Prompt
A message displayed on the screen that tells you what action
you need to perform next.
RAM
Random Access Memory. The portion of the computer’s
memory used to run programs and store data while you work.
All data stored in RAM is erased when you turn off the
computer; so you must store any data you want to keep on a
diskette or hard disk.
Read
To move data from one area to another. For example, when
you open a text file stored on disk, the computer reads the data
from the disk and displays it on the screen.
Read/write head
The physical device inside a disk drive that reads and records
data on the magnetic surface of a disk.
Real-time clock
A battery-powered clock inside the computer that keeps track
of the rime and date, even when the computer is turned off.
Relative pathname
A pathname that does not begin with the backslash character.
A relative pathname tells MS-DOS how to find its way to a
given directory, starting at the current default directory. See
also Absolute pathname.
Reset
To reload a computer’s operating system so you can retry task
or begin using a different operating system. Resetting erases all
information in RAM.
Glossary 13