| Adobe Systems Inc. |
The creators of PostScript fonts,
Adobe Acrobat, PDFs, Adobe PhotoShop, and Adobe Type Manager;
a pioneering company in desktop publishing software.Adobe's
Web site is at www.adobe.com. |
| Algorithm |
a
computer routine for solving a specific problem. A "hyphenation
algorithm" finds hyphenation points by a series of programmed
rules, rather than looking up each word in the dictionary. |
| Alphanumeric |
either
letters or numbers, such as you can type on a keyboard. |
| Analog |
expressed
in physical movements, as in a watch that shows the time with
moving hands (as opposed to "digital", which uses
numbers). |
| Analog data |
Non-discrete
values such as voltages or amperages rather than numerical codes.
|
| Application |
a
type of computer software that does a job for you. Often called
simply a program. |
| Archival storage |
the
keeping of a permanent record of images (text, graphics or pictures)
such as photographic films or magnetic tape that will remain
until intentionally destroyed or removed. This information may
be recalled, reused or altered and reused. |
| ASCII |
the
international standards codes used by most computers to symbolize,
numbers, punctuation, and certain special commands. Files are
often saved in the ASCII format for translation to other computers
or for modem transmissions. The ASCII set doesn't include notation
for paragraph formats or for text formatting such as bold or
italic, so when a file is saved in ASCII format, a lot of information
in the file may be lost. |
| Background processing |
computer
calculations on a system that take place in a place behind and
separate from the foreground place being used by the computer
or system operator. This allows the operator to continue his/
her interaction with the computer without delay. |
| Backup |
an
extra copy of your computer work, kept on a separate disk or
tape for safety's sake in case anything happens to the original.
|
| Bandwidth |
The bandwidth of a communications
channel is the range of frequencies the channel can handle.
The bandwidth is a limiting factor on the bit rate of the channel:
the greater the bandwidth, the greater the bit rate can be. |
| Batch |
an
older type of computer processing, where you enter all your
commands first and don't see what happens until later. The computer
runs all your commands as a batch and then shows you the results.
Batch programs are very powerful for certain tasks, like paginating
200 or 300 page books, but unfashionable today compared to interactive
programs, which work the opposite way, showing you every change
right away. |
| Baud |
stands
for Bits of Audio Data. A measure of how fast information can
be sent across a telephone wire, or between machines. The higher
the baud rate, the faster you can send information. |
| Bit |
the
digits O to 1, the elemental units of the binary numbering system
that all computers use. Bit stands for Binary digiT. It takes
8 bits to make a byte. |
| Bit-mapped |
a
computer screen (and resulting images) where each individual
pixel can be turned on or off, used for showing various typefaces
and graphics. The more bits (or dots); per square inch, the
higher the resolution, and the easier to read and see detail.
|
| Block |
a
chunk of text that you mark so you can do something to it; indent,
erase, move, or copy it all as one piece. |
| Buffer |
an
area in memory in a computer used for the temporary storage
of data waiting to be processed. |
| Byte |
eight
bits of data. |
| Bps |
Bits per second. (See Mbps and Kbps) |
| CGA |
Color Graphics Adapter. An early
IBM hardware video display standard, with a maximum resolution
of 640x200 pixels. It was widely used in the mid-1980s, but
then was superseded by EGA. |
| Character fit |
the way
in which adjacent characters of type fit together. |
| Chip |
a very
small piece of silicon containing an electronic circuit. |
| Circuit boards |
the
rectangular cards on which chips and other components are assembled
into functional groups. You can plug extra circuit boards into
computers with slots. |
| Clip art |
non-copyright
drawings, photos and type, used by publishers to illustrate
newspapers, magazine, books, advertising, etc. Many companies
now offer clip art collections on compact disk or available
for download; there are thousands of low-cost or free images
available. |
| CISC |
(Complex Instruction Set Computing)
-A chip architecture that uses a robust complement of instructions.
Although a CISC-based computer instruction can perform a lot
of work, the instruction can require many CPU cycles to do it.
(See RISC). |
| Clipboard |
a
part of memory where blocks of text or graphics are temporarily
stored after they are cut or copied. You can then paste anything
in the clipboard into another document. |
| Colour Separation |
The
process of converting a colour photograph or drawing into its
four component spectral colours: cyan, yellow, magenta and black
(CYMK), in order that the image can be printed on a printing
press. |
| Compile |
software is created in a programming
language, such as Pascal or C, and the usually com17iled into an application so
that the user doesn't have to see the code. |
| Compression |
the
process of compacting or reducing the amount of data available
for use or reproduction such as the density range. |
| CPU |
(Central
Processing Unit) -The hardware, and possibly software, that
manages the "traffic" of computer operations. CPUs
are classified as either CISC or RISC. |
| CSS |
cascading style sheets. A style sheet
mechanism that has been specifically developed for Web page
designers and users. Style sheets describe how documents are
presented on screens, in print, and even in spoken voice. Style
sheets allow the user to change the appearance of hundreds of
Web pages by changing just one file. A style sheet is made up
of rules that tell a browser how to present a document. Numerous
properties may be defined for an element; each property is given
a value. Examples are font properties, color and background
properties, text properties, box properties, classification
properties, and units. The term cascading refers to the fact
that more than one style sheet can be used on the same document,
with different levels of importance. There are differences between
CSS and XSL (Extensible Style Language).Both languages can be
used with XML, but only CSS can be used with HTML. XSL, however,
is a transformation language, and can be used to transform XML
data into HTML/CSS documents on a Web server. |
| Cursor |
the
block, underline, or flashing point that shows where you are
on the computer screen. |
| CYMK |
cyan,
yellow, magenta and black, the component colours of process
colour separations. |
| DARPA |
Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency.The Federal agency that began as ARPA, and started the
Internet.It became ARPA again in 1990. |
| Data |
information.
|
| Data Compression |
a
technique for removing portions of electronically stored data
using an algorithm that will restore the data when needed. This
process reduces the storage space and the time required per
file for transmission. A 10:1 compression ratio (10 pixels reduced
to 1) is considered acceptable. |
| Data Transmission |
sending
electronic data from place to place via cable, wire, fiber optics,
microwave or satellite (input or output). |
| Default |
a
pre-set value which the computer uses unless you tell it to
use something different. You can have a default setting for
your margins in a word processor, which is like having your
margins set to a certain width on a typewriter -they stay that
way until you deliberately change them. |
| Digital |
discrete
values of electronic information expressed in numbers (stored
as a series of ones and zeros), as in a watch that shows the
time in numbers (as opposed to "analog"). |
| Digital soft proof |
a
colour video monitor display of a picture file, data file or
text file. |
| Digitizing tablet |
a
work surface used to make computer graphics, usually by drawing
with a light pen. Digitizing means expressing anything, such
as a graphic, as a series of numbers. |
| Diskette |
the
removable slips of plastic that store computer information (also
referred to as "disks"). The diskette drive (or "disk
drive") is the part of the computer into which you insert
the diskette. |
| Disk Array |
In
the context of disk subsystems, a collection of one or more
groups of disk modules and one or more SCSI buses that participate
in a RAID redundancy scheme. Each group in an array appears
to the operating system as a single physical disk. |
| Disk Transfer Rate |
Disk
Transfer The time that it takes a disk to read or write data
once the heads Rate are over the proper track and sector. |
| Download |
To transfer files or data from one
computer to another. To download means to receive; to upload
means to transmit. |
| Drawing |
in
desktop pubIishing, "drawing software" employs vector
graphic, as opposed to "painting software", which
uses bit- mapped graphics.
|
