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____________________________________________________ APPENDIX
GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMS
Assembly Language
A language similar in structure to machine language, but made up of mnemonics
and symbols. Programs written in assembly language are slightly less difficult to write and understand than
programs in machine language.
BASIC
Stands for Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Code. BASIC is one of the most popular "high level"
computer languages available. It is referred to as high level because it makes use of English language
commands to write the program.
Baud
Refers to the rate at which digital information is transmitted or communicated to another system.
The baud rate is given in bits per second, and since each transmitted character has 10 bits on most
systems, the baud rate must be divided by 10 to get characters per second. For example, a baud rate of
1200 will transmit 120 characters per second.
Bit
The smallest piece of information a computer can handle. A bit represents either an on or off condition
in the system's electronics (or 0 or 1 in the binary number system). Several bits (usually 8 or 16) are
combined to make a character, just as several characters are combined to make a word.
Byte
A byte is equivalent to one character. For example, the word "and" is three bytes: "a", "n" and "d"
are each one byte. On the 820, each byte is made up of 8 bits. The storage space on a disk is usually given
in bytes; for example a disk that has 81,000 bytes will hold 81,000 characters.
Bug
Used to refer to a problem or malfunction or an operation that is contrary to the documentation in a
program or a system.
Bus
A port or group of ports (plugs or electronic circuits) that provide the capability to connect two or more
microprocessors or input/output devices. The port includes lines for data, memory address and processor
control.
CP/M®
Stands for Control Program for Microprocessors. CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital
Research, Inc., and is an industry standard operating system for small computers. CP/M tells the compo-
nents of your system (the keyboard, disk drives, screen and printer) how to work together: how to display a
character typed on the keyboard on the screen, how to record information typed on the screen on the disk,
how to print information on the disk at the printer, etc.
CPU
Stands for Central Processing Unit, which is a computer's main processing center. The CPU is the
brains of the system: it holds the control system, arithmetic and logic units and some memory. The CPU is
where information from the disk and keyboard are processed.
CRT
Stands for Cathode Ray Tube, which is the system's screen or display device.
Debug
Refers to the process of finding and correcting mistakes or problems in a software program.
Glitch
An error or problem in the computer components. Usually refers to a problem caused by line noise
(inconsistencies in the electricity) or electromagnetic interference.
High-level Language
Any programming language that uses English-like commands, such as BASIC,
COBOL, FORTRAN, Pascal, etc. These languages are easy for beginners to learn. The computer must
change the commands into machine language through software programs called interpreters or compilers.
CP/M® is a registered trademark of Digital Research Incorporated, Pacific Grove, California.
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