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Glossary
character—Any letter, number, or symbol you can use on the computer.
Some characters are non-printing characters, such as a paragraph
break in a word-processing program. A character occupies one byte
of computer storage.
chip—A small piece of silicon containing computer logic and circuits for
processing, memory, input/output, and/or control functions. Chips
are mounted on printed circuit boards.
click—To press and release the pointing device’s primary button without
moving the pointing device. In the Windows
®
operating system, this
refers to the pointing device’s left button, unless otherwise stated.
See also double-click.
color palette—A set of specified colors that establishes the colors that
can be displayed on the screen at a particular time.
compatibility—The extent to which computers, programs, or devices
can work together harmoniously, using the same commands,
formats, or language as another.
configuration—(1) The collection of components that make up a single
computer system. (2) How parts of the system are set up (that is,
configured).
controller—A device that controls the transfer of data from a computer
to a peripheral device and vice versa. For example, disk drives,
monitors, keyboards, and printers all require controllers.
CPU—See Central Processing Unit (CPU).
CPU cache—A section of very fast memory residing between the CPU
and the computer’s main memory that temporarily stores data and
instructions the CPU will need to execute commands and programs.
See also cache, L1 cache, L2 cache.
cursor—An on-screen symbol (usually a flashing vertical line) that
indicates the position where characters will appear when you enter
data.
D
default—The setting selected by a program when the user does not
specify an alternative setting.
device—A component attached to the computer. Devices may be
external (outside the computer’s case) or internal (inside the
computer’s case). Printers, disk drives, and modems are examples of
devices.