AMSTRAD cpc 6128 User Instruction page 448

BIOS
Basic Input/Output System. This is the hardware dependent part of CP/M that is
written specifically for one type of computer. All the input and output to the screen,
keyboard, disc and so on is performed through the BIOS.
Bit
Shortform of BInary digiT. A binary digit is one of the two digits, represented by 0
and 1, that are used in the binary number system.
Bit Significant
Where the information contained in a number is extracted by considering the state of
each ofthe eight bits that make up the complete byte. The overall decimal value may
have no meaning.
Boolean algebra
The statement of logical relationships where there can only be two answers: true or
false. Usually signified as 1 or
O.
Boot
The process ofloading an operating system into memory. When CP/M is started from
BASIC a small boot program is loaded automatically from the disc, which then loads
the rest of the operating system into memory.
Booting or Bootstrapping
Programs and operating systems don't load themselves, they are 'bootstrapped' by a
small routine in ROM (usually), that initiates the loading processes at a specific
location in memory.
Buffer
An area of memory reserved for temporarily storing, or buffering, information during
an information transfer.
Bug
A problem on a scale ranging from an 'unexpected feature' based on some obscure
aspect of the use 6f a program (e.g. if you press four keys at once, the screen changes
colour), to a sequence that completely and irrevokably crashes a computer program
and wipes the memory clean of all data.
Glossary Appendix 2 Page 5