Tandy 1000 MS-DOS Reference Manual page 370

Glossary
BIOS Basic Input/Output System. A low level
interface between application programs and
MS-DOS and your computer hardware (the
keyboard, video screen, printer, disks, etc.). ~
BIOS services are available only through
machine language programming.
buffer A temporary storage area, usually in the-
-......J
computer's memory or on disk. Your com-
puter has buffer areas for such tasks as
reading and writing to disk and for storing
--"
text being sent to a printer.
command Instructions you give to your computer.
.-J
Type the command name, any parameters,
and press the
I
ENTER
I
key.
CON A device name in MS-DOS referring to the
L.....
console (screen or keyboard).
current The directory in which you are currently
directory
operating. Check Commands (Section
II)
for ~
ways to change the current directory.
current The operating drive (the drive that contains
drive
the disk you are using). Check the Com-
mands (Section II) for ways to change the
current drive.
----
cursor The screen prompt symbol. In MS-DOS it is
a flashing underscore symbol.
default An argument or parameter that is built into
~
a command. It is automatically selected if
you do not specify another argument or
parameter.
~
delimiter A symbol that separates commands and/or
parameters from one another. When used
1---:
with MS-DOS commands, a delimiter is a
space, comma, semicolon, equal sign, verti-
cal bar, or tab.
\
,
~
device A peripheral piece of equipment attached to
your computer, such as a printer, disk drive,
or monitor.
\
'--'
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