Glossary of Computer Terms—W

Glossary of Computer Terms—W

W

WAIS: Stands for Wide Area Information Servers. Searches large indexes of information on the Internet.

WAIT STATE: An internal condition of delay in processing time executed by the CPU when a synchronizing control signal is not present. Wait states synchronize the timing of a CPU with the relatively slower access time of the computer’s main memory.

WAN: Stands for Wide Area Network, like the Internet.

WAV: Stands for WAVeform sound format. Microsoft’s format for encoding sound files.

WEBCAM: A video camera/computer setup that takes live images and sends them to a Web browser.

WINCHESTER DRIVE: See HARD-DISK DRIVE

WINDOW: A portion of a computer display used in a graphical interface that enables users to select commands by pointing to illustrations or symbols with a mouse. “Windows” is also the name Microsoft adopted for its popular operating system.

WINDOWING: The ability of a program to divide a display screen into smaller sub-units that permit portions of different sections of a program, or different programs, to be displayed on the screen, edited, and copied independently.

WORD PROCESSING (WP): The term refers to a program, that allows creating, editing, formatting, displaying, printing, and storage of text with great flexibility and ease. Different WP programs provide different, and sometimes, more desirable capabilities than others.

WORD: The set of binary bits handled by a computer as a primary unit of data. The width (number of bits) of a computer word depends on the hardware design. Wider words imply higher levels of precision, higher speed, and more intricate instructions. Typically, each location in memory contains one word.

WORD PROCESSOR: A computer system or program for setting, editing, revising, correcting, storing, and printing text.

WORLD WIDE WEB (“WWW” OR “THE WEB”): A network of servers on the Internet that use hypertext-linked databases and files. It was developed in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, and is now the primary platform of the Internet. The feature that distinguishes the Web from other Internet applications is its ability to display graphics in addition to text.

WORM (WRITE-ONCE, READ-MANY): A high-density optical disk memory available in a variety of formats from 5.25" to 14". The WORM can be programmed once, permanently saving a user’s data. It then becomes an optical disk read-only memory having essentially the same features as a CD-ROM. Also called CD-R (CD-RECORDABLE).

WORKSTATION: The work area and/or equipment used for computer operations, including computer-aided design (CAD). The equipment generally consists of a monitor, keyboard, printer and/or plotter, and other output devices.

WORKGROUP: Persons sharing files and data between themselves.

WPG: Stands for Word Perfect Graphics.

WRITE: The process of storing data into a memory. 
WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get. When using most word processors, page layout programs (See desktop publishing), and web page design programs, words and images will be displayed on the monitor as they will look on the printed page or web page.