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Glossary
This glossary explains many of the terms found in this
manual as well as other computer-related terms.
access — The ability to obtain data from or place data into
internal memory, a floppy, or the hard drive.
access shutter — A metal cover on a floppy that slides open
to allow the computer to read or write data.
adapter — A device that connects an option to the
computer.
application program — A program that instructs the
operating system to perform specific tasks by using either
off-the-shelf routines, such as word-processing, or
programming languages such as
BASIC that allow you to
design your own programs.
archiving — The process of storing back-up copies of data
files in a specific location.
ASCII — An acronym for the American Standard Code for
Information Interchange; an agreed-upon standard for the
assignment of numeric values to letters, digits, punctuation
marks, and control codes. The computer processes only
numbers even though characters, letters, and graphic
symbols appear on the screen. The
ASCII list is a set of
numeric values for the most frequently used characters.
The computer converts these numeric values to their binary
equivalents.
asynchronous communications software — The software
used to communicate with a subscription information
service, send or receive electronic mail, or process data
using a remote computer.
Glossary 1