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Terms for computer junkies
PUMP up your computer-related vocabulary! Load your brains with these frequenty used i-terms.
Memory resident: Normally, a computer does not have enough memory to hold all the programs you use. When you want to run a program, therefore, the operating system is obliged to free some memory by copying data or programs from main memory to a disk. This process is known as swapping.
Certain programs, however, can be marked as being memory resident, which means that the operating system is not permitted to swap them out to a storage device; they will always remain in memory.
The programs and data used most frequently are the ones that should be memory resident. This includes central portions of the operating system and special programs, such as calendars and calculators, that you want to be able to access immediately.
Another term for memory resident is RAM resident. In DOS systems, memory-resident programs are called pop-up utilities or TSRs (terminate and stay resident).
Controller: A device that controls the transfer of data from a computer to a peripheral device and vice versa. For example, disk drives, display screens, keyboards, and printers all require controllers.
In personal computers, the controllers are often single chips. When you purchase a computer, it comes with all the necessary controllers for standard components, such as the display screen, keyboard, and disk drives. If you attach additional devices, however, you may need to insert new controllers that come on expansion boards.
Controllers must be designed to communicate with the computer’s expansion bus. There are three standard bus architectures for PCs, the AT bus, PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), and SCSI. When you purchase a controller, therefore, you must ensure that it conforms to the bus architecture that your computer uses.
ODS: Short for operational data store, a type of database that serves as an interim area for a data warehouse in order to store time-sensitive operational data that can be accessed quickly and efficiently. In contrast to a data warehouse, which contains large amounts of static data, an ODS contains small amounts of information that is updated through the course of business transactions. An ODS will perform numerous quick and simple queries on small amounts of data, such as acquiring an account balance or finding the status of a customer order, whereas a data warehouse will perform complex queries on large amounts of data. An ODS contains only current operational data while a data warehouse contains both current and historical data.
Metadata: Data about data. It describes how and when and by whom a particular set of data was collected, and how the data is formatted. Metadata is essential for understanding information stored in data warehouses.
Data vaulting: The process of sending data off-site, where it can be protected from hardware failures, theft, and other threats. Several companies now provide web backup services that will compress, encrypt, and periodically transmit a customer’s data to a remote vault. In most cases the vaults will feature auxiliary power supplies, powerful computers, and manned security.
Single signon: An authentication process in a client/server relationship where the user, or client, can enter one name and password and have access to more than one application or access to a number of resources within an enterprise. Single signon takes away the need for the user to enter further authentications when switching from one application to another.
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