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Glossary
buffer: The portion of the computer's memory where data is temporarily
bus: An interface for transmission of signals, data or electric power.
byte: The representation of a single character. A sequence of eight bits
C
cache memory: High speed memory which stores data that increases
card: Synonym for board. See board.
CardBus: An industry standard bus for 32-bit PC Cards.
capacity: The amount of data that can be stored on a magnetic storage
CD-ROM: A Compact Disk-Read Only Memory is a high capacity disk that
Centronics: The printer manufacturer whose method of data transmission
CGA: colour/graphics adapter. A video display protocol defined by the IBM
character: Any letter, number, punctuation mark, or symbol used by the
chassis: The frame containing the computer.
chip: A small semiconductor containing computer logic and circuitry for
CMOS: Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor. An electronic circuit
cold start: Starting a computer that is currently off (turning on the power).
COM1, COM2, COM3 and COM4: The names assigned to the serial and
Glossary-4
stored. Buffers often compensate for differences in the rate of flow
from one device to another.
treated as a single unit; also the smallest addressable unit within the
system.
processor speed and data transfer rate. When the CPU reads data
from main memory, it stores a copy of this data in cache memory.
The next time the CPU needs that same data, it looks for it in the
cache memory rather than the main memory, which saves time. The
computer has two cache levels. Level one is incorporated into the
processor and level two resides in external memory.
device such as a diskette (floppy disk) or hard disk. It is usually
described in terms of kilobytes (KB), where one KB = 1024 bytes
and megabytes (MB), where one MB = 1024 KB.
can be read from but not written to. The CD-ROM drive uses a laser,
rather than magnetic heads, to read data from the disk.
between a parallel printer and a computer has become an industry
standard.
colour/Graphics Monitor Adapter and its associated circuitry. This
protocol supports two-colour 640x200 and four-colour 320x200
graphics, and 16-colour 640x200 and 320x200 text modes.
computer. Also synonymous with byte.
processing, memory, input/output functions and controlling other
chips.
fabricated on a silicon wafer that requires very little power.
Integrated circuits implemented in CMOS technology can be tightly
packaged and are highly reliable.
communication ports.
User's Manual
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