Glossary - Motorola VC70N0 Product Reference Manual

Glossary

A
API. An interface by means of which one software component communicates with or controls another. Usually used to refer
to services provided by one software component to another, usually via software interrupts or function calls
Application Programming Interface. See API.
ASCII. American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A 7 bit-plus-parity code representing 128 letters, numerals,
punctuation marks and control characters. It is a standard data transmission code in the U.S.
B
BIOS. Basic Input Output System. A collection of ROM-based code with a standard API used to interface with standard PC
hardware.
Bit. Binary digit. One bit is the basic unit of binary information. Generally, eight consecutive bits compose one byte of data.
The pattern of 0 and 1 values within the byte determines its meaning.
Bits per Second (bps). Bits transmitted or received.
bps. See Bits Per Second.
Byte. On an addressable boundary, eight adjacent binary digits (0 and 1) combined in a pattern to represent a specific
character or numeric value. Bits are numbered from the right, 0 through 7, with bit 0 the low-order bit. One byte in
memory is used to store one ASCII character.
boot or boot-up. The process a computer goes through when it starts. During boot-up, the computer can run self-diagnostic
tests and configure hardware and software.