Glossary of Computer Terms—P
P
PALM: A hand-held
computer.
PASCAL: A high-level
programming language that is structured to encourage efficient programming
habits (documentation) and is used extensively in educational institutions and
engineering environments.
PARALLEL
OPERATION: A method of data transmission in which all bits of
a digital word are handled simultaneously with each bit on a separate line.
Although faster and simpler to install and operate than SERIAL OPERATION, this
method requires more transmission lines (real estate).
PARITY: A method of
verifying the accuracy of binary data after it has been transferred to or from
a storage area.
PARTITION: A portion of a
hard disk that functions as a separate unit. A single hard disk can be divided
into several partitions, each of which functions as a separate drive and has
its own volume name (such as D:, E:, F:, and so on). The purpose is to make the
drive more efficient, as the computer can search smaller sections for a
specific file rather than the entire drive. The verb to partition refers to the
process of dividing the hard drive into partitions.
PC BOARD: Printed Circuit
board. A board printed or etched with a circuit and processors. Power supplies,
information storage devices, or changers are attached.
PCMCIA (PERSONAL
COMPUTER MEMORY CARD INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION): A package in a
plastic card form containing semiconductor memory, particularly FLASH. These
cards are plugged into the card slot in laptop computers.
PDA: Personal Digital
Assistant. A hand-held computer that can store daily appointments, phone
numbers, addresses, and other important information. Most PDAs link to a
desktop or laptop computer to download or upload information.
PDF: Stands for
Portable Document Format. A technology developed by Adobe and was designed to
capture all of the elements of a printed document and place it in a singe image
file. This PDF file can be navigated, printed or attached to an email for
sharing. In order to be able to view a PDF file on your computer, you will need
to download and install the free Acrobat Reader. Once installed, anytime a PDF
file is clicked, the image file will automatically be viewed.
PEER TO PEER: A type of
network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and
responsibilities. This differs from client/server architectures, in which some
computers are dedicated to serving the others. Peer-to-peer networks are
generally simpler and less expensive, but they usually do not offer the same
performance under heavy loads.
PEN DRIVE: A small
keyring-sized device that can be used to easily transfer files between
USB-compatible systems. Available in a range of capacities (and in some cases,
with an MP3 player built-in). Plug it in to any USB port and it will be
automatically detected by the Operating System.
PENTIUM CHIP: Intel’s fifth
generation of sophisticated high-speed microprocessors. Pentium means “the
fifth element.”
PERIPHERAL: A term
designating the various kinds of machines and devices that work in conjunction
with a computer but are not necessarily part of the computer structure.
Typically, peripherals refer to: printers,
keyboards, monitors, scanners, CD ROM drives, and plotters. A hard drive,
floppy disk drive, and a MODEM are considered to be peripheral devices even
though they may be physically located inside a computer.
PERSONAL
COMPUTER (PC): A single-user computer containing a central
processing unit (CPU) and one or more memory circuits.
PETABYTE: A measure of
memory or storage capacity and is approximately a thousand terabytes.
PETAFLOP: A theoretical
measure of a computer’s speed and can be expressed as a thousand-trillion
floating-point operations per second.
PICT: Pronounced
“Pick,t.” It is another image format.
PLATFORM: The operating
system, such as UNIX®, Macintosh®, Windows?, on which a
computer is based.
PLUG-IN: This is a
program that your browser uses to manipulate a downloaded file. It differs from
a Helper Application in that the plug-in works inside the browser window.
PLUG AND PLAY: Computer
hardware or peripherals that come set up with necessary software so that when
attached to a computer, they are “recognized” by the computer and are ready to
use.
PLUG-COMPATIBLE:
A term that describes the ability of peripherals to be interchanged
without modification.
POLLING: A process in
which a number of peripheral devices, remote stations, or nodes in a computer
network are interrogated, one at a time, to determine if service is required.
POP (Post Office
Protocol): An Internet protocol that enables a single user to
read e-mail from a mail server.
POP (Point of
Presence): A site that has an array of telecommunications
equipment:
modems, digital, leased lines and Internet routers. An Internet access
provider may operate several regional PoPs to provide Internet connections
within local phone service areas. An alternative is for access providers to
employ virtual PoPs (virtual Points of Presence) in conjunction with third
party provider.
POP-UP MENU: A menu window
that opens vertically or horizontally onscreen to display context-related
options. Also called drop-down menu or pull-down menu.
PORT: An input/output
channel (either parallel or serial), terminated at a connector on the computer.
It interconnects the computer’s input and/or output terminals to an appropriate
source and/or destination.
PORTRAIT: A term that
designates the position of conventional printing across the width of a page.
POSITIVE LOGIC: This logic
represents the reverse of NEGATIVE LOGIC. It is the more commonly used form of
logic. A positive voltage represents a “1” state and a negative (or zero)
voltage represents a “0” state.
POWER PC: A competitor of
the Pentium chip. It is a new generation of powerful sophisticated
microprocessors produced from an Apple-IBMMotorola alliance.
PPP: Stands for
Point To Point Protocol. It’s a software application that allows an attachment
to a server.
PRINT SPOOLER: A device for
temporarily storing data to be printed when the printer is functioning. It
provides uninterrupted data entry and editing while the printer is active and
while other data awaits transmission to the printer.
PRINTER: A mechanical device
for printing a computer’s output on paper.
PROGRAM: A complete
sequence of computer software instructions necessary to provide an application,
solve a specific problem, perform an action, or respond to external stimuli in
a prescribed manner. As a verb, it means to develop a program.
PROGRAM COUNTER
(PC): A special-purpose register in the CPU which contains the address of the
next instruction to be fetched and executed. PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC ARRAY
(PLA): An unprogrammed, generalpurpose logic structure in monolithic IC form
consisting of an array of similar, and/or compatible logic gates. Also called
PROGRAMMABLE ARRAY LOGIC (PAL).
PROGRAMMABLE
READ-ONLY MEMORY (PROM): A blank read-only memory (ROM) that is
programmed with external programming equipment after manufacture. Once
programmed, it is not re-programmable and is considered to be a ROM.
PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGE: A series of instructions written by a programmer
according to a given set of rules or conventions (“syntax”). High-level
programming languages are independent of the device on which the application
(or program) will eventually run; low-level languages are specific to each
program or platform. Programming language instructions are converted into
programs in language specific to a particular machine or operating system
(“machine language”) so that the computer can interpret and carry out the
instructions. Some common programming languages are BASIC, C, C++, dBASE,
FORTRAN, and Perl.
PROPAGATION
DELAY: The time required for the output of a logic gate to respond to a
combination of input pulses.
PROTOCOLS: Computer rules
that provide uniform specifications so that computer hardware and operating
systems can communicate. It’s similar to the way that mail, in countries around
the world, is addressed in the same basic format so that postal workers know
where to find the recipient’s address, the sender’s return address and the
postage stamp. Regardless of the underlying language, the basic “protocols”
remain the same.
PROXY-SERVER: A server that
acts as an intermediary between a workstation user and the internet so that the
enterprise can ensure security, administrative control, and caching service. A
proxy server is associated with, or part of, a gateway server that separates
the enterprise network from the outside network and a firewall server that
protects the enterprise network from the outside intrusion.
PUCK: An input
device, like a mouse. It has a magnifying glass with crosshairs on the front of
it that allows the operator to position it precisely when tracing a drawing for
use with CAD-CAM software.
PULL-DOWN MENU: A menu window
that opens vertically on-screen to display context-related options. Also called
drop-down menu or pop-up menu.
PUSH: The instruction
used to deposit a word on top of a stack.
PUSH-DOWN STACK:
A dedicated temporary storage register in a computer, sometimes part of
a system memory, structured so that data (words) in the stack are retrieved in
reverse order of entry. See LIFO.
PUSH TECHNOLOGY: Internet tool that delivers specific information directly to a user’s desktop, eliminating the need to surf for it. PointCast, which delivers news in user-defined categories, is a popular example of this technology.
PUSH TECHNOLOGY: Internet tool that delivers specific information directly to a user’s desktop, eliminating the need to surf for it. PointCast, which delivers news in user-defined categories, is a popular example of this technology.
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