hint 4

short for basic input/output system

Front 5

A widely used type ofsemiconductor. Use both NMOS and PMOS circuits. Since only one of the circuit types is on at any given time, these type of chips require less power than chips using just one type of transistor. This makes them particularly attractive for use in battery-powered devices. In PCs, these chips hold the date, time, and system setup parameters.

Back 5

CMOS

Hint 5

short for complementary metal oxide semiconductor

Front 6

A special high-speed storage mechanism. It can be either a reserved section of main memory or an independent high-speed storage device. Two types are commonly used in PCs: memory and disk.

Back 6

Cache

Front 7

Input/Output

Back 7

I/O

Front 8

A component designed to lower the temperature of an electronic device by dissipating heat into the surrounding air. All modern CPUs require one.

Back 8

heat sink

Hint 8

don't "sink" from the heat

Front 9

A set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications.

Back 9

API

Hint 9

abbreviation of application program interface

Front 10

IBM PC model introduced in 1984

Back 10

AT

Hint 10

short for advanced technology

Front 11

The modern-day shape and layout of PC motherboards. It improves on the previous standard.

Back 11

ATX motherboard/case

Front 12

A type of connector used with coaxial cables such as the RG-58 A/U cable used with the 10base-2 Ethernet system

Back 12

BNC

Hint 12

short for British Naval Connector or Bayonet Nut Connector or Bayonet Neill Concelman

Front 13

A passive electronic component that holds a charge in the form of an electrostatic field. They are often used in combination with transistors in DRAM, acting as storage cells to hold bits.

Back 13

Capacitor

Front 14

A number of integrated circuits designed to perform one or more related functions.

Back 14

Chip Set

Front 15

The mechanism that reads and writes data on a hard disk. Many disk drives improve their performance through a technique called caching.

Back 15

HDD

Hint 15

short for hard disk drive

Front 16

A programming environment integrated into an application. For example, Microsoft Office applications support various versions of the BASIC programming language, you can develop a WordBasic application while running MS Word.

Back 16

IDE

Hint 16

short for integrated development environment

Front 17

An IDE interface for mass storage devices in which the controller is integrated into the disk or CD-ROM drive.

Back 17

IDE Drive Cable

Hint 17

abbreviation for Intelligent Drive Electronics or Integrated Drive Electronics

Front 18

An electrical component that generates a magnetic field when a current is passed through it and stores the entery in the form of the magnetic field. It is typically a loop or coil of wire.

Back 18

Inductor

Front 19

In DOS systems, the name of a serial communications port. DOS supports four of them. Most software uses system interrupts to access these ports, and there are only two IRQ lines reserved, so the four ports share the two IRQ lines.

Back 19

COM

Front 20

The physical connections that carry control information between the CPU and other devices within the computer.

Back 20

Control Bus

Hint 20

"public transportation" you can control

Front 21

Brains of the computer. Where most calculations take place. In terms of computing power, it is the most important element of a computer system.

Back 21

CPU

Hint 21

abbreviation for central processing unit

Front 22

A common technique for detecting data transmission errors. Transmitted messages are divided into predetermined lengths that are divided by a fixed divisor. According to the calculation check, the remainder number is appended onto and sent with the message. When the message is received, the computer recalculates the remainder and compares it to the transmitted remainder. If the numbers do not match, an error is detected.

Back 22

CRC

Hint 22

short for cyclic redundancy check

Front 23

A collection of wires through which data is transmitted from one part of a computer to another.

Back 23

Data Bus

Hint 23

"public transportation" for your data

Front 24

An interprocess communication system built into the Macintosh, Windows, and OS/2 operating systems: enables two running applications to share the same data.

Back 24

DDE

Hint 24

acronym for Dynamic Data Exchange

Front 25

A small circuit board that holds memory chips.

Back 25

DIMM

Hint 25

short for dual in-line memory module

Front 26

An electric component that conducts electric current in only one direction, functioning as a one-way valve. Typically made from semi-conductor materials such as silicon, germanium, or selenium and are used as voltage regulators, signal rectifiers, oscillators, and signal modulators/demodulators.

Back 26

Diode

Front 27

a new DVD-ROM format promoted by several large Hollywood companies. A movie (or other data) loaded onto a DVD-ROM is playable only during a specific time fram, typically two days. As soon as you begin playing a disc, the counter starts. Each player is connected to a telephone outlet and communicates with a central server to exchange billing information.

Back 27

DIVX

Hint 27

short for digital video express

Front 28

a memory cache built into the microprocessor, the primary one

Back 28

L1 cache

Hint 28

short for Level 1 cache

Front 29

memory that is external to the microprocessor, the secondary one

Back 29

L2 cache

Hint 29

short for Level 2 cache

Front 30

1,000,000 bytes

Back 30

MB

Hint 30

short for megabyte

Front 31

internal storage areas in the computer

Back 31

memory module

Front 32

a non-volatile RAM memory technology that uses magnetic charges to store data instead of electic charges, such as those used in SRAM and DRAM technologies

Back 32

MRAM

Hint 32

short for magnetoresistive RAM or magnetic RAM

Front 33

a client/server application designed by Sun Microsystems that allows all network users to access shared files stored on computers of different types.

Back 33

NFS

Hint 33

short for Network File System

Front 34

an expansion board you insert into a computer so the computer can be connected to the internet

Back 34

NIS

Hint 34

short for network interface card

Front 35

An ISO standard for worldwide communications that defines a networking framework for implementing protocols in seven layers.

Back 35

OSI

Hint 35

short for Open System Interconnection

Front 36

refers to processes that occur simultaneously, meaning the device is capable of receiving more than one bit at a time

Back 36

Parallel

Front 37

A local bus standard developed by Intel Corporation. Most modern PCs include one of these in addition to a more general ISA expansion bus. Also used on newer versions of the Mac computers.

Back 37

PCI

Hint 37

short for Peripheral Component Interconnect

Front 38

A type of memory used in most personal computers.

Back 38

DRAM

Hint 38

stands for dynamic random access memory

Front 39

a special type of PROM that can be erased by exposing it to an electrical charge

Back 39

EEPROM

Hint 39

short for electrically erasable programmable read-only memory

Front 40

A U.S. legal document that designates that digital signatures carry the legal force of handwritten signatures (i.e., they are legally binding for contracts and transactions). The act defines an electronic signature as any electronic symbol, sound, or process that is attached to or logically associated with a contract or record, and that is adopted by a person with the intent to effectuate a signature with the contract or record.

Back 40

ESA

Hint 40

short for Electronic Signatures Act