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5–8 Learning More About Your Computer
Understanding Computer Terms
close session
When a session is closed, information about its contents is written
into the Table of Contents of the CDs, and a lead-in and lead-out are
written to prepare the CD for subsequent sessions.
coaster
Popular term for a ruined recordable CD, named after the round
object you rest your drinking glass on to avoid marking the table.
component
a device installed inside the computer. Examples are the CD-ROM,
CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, Zip, disk, and hard drives, memory
chips, modem, graphics cards, and sound cards. See peripheral.
cursor
The blinking vertical line on the screen that indicates where the next
character appears when you type.
D
data
Information that can be processed by a computer. See digital.
data file
Files that you create with a computer program. Most programs are
designed to process a specific type of data. For example, spreadsheet
programs allow you to create data files primarily with numbers; word
processing programs primarily with letters; page design programs,
with text and graphics; drawing programs, with lines; photo
manipulation programs, with photos and drawings; and music
programs, with sounds.
database
Collection of related data designed to retrieve useful information
easily.