Computer Analysis
Terms
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- 802.11
- series of network standards developed by IEEE that specifies how two wireless devices communicate over the air with each other. Also called wireless Ethernet standard.
- .net
- Set of technologies that allows almost any type of program to run on the Internet or an internal business network
- actor
- User or other entity, such as application software, that interacts with an information system
- artificial intelligence (AI)
- Application of human intelligence to computers. AI technology can sense a person's actions and, based on logical assumptions and prior experience, take the appropriate action to complete a task
- AI Shell
- programming environment of export system
- Architecture
- the way communication takes place
- Applet
- Program that usually is compiled, adding special multimedia effects and interactive capabilities to Web pages. When the client computer is connected to the Web, applets allow a transfer of information to and from a Web server
- Application Service Provider (ASP)
- program designed to make users more productive and/or assist them with personal tasks
- Assembler
- Program used to convert an assembly language source program into machine language
- Assembly Language
- Programming language that produces instructions written using symbolic instruction codes. Assembly language is the second generation of programming
- Availability
- Measure of how often hardware is online
- Back Up
- To copy selected files or an entire hard disk onto another disk or tape to use if the original is lost or damaged
- Biometric Device
- Device that authenticates a person's identity by translating a personal characteristic, such as a fingerprint, into a digital code that is then compared with a digital code stored in the computer verifying a physical or behavioral characteristic
- Blade Servers
- Servers that pack a complete computer server, such as a Web server or network server, on a single card, or blade, rather than a system unit. Blade servers can hold 16 or more blades in the physical space occupied by a single server. Also called ultradense servers
- Bookmark
- what FrontPage calls anchors
- Bulleted List
- the basic list type as a dot
- Computer-aided design
- Computer and special software used to aid product design
- Cable Television (CATV)
- A television distribution system in which station signals, picked up by elevated antennas, are delivered by cable to the receivers of subscribers
- CGI (Common Gateway Interface_ Script
- Program that manages the sending and receiving of data between the front end of a database and the database server
- Character
- A number, letter, punctuation mark, or other symbol that is represented by a single byte in the ASCII and EBCDIC coding schemes
- Check Box
- used to collect a yes/no response to a question
- Class Diagram
- UML tool that graphically shows classes and subclasses in a system
- Coaxial Cable
- Type of physical transmission medium that consists of a single copper wire surrounded by at least three layers: (1) an insulating material, (2) a woven or braided metal, and (3) a plastic outer coating. Also called coax
- Content Page
- the page that shows all the connected pages in the web site, allows you to navigate through the web site
- Cookie
- A small text file that a Web server stores on a user's computer, which is used by e-commerce and other Web applications to identify the user and customize Web pages. Cookie files typically contain data about the user, such as the user name or viewing preferences
- Data Access Page
- a web page that uses a form to display data from the Access table or query on which it is based
- Data Mining
- Process that often is used by data warehouses to find patterns and relationships among data
- Database Connection
- specifies the name, location, and type of database that you want to access
- Database Administrator (DBA)
- Person with a more technical inside view of the data in a database than a database analyst. The database administrator creates and maintains the data dictionary, manages security of the database, monitors the performance of the database, and checks backup and recovery procedures
- Defragmenting
- reorganizing a disk so that files are stored in contiguous sectors, thus speeding up disk access and the performance of the entire computer
- Data Flow Diagram
- Tool used for process modeling that graphically shows the flow of data in a system. Also called DFD
- Dynamic HTML (DHTML)
- Newer type of HTML used by developers to include more graphical interest and interactivity in a Web page, without the Web page accessing the Web server
- Digital Certificate
- A notice, commonly used by e-commerce applications, that guarantees a user or a Web site is legitimate
- Disk-based website
- lets you store and retrieve web pages on a computer’s disk drive,
- Driver
- small program that tells an operating system how to communicate with a specific device
- Drop-down box
- used when you want to present several choices in a single form filed
- Drop-down menu
- used when you want to present several choices in a single form filed
- DSL
- Type of digital dedicated line that transmits data at fast speeds on existing standard copper telephone wiring. DSL is short for Digital Subscriber Line
- Decision Support System
- Information system that helps users analyze data and make decisions
- Encapsulation
- Concept of packaging data and procedures into a single object
- Encryption
- Process of encoding data and information into an unreadable form, which is used to protect sensitive data and information
- ERD
- Tool used for process modeling that graphically shows the connections among entities in a system. ERD is short for entity-relationship diagram
- Ergonomics
- An applied science that is devoted to incorporating comfort, efficiency, and safety into the design of items in the workplace
- Ethernet
- Type of network technology that allows nodes to contend for access to a network. If two computers on the network attempt to send data at the same time, a collision occurs, and the computers must attempt to send their messages again. Ethernet is based on a bus topology, but Ethernet networks can be wired in a star pattern. Ethernet data transfer rates range from 10 Mbps to up to 10 Gbps. Today, Ethernet is based on a bus topology, but Ethernet networks can be wired in a star pattern. Ethernet data transfer rates range from 10 Mbps to up to 10 Gbps. Today, Ethernet is the most popular LAN technology
- Event
- Action to which a program responds, such as pressing a key on the keyboard, typing a value into a text box, moving the mouse, clicking a button, or speaking an instruction
- Expert System
- Information system that captures and stores the knowledge of human experts and then imitates human reasoning and decision making
- Feasibility
- Measure of how suitable the development of a system will be to the company. Four tests that evaluate feasibility of a project include operational feasibility, schedule feasibility, technical feasibility, and economic feasibility
- Fiber-optic Cable
- Type of physical transmission medium that consists of dozens or hundreds of thin strands of glass or plastic that use light to transmit signals
- Field
- a combination of one or more related characters or bytes, a field is the smallest unit of data a user accesses
- File
- named collection of stored data, instructions, or information
- Form Handler
- a program that collects and processes the form’s data in a predetermined manner
- Formatting
- process of dividing a disk into tracks and sectors so the operating system can store and locate data and information on the disk
- Frames Page
- a single web page divided into two or more windows each of which can contain a separate, scrollable, page
- Graphical User Interface (GUI)
- type of user interface that allows a user to interact with software using text, graphics, and visual images, such as icons
- Hierarchical
- classified according to various criteria into successive levels or layers, used to organize web pages in navigation view in FrontPage, also organizes what web pages have links to other web pages
- Hit Counter
- a component that counts the number of times a page in a web site has been opened or refreshed using a web browser
- HTML Heading
- the heading options available for a Web page are limited to those defined by HTML tags, HTML provides 6 levels of heading identified as h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, and h6 (with h1 having the largest font and h6 having the smallest)
- HTML tags
- tags that a web browser interprets to display data in the desired format on a client computer
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol
- a set of rules that defines how pages transfer on the internet, also known as http
- Hub (Connecting Networks)
- Device that provides a central point for cables in a network. Some hubs contain routers, allowing them to receive data from many directions and then forward it to one or more destinations
- Hub (star network)
- Central device that provides a common connection point for nodes on a star network
- Hyperlink
- built-in connection to another related web page or part of a web page
- hypertext
- the type of text that a web site interprets, used to insure that the text is displayed correctly when viewed in a browser
- IIS (Internet Information Service)
- is intended to meet the needs of a range of users, makes it easy to share documents and information across a company intranet or the Internet, and is completely integrated with Windows NT Directory Services.
- Image Map
- Graphical image on a Web page that points to a URL
- Indexes
- List of data about the content that users have added to a CMS, organized so that the data can later be searched
- Inference engine
-
a program that infers new facts from known facts using
inference rules, search through rule base - interoperability
- is ability to share information with other information systems within enterprise, system that shares information easily is said to be open
- ISDN (Intregrated Service Digital Network)
- Set of standards for digital transmission of data over standard copper telephone lines. With ISDN, the same telephone line that could carry only one computer signal now can carry three or more signals at once through the same line
- Kernel
- The core of an operating system that manages memory and devices, maintains the computer’s clock, starts applications, and assigns the computer’s resources.
- Latency
- The time it takes a signal to travel from one location to another on a network
- Link Bar
- the feature in a web page that contains hyperlinks that open other pages in the web site
- Log
- A listing, maintained by more complex DBMSs, of activities that change the contents of a database
- Macro (application program)
- Series of statements that instructs an application how to complete a task, allowing users to automate routine, repetitive, or difficult tasks
- Macro (assembly language)
- Statement that generates many machine language instructions for a single assembly language instruction
- Macro Recorder
- Element of software used to record a macro
- Macros
- Instructions saved in an application such as a word processing or spreadsheet program. Viruses sometimes are hidden in macros
- Main page
- the center page in a frames page, is the page that is used to display the other pages in the web site when you click on a link
- meta tag
- an HTML tag that includes information about a web page
- Mirroring
- Simplest RAID storage configuration, which writes data on two disks at a the same time to duplicate the data. Also called level 1
- management Information system (MIS)
- Curriculum that teaches students technical knowledge and skills and focuses on how to apply these skills. Also called management information technology or computer information systems (CIS).
- modeling
- A preliminary work or construction that serves as a plan from which a final product is to be made, Such a work or construction used in testing or perfecting a final product
- Material Requirment Planning (MRP)
- Approach to information management in a manufacturing environment that uses software to help monitor and control processes related to production
- Multidimensional Database
- Type of database that stores data in more than two dimensions, which allows users to access and analyze any view of the database data
- Multiplexing
- ISDN line technique of carrying three or more signals at once through the same line
- Node
- A computer or device that is part of a network
- Noise
- An electrical disturbance that occurs when any unwanted signal is mixed with the normal voltage entering a computer. Noise is caused by external devices such as fluorescent lighting, radios, and televisions, as well as by components within the computer itself. Noise generally is not a risk to hardware, software, or data
- Normalization
- Process that is used by a developer of relational databases to organize data and that is designed to ensure that the data within the relations (tables) contains the least amount of duplication
- Object
- Item that can contain both data and the procedures that read or manipulate the data. An object represents a real person, place, event, or transaction. A database item that contains data, as well as the actions that read or process the data
- Object Code
- Machine language version of a program that results from compiling the third-generation language. Also called object program
- Office Information System (OIS)
- Information system that enables employees to perform tasks using computers and other electronic devices, instead of performing them manually. Also called office automation
- Object0oriented (OO) analysis and design
- Analysis and design technique that combines data with the processes that act on that data into a single unit, called an object
- Object-Oriented (OO) design
- Program design approach in which a programmer packages the data and the program (or procedure) into a single unit, an object
- Object0oriented database (OODB)
- A type of database that stores data in objects, which are items that contain data, as well as the actions that read or process the data
- Object-oriented Programming (OOP) language
- Language used to implement an object-oriented design. OOP allows programmers to reuse and modify existing objects, resulting in faster program creation. An OOP language also is event driven. An event is an action to which a program responds, such as pressing a key on the keyboard, typing a value into a text box, moving the mouse, clicking a button, or speaking an instruction
- Packets
- Small pieces that data is divided into during data transmission over networks. Packets contain the data, the recipient (destination), the origin (sender), and the sequence information used to reassemble the data at the destination
- Packet Switching
- Technique of breaking a message into individual packets, sending the packets along the best route available, and then reassembling the data
- Payload
- The destructive event or prank that a malicious-logic program is intended to deliver
- Permission
- allow a web site developer to control who can browse, author, or administer a web site after it has been published
- platform
- Set of programs containing instructions that coordinate all the activities among computer hardware resources. Also called Operating System (OS)
- process
- Action that transforms an input data flow into an output data flow, shown graphically in a data flow diagram
- protocol
- standard that outlines characteristics of how two networks devices communicate
- query
- A request for specific data from a database. Query results can be displayed, printed, or stored
- radio button
- usually arranged in groups in a form
- RAID (redundant array of independent disks)
- Group of two or more integrated hard disks, used to duplicate data, instructions, and information to improve data reliability
- RAID 0
- stripping without parity, no fault tolerance, high performance, extremely difficult to recover in case of disk failure
- RAID 1
- mirroring or duplexing, complete redundancy, hurts write performance, improves some read performance
- RAID 5
- block level stripping with distributed parity, good performance, good fault tolerance, high capacity storage efficiency, best suited for TPS and ERP systems, performance degrades in high write situations
- Record
- A group of related fields in a database
- relation
- Name used by a developer of a relational database to refer to a file
- relational database
- Type of database that stores data in tables that consist of rows and columns. A relational database also stores data relationships, which are connections within the data
- relationship
- A connection within the data in a database
- radio frequency identification (RFI)
- A technology that uses radio signals to communicate with a tag placed in an object, an animal, or a person.
- request for proposal (RFP)
- Document that summarizes the technical requirements of an information system. The RFP is used by potential vendors to select the product(s) that meets the specified requirements and then quote the price(s)
- request for Quotation (RFQ)
- Document that summarizes the technical requirements of an information system and identifies desired product(s) for the system. The RFQ is used by potential vendors to quote a price for the listed product(s)
- Request for System services (RFSS)
- Formal request, written by users, for a new or modified information system. Also called project request
- Router
- Communications device that connects multiple computers or other routers together and transmits data to its correct destination on a network
- RPG
- Nonprocedural language originally used to assist businesses in generating reports. Today, businesses also use RPG for computations and file updating. RPG is short for Report Program Generator
- Scalability
- Measure of how well a computer hardware system, software application, or information system can grow to meet increasing performance demands
- Script
- Interpreted program that runs on a client computer, adding special multimedia effects and interactive capabilities to Web pages. When the client computer is connected to the Web, scripts allow a transfer of information to and from a Web server
- SDLC (System Development Life Cycle)
-
Any logical process used by a systems
analyst to develop an information system, including requirements, validation, training, and user ownership - Server-based website
- uses web server software that is installed on either a client or a server
- servlet
- Applet that runs on a server, adding special multimedia effects and interactive capabilities to Web pages. When the client computer is connected to the Web, servlets allow a transfer of information to and from a Web server
- shared boarder
- an area at the top, bottom, right, or left side of a page that contains contents that appears in every page that uses it
- Source code
- Code written by a programmer in a high-level language and readable by people but not computers. Source code must be converted to object code or machine language before a computer can read or execute the program
- Spooling
- Operating system process that sends print jobs to a buffer instead of sending them immediately to the printer. The buffer then holds the information waiting to print while the printer prints from the buffer at its own rate of speed
- SQL
- Query language used that allows users to manage, update, and retrieve data in a relational DBMS. SQL is short for Structured Query Language
- secure sockets layer (SSL)
- Security protocol that provides encryption of all data that passes between a client and an Internet server. SSL requires the client to have a digital certificate
- Startup Folder
- Folder that contains a list of programs that the operating system opens automatically during the boot process
- Striping
- RAID storage configuration used by levels higher than Level 1. Striping splits data across multiple disks in an array, but does not offer data duplication
- system software
- programs that control or maintain the operations of a computer and its devices
- table
- Name used by a user of a relational database to refer to a file
- tags
- Codes used by a markup language that specify links to other documents and indicate how a Web page is displayed when viewed on the Web
- t-carrier line
- Any of several types of long-distance digital telephone lines that carry multiple signals over a single communications line by using multiplexing. T-carrier lines provide very fast data transfer rates
- TCP/IP
- Network technology that manages data transmission by dividing it up into packets. Internet transmissions commonly use TCP/IP. TCP/IP is short for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
- text box
- accepts typed information that you can limit to some maximum number of characters
- theme
- a collection of design elements – that you can apply to an entire web site or to only one or more specific web pages
- thrashing
- The state of an operating system that spends much of its time paging, instead of executing application software.
- token ring
- Type of network technology that controls access to a network by requiring that devices on the network share or pass a special agent, called a token. Only one token exists per network, and only the device with the token can transmit data over the network. Token ring is based on a ring topology, but can use a star topology. Data transfer rates can be 4 Mbps, 16 Mbps, or up to 100 Mbps. Token ring is the based on a ring topology, but can use a star topology. Data transfer rates can be 4 Mbps, 16 Mbps, or up to 100 Mbps. Token ring is the second most popular LAN technology today
- network topology
- The layout of the computers and devices in a communications network. Three commonly used network topologies are bus, ring, and star
- transaction Processing System (TPS)
- Information system that captures and processes data from day-to-day business activities. The functions of a TPS initially were referred to as data processing
- Transaction
- Individual business activity, such as deposits, payments, orders, and reservations
- Transmission control protocol/internet protocol
- Network technology that manages data transmission by dividing it up into packets. Internet transmissions commonly use TCP/IP, as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol typically is called
- Transmissions media
- Materials or substances that are capable of carrying one or more signals on a communications channel
- trojan horse
- Type of malicious-logic program, named after the Greek myth, that hides within or looks like a legitimate program such as a screen saver. A certain condition or action usually triggers the Trojan horse. Unlike a virus or worm, a Trojan horse does not replicate itself to other computers
- twisted-pair cable
- One or more twisted-pair wires that have been bundled together. Twisted-pair cable is one of the more commonly used transmission media for network cabling and telephone systems
- twisted-pair wire
- Two separate insulated copper wires that have been twisted together to reduce noise
- uploading
- process of transferring documents, graphics, and other objects from a computer to a server on the internet
- URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
- unique address for a web page
- Use case
- Function that an actor who interacts with an information system can perform
- Validation
- The process of comparing data with a set of rules or values to find out if the data is correct
- visual basic for application (VBA)
- Programming language used to customize application software
- virus
- Type of malicious-logic program that infects a computer and negatively affects the way the computer works, without the user's knowledge or permission. Once inside the computer, the virus can spread throughout and may damage files and system software
- visual programming environment
- Graphical interface used in a visual programming language that allows developers to drag and drop objects to build programs
- web form
- allows you to collect feedback and produce reports based on the feedback
- web search engine
- allows you to search using key words
- wireless markup language
- Subset of XML that is used by wireless devices. Also called WML
- worm
- Type of malicious-logic program that copies itself repeatedly, for example in memory or over a network, using up system resources and possibly shutting a system down
- zipped files
- type of compressed files that usually have a .zip extension