CompApp Definitions

in place of a company or data center purchasing and managing their own hardware and software - allows IT to develop, test, deploy, host, and also update from a single streamlined environment - "cloudware" - hosted by the provider but client has access through a portal

software and servers are purchased as a fully outsourced service and usually billed based on usage of the resources - substitutes the idea of buying software and servers

in place of a company or data center purchasing and managing their own hardware and software - allows IT to develop, test, deploy, host, and also update from a single streamlined environment - "cloudware" - hosted by the provider but client has access through a portal

access to software and its functions remotely as a web-based service - access to business functionality at a cost less than paying for licensed applications (monthly fee) - do not need additional hardware or time to handle installation, set-up, and daily upkeep and maintenance

offers the same features and benefits of cloud systems but also removes a number of objections to the cloud computing model including control over enterprise and customer data, worries about security, and issues related to regulatory compliance

cloud infrastructure made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services

set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications - contains the building blocks for programmers - operating environments (Windows) provide this so that application interfaces are consistent with what the customer already knows and makes it easier to learn to use new programs

website or service that offers a broad array of resources and services such as email, forums, search engines, and online shopping malls - examples include google, yahoo

node on a network that serves as an entrance to another network - computer that routes traffic from a workstation to the outside network that is serving the webpages - at home, the internet service provider that connects the user to the internet

cloud infrastructure composed of two or more clouds (private, community, public) that retain unique entities , but are bound by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability

service from Google providing independently customizable versions of several Google products under a custom domain name - several web applications similar to MS office (gmail, Google groups, Google calendar, Google talk, Google docs, and Google sites)

web collaboration; provides an organization the capability to collaborate with customers or internally via the internet in real time

global network connecting millions of computers with exchange of data, news, and opinions - it can be accessed by many online services or through commercial internet service providers

system of servers that support specially formatted documents which are found in HTML - supports links to other documents as well as graphics, audio, and video files - change from one to another using hotspots

software application used to locate and display web pages (Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox) - graphical because they can show both graphics and text - modern ones can present sound and video, although they may require plug-ins for some formats

document or resource information that is suitable for the world wide webthat is accessible through a web browser and internet connection

method of transferring files between computers over a secure SSH secure data stream

the ability of software and hardware on different machines from different vendors to share data

capability of software or hardware to run identically on different platforms - being able to open MS Word documents on both window and macintosh without having to change the format of the document

the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected networks and core routers in the internet -data routes hosted by commercial, government, academic, and other high capacity network centers, the internet exchange points and network access points, that interchange internet traffic between the countries, continents, and across the oceans of the world

device that directs packets of information between networks and allows the datagrams get to their destination

company that provides internet services including personal and business access to the internet - monthly fee provides a software package, username, password, and access phone number - modem allows one to log onto the internet and search the world wide web

format for transmitting data between two devices - determines the type of error checking system to be used, data compression methods (if any needed), how the sending device will signal the completion of the transfer of the message, and how the receiving device will indicate that it has received the message

etiquette guidelines for posting messages to online services - covers rules to maintain civility in discussions and also special guidelines unique to the electronic nature of forum messages

computer that provides domain name information to a network - database the internet uses to translate hostnames into IP numbers and provide other domain-related information

group of computers and devices on a network that are administered as a unit with common rules and procedures - domains are defined by IP addresses within the internet - devices that share part of the same IP address are within the same domain

hardware or software that allows people to use the internet as the tranmission medium for telephone calls by sending voice data in packets using the IP rather then the traditional circuit transmission

use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately - email spam, instant messaging spam, web search engine spam, online classified ads spam, mobile phone messaging spam, etc

global address of documents and other resources on the world wide web - protocol identifier (identifies what protocal to use) and resource name (specifies the IP address or domain name where the resource is located - the two are separated by a colon and two forward slashes

authoring language used to create documents on the world wide web - defines the structure and layout of web document by using a variety of tags and attributes

program that searches documents for specified keywords and returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found

program that automatically fetches web pages, used to feed pages to search engines

true or false

malicious software - software designed to specifically damage or disrupt a system such as a virus or Trojan horse

malicious attack on a network, essentially designed to flood it with useless traffic - attacks work by exploiting limitations to TCP/IP protocols

has some processing capabilities

terminals have built-in logic for performing simple display operations such as blinking and boldface and have a monitor that has its own processor for special features

terminal that has no processing capabilities - simply an output device that accepts data from CPU - not as fast as smart terminals and do not support as many display features but are adequate for most applications

transmit data from a computer to a bulletin board service, main frame, or network - example includes sending files across the network by first uploading the files from the PC to the network

copy data from a main source to a peripheral device (as in from the network to the PC)

piece of a message transmitted over a packet-switching network - key feature of a packet is it contains the destination address in addition to the data - aka datagrams in IP networks

protocols in which messages are divided into packets before they are sent - each packet is then transmitted individually and can even follow different routes to its destination - arrival at the destination causes the packets to compile into the original message

type of communication in which a dedicated channel or circuit is established for the duration of a transmission - most ubiqituous circuit-switching network is the telephone system which links together wire segments to create a single, unbroken line for each telephone call

the amount of time it takes a packet to travel from the source to the destination - latency and bandwidth define the speed and capacity of the network

computer system that is accessed by a user working in a remote location - two computers are connected by modems and telephone lines - system with the information is called the the host and the system at which the user is trying to get information is the remote terminal

processing location - can be a computer or some other device such as a printer - every node has a unique network address

shape of a local area network (LAN) or other communications systems - topologies are either physical or logical - four principle topologies used in LANs

all devices are connected to a central cable - inexpensive and easy to install

all devices are connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop, so that each device is connected directly to two other devices, one on either side - expernsive and difficult to install

devices are connected to a central hub - easy to install and manage - bottlenecks may occur because all data needs to pass through the hub

includes characteristics of linear bus and star topologies - groups of star-configured workstations connected to a linear bus backbone cable

not occuring at predetermined or regular intervals - describes communications in which data can be transmitted intermittently rather than ina steady stream - example telephone conversation, each person can talk whenever they want to rather than having to wait a specific interval - start and stop bit at the beginning and end of each packet of data to tell what is valid data and just noise

occuring at regular intervals - example is the communication that occurs within a computer

"modulator-demodulator" - device or program that enables a computer to transmit data over a telephone or cable line, etc - device to convert between computer information (digitally stored) and telephone information (analog waves)

the standard measurement of data transmission speeds

amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time - digital devices (bps/bytes) and analog devices (cycles per second/Hertz)

dedicated IP address - system has an unchanging IP address everytime it is connected with a server

system is assigned a new IP address every time it connects with a server

type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilites - simpler than client-server networks, but do not offer the same performance under heavy loads

type of network in which each computer or process on the network is either a clience or a server - servers (powerful computers or processes dedicated to managing disk drives, printers, network traffic) and clients (PCs or workstations on which users run applications) - clients rely on servers for resources such as files, devices, and even processing power

any computer network where there is no physical wired connection between sender and receiver, but rather the network is connected by radio waves and/or microwaves to maintain communications

specific geographic location in which an access point provides public wireless broadband network services to mobile visitors through WLAN - found in airports, train stations, libraries, hotels, etc and have a short range of access

performs basic tasks such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directions on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers - making sure that different programs which are running at the same time do not interfere with each other - security: making sure unauthorized users do not have access to the system

allows two or more users to run programs at the same time - sometimes permitting hundreds or even thousands of concurrent users

supports running a program on more than one CPU

allows more than one program to run concurrently

allows different parts of a single program to run concurrently

responds to input instantly

refers to the operating and all utility programs that manage computer resources at a low level - includes compilers, loaders, linkers, and debuggers in addition to the operating system

program or group of programs designed for end users - includes database programs, word processors, and spreadsheets - unable to run without the operating system and system utilities

junction between a user and a computer program - set of commands or menus through which a user communicates with a program

programs and operating systems that accept commands in the form of special words or letters - command-driven interphase is one in which you enter your commands

program interface that takes advantage of the computer's graphic capabilities to make the program easier to use - frees the user from learning complex command languages - includes the mouse pointer, pointing device, icons, desktop, windows, menu

programs whose user interface employs menu - select command choices from various menus selected on the screen

freely distributable open source operating system that runs on a number of hardware platforms (runs on both PCs and Macintosh)

program that controls a device (printer, disk, drive, keyboard, etc) - some come with the operating system but others need to be loaded after connecting the device to the computer - driver acts like a translator between the device and the programs that the device uses

enables devices to transmit or store the same amount of data in fewer bits - widely used in backup utilitities, spreadsheet applications, and database management systems

reorganization of files (on a disk) so that the parts of each file are stored in contiguous sectors on the disk, thereby improving computer performance and
maximizing disk space

temporarily holds data waiting to be processed, stored, or produced as output

the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on - integrated circuit memory chip allows information to be stored and accessed in any order and all storage locations are easily accessible - volatile memory stores data, applications instructions, and operating systems and its capacity is measured in bytes and speed in nanoseconds/megahertz

built in instructions - allows computer to monitor interactions between hardware, software, and user - circuitry which holds the computer's startup routine, permanent instructions, operating system and non-volatile memory - contents can be accessed and read but not changed

tells the computer how to access hard disk, where to find operating system and load it into RAM from ROM

temporary, high-speed memory, allows faster data access, increases performance - RAM memory set aside as a specialized buffer storage that is continually being updated and optimizes data transfers between system elements

computer's storage area for instructions and data currently being used by programs; is volatile

computer memory that is not directly accessible to the processor but uses the input/output channels - storing data that is not in active use and preserves data even without power - includes diskettes, hard drives, tapes, and CD-ROMs

device that temporarily stores information for transporting from computer to computer - not permanent fixed into a computer - removable device that stores photos, music, and/or other files

built in connector plugs directly into the computer - technology preconfigured to autolaunch to programs

goes directly to location on storage medium

moves from beginning to location on storage medium

magnetized microscopic particles on disk surface are organized on disk by read-write head; hard disk platters, read-write heads are sealed to screen out dust and other contaminants

stores data as microscopic light and dark spots on disk surface - examples include CD, DVD, Blu-ray

stores data in erasable, rewritable, non-volatile circuitry

information in a form suitable for use with a computer - different from a program which is a set of instructions that detail a task for the computer to perform

an ordered sequence of symbols that record or transmit a message

term denoting either an entrance or changes which are inserted into a system and which activate/modify a process

term denoting either an exit or changes which exit a system and which activate/modify a process

means by which a computer exchanges information with the outside world - devices that provide these services are called peripherals (keyboard and mouse (I), display and printer (O) - hard disk drives, floppy disks, and optical disc drivers serve as both

instance of a computer program that is being executed - contains the program code and its current activity - programs may execute several processes at the same time

the number of individual dots a printer can produce within a unit of distance (dots per inch, etc)

measure of spatial printing or video dot density, in particular the number of individual dots that can be placed in a line within the span of 1 inch (2.54 cm)

a typographic measurement specifying the number of characters that can fit on a printed line one inch long

the frequency with which a video image is refreshed, expressed as either frames per second or as an equivalent frequency

a single point in a raster image or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device - smallest unit of a picture that can be represented or controlled - address refers to the coordinates of the unit - represented by circles or squares - pieces of the original

device attached to host computer but not part of it and is more or less dependent on the host - examples include computer printer, image scanners, tape drives, microphones, speakers, webcams, etc

general term for the physical artifacts of a technology - physical components of a computer system

programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations - consists of some form of memory for data storage, at least one element that carries out arithmetic and logic operations, and a sequencing and control element that can change the order of operations based on the information that is stored - peripheral devices allow information to be entered from external source, and allow the results of operations to be sent out - processing unit executes series of instructions that read, manipulate and then store data

term which includes the computer along with any software or peripheral devices that are necessary to allow the computer to function properly

smallest unit of information on a machine - holds one of two values: 0 or 1 - used to classify a computer by the amount of data it registers or to identify how many bits each piece of information is in each address of memory

unit of storage capable of holding a single character - equal to 8 bits - often expressed in terms such as kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes

smallest unit of time recognized by a device - generally refers to the main system clock which is 66 Hz (66 million cycles per second)

represents one million cycles per second - example includes microprocessor - clock speed of microprocessor determines the number of instructions per second that the machine can execute

silicon chip that contains a CPU - control the logic of almost all digital devices - differentiate based on instruction set, bandwidth, and clock speed

time period during which one instruction is fetched from memory and executed when a computer is given an instruction in machine language - fetch, decode the instruction, read the effective address from memory if the instruction has an indirect address, execute the instruction

command set, the basic set of commands that a microprocessor understands

time a program or device takes to locate a single piece of information and make it available to the computer for processing - time should be fast enough to keep up with the CPU because if not CPU will waste a certain number of clock cycles thus making itself slower

the speed with which data can be transmitted from one device to another - often measured in megabits or megabytes per second

memory that loses its contents when the power is turned off - RAM/BIOS

types of memory that retain their contents when power is turned off - ROM/CMOS

part of a computer that performs all arithmetic computations such as addition and multiplication and all comparison operations - part of the CPU

numbering system, which consists of just two unique numbers, 0 and 1 - all operations that are possible in the decimal system (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) are equally possible in this system - for the computer, the binary system is more natural because of its electrical nature(charged versus uncharged) - this is why everything in computers seems to come in 8s (2 to the 3rd power),64s (2 to the 6th power), 128s (2 to the 7th power), and 256s (2 to the 8th power).

a code for representing English characters as numbers, with each letter assigned a number from 0 to 127 - represents text which makes it possible to transfer data from one computer to another - uses 7 bits for each character - others use 8 bits which gives them 128 additional characters (symbols)

code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial communications, and a number of miscellaneous functions - ROM BIOS meaning it will always be available - computers can boot itself

diagnostic testing sequence run by a computer's BIOS as the computer's power is initially turned on - determine if the RAM, disk drives, peripheral devices and other hardware is working properly - will reboot itself

technique used in advanced microprocessors where the microprocessor begins executing a second instruction before the first has been completed - several instructions running simultaneously, each at different processing stages

short-range radio technology or wireless technology aimed at simplifying communications among internet devices and between devices and the internet. It also aims to simplify data synchronization between internet devices and other computers.

protocol used to retrieve email from a mail server

protocol for retrieving emails message - with IMAP 4, you can search through your email for keywords while messages are still on mail server

a protocol for sending-email messages between
servers; most email systems that send mail over the internet use SMTP to send messages from one server to another, then the messages can be retrieved either using POP or IMAP

aprogram that accepts a certain type of data as input transforms it in some manner, and then outputs the transformed data - example, a program thatsorts names is a filter because it accepts the names in unsorted order, sorts them, and then outputs the sorted names

system that an operating system or program uses to organize and keep track of files.

operating system is designed to manage the computer so that one user can effectively do one thing at a time

lets a single user to have several programs in
operation at the same time

method of computing in which different parts of a
task are distributed between two or more similar central processing units within a single computer system, allowing the computer to complete operations more quickly and to handle larger, more complex procedures

contains two separate physical computer
processors in the same chassis, sharing resources

special high speed storage area within the CPU -all data must be represented in a register before it can be processed - example,
if two numbers are to be multiplied, both numbers must be in registers, and the result is also placed in a register

unit inside CPU which “directs the traffic”- makes
decisions - performs the function of fetch (to load an instruction or pieceof data from memory into a CPU’s register), decode (reversing the process of an encoding method), execute (to operate, to run) and store (to copy data from a CPU to a memory)

controls information and tells other parts what to
do - also determines how fast that computer can operate - a CPU generates lots
of heat, so there is usually a small fan nearby to cool it down