Toshiba 8100 User Manual page 334

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Glossary
operating system: A set of programs that controls how the computer
works. Operating system functions include creating programs and
data files, and controlling the flow of information between the
processor, memory and devices. Examples of operating systems
used by computers are MS-DOS and Windows 95.
operating system disk: The disks containing the operating system. Also
known as system disks.
output: The results of a computer operation. Usually this is data 1)
printed on paper, 2) displayed on a screen, 3) sent through the serial
port or internal modem, or 4) stored on disk. See also input/output
(I/O).
P
palette: In some programs, a palette is a collection of drawing tools,
brush widths, line widths, and colors. In other programs, the palette
determines the number of colors that can be displayed on the screen.
parallel: Two or more processes or events that can happen at the same
time without interfering with each other.
parallel interface: A type of information exchange that simultaneously
transmits all the bits representing a character. It uses a separate line
for each data bit in a byte. In contrast, a serial interface transmits
characters along a single data line one bit at a time, making it much
slower than a parallel interface.
parity: A method in serial communications of making sure that the
information received is the same as the information that was sent. It
consists of adding an error detection bit to a group of data bits,
making the sum of the bits either odd or even. When you're using a
modem to connect to another computer, you can set parity to none,
odd or even. In general, you should set parity to none, unless you're
requested to do otherwise.
password: A unique string of characters used to identify a specific user or
group of users. A password may protect system parameters from
inadvertent changes, provide privacy for data, restrict the use of
certain programs or prevent other people from using the computer.
path (full path): The unique identifier for a file consisting of the file name
preceded by the drive, the top-level directory or folder and any
lower-level directories or folders.
Part III: Appendixes