Module 2 Glossary
New terms and their definitions: Course 1 Week 2
Address bus: Connects the CPU to the MCC and sends over the location of the data, but not the data itself
ATA: The most common interface that hard drives use to connect to our system
ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended): The most common form factor for motherboards
Backward compatible: It means older hardware works with newer hardware
Bios (Basic Input Output Services): The BIOS is software that helps initialize the hardware in our computer and gets our operating system up and running
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device): Refers to the practice of allowing people to use their own personal devices for work
Cache: The assigned stored location for recently or frequently accessed data; on a mobile app it is where anything that was changed or created with that app is stored
Charge cycle: One full charge and discharge of a battery
Chipset: It decides how components talk to each other on our machine
Clock cycle: When you send a voltage to the clock wire
Clock speed: The maximum number of clock cycles that it can handle in a set in a certain time period
Clock wire: When you send or receive data, it sends a voltage to that clock wire to let the CPU know it can start doing calculations
CPU: Central processing unit
CPU sockets: A CPU socket is a series of pins that connect a CPU’s processor to the PC’s motherboard
Data sizes: Metrics that refer to data sizes including bit, byte, kilobyte, kibibyte, and megabyte
DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate SDRAM): A type of RAM that is faster, takes up less power, and has a larger capacity than earlier SDRAM versions
Desktop: The main screen where we can navigate our files, folders, and applications
DIMM: Dual Inline Memory Module
Display port: Port which also outputs audio and video
DRAM: Dynamic Random Access Memory
Drivers: The drivers contain the instructions our CPU needs to understand external devices like keyboards, webcams, printers
DVI: DVI cables generally just output video
Electrostatic discharge: Electrostatic discharge is a sudden and momentary flow of electric current between two electrically charged objects caused by contact, an electrical short or dielectric breakdown
External Data Bus (EDB): It's a row of wires that interconnect the parts of our computer
Factory reset: Resetting a device to the settings it came with from the factory
Form factor: A mathematical way to compensate for irregularities in the shape of an object by using a ratio between its volume and height
Hard drive: It is a long term memory component that holds all of our data, which can include music, pictures, applications
Hardware: External or internal devices and equipment that help you perform major functions
HDD (Hard disk drive): Hard disk drives, or HDDs, use a spinning platter and a mechanical arm to read and write information
HDMI: A type of cable that outputs both video and audio
Heatsink: It is used to dissipate heat from our CPU
Instruction set: A list of instructions that our CPU is able to run
ITX (Information Technology eXtended): A form factor for motherboards that is much smaller than ATX boards
Land Grid Array (LGA): It is a type of CPU socket that stick out of the motherboard
Lightning adaptor: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Mb/s: megabit per second, which is a unit of data transfer rate
Memory controller chip (MCC): A bridge between the CPU and the RAM
Micro display port: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Micro HDMI: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Micro USB: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Mini HDMI: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Mini USB: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Motherboard: The body or circulatory system of the computer that connects all the pieces together
Northbridge: interconnects stuff like RAM and video cards
NVMe (NVM Express): interface standard which allows greater throughput of data and increased efficiency
Overclocking: it increases the rate of your CPU clock cycles in order to perform more tasks
PCI Express: Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
Peripherals: the external devices which we connect to our computer that add functionality, like: a mouse, a keyboard, and a monitor
Pin Grid Array (PGA): CPU socket where the pins are located on the processor itself
Ports: Connection points that we can connect devices to that extend the functionality of our computer
POST (Power On Self Test): It figures out what hardware is on the computer
Power supply: Converts electricity from our wall outlet onto a format that our computer can use
Programs: Basic instructions that tell the computer what to do
RAM: Random Access Memory
Registers: An accessible location for storing the data that our CPU works with
Reimaging: The process of reimaging involves wiping and reinstalling an operating system using a disk image which is a copy of an operating system
Return merchandise authorization (RMA): The process of receiving returned merchandise and authorizing a refund
ROM chip (Read Only Memory): A read-only memory chip where the BIOS is stored
RPM: Revolutions per minute
Safe operating temperature: The temperature range in which rechargeable batteries must be kept in order to avoid demanage
SATA: The most popular serial ATA drive, which uses one cable for data transfers
SDRAM: It stands for Synchronous DRAM, this type of RAM is synchronized to our systems' clock speed allowing quicker processing of data
SOC (System On a Chip): Packs the CPU, Ram, and sometimes even the storage onto a single chip
Southbridge: It maintains our IO or input/output controllers, like hard drives and USB devices that input and output data
SSD: Solid State Drive
Standoffs: Used to raise and attach your motherboard to the case
Thermal paste: A substance used to better connect our CPU and heat sink, so the heat transfers from to the other better
Type-C connector: A type of USB connector meant to replace many peripheral connections
UEFI: United Extensible Firmware Interface
USB (Universal Serial Bus): A connection standard for connecting peripherals to devices such as computers
USB-C adapter: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Terms and their definitions from previous weeks
A
Abstraction: To take a relatively complex system and simplify it for our use
Algorithm: A series of steps that solves specific problems
ASCII: The oldest character encoding standard used is ASCII. It represents the English alphabet, digits, and punctuation marks
B
Binary system: The communication that a computer uses is referred to as binary system, also known as base-2 numeral system
Byte: A group of 8 bits
C
Character encoding: Is used to assign our binary values to characters so that we as humans can read them
Computer: A device that stores and processes data by performing calculations
Cryptography: The overarching discipline that covers the practice of coding and hiding messages from third parties
D
Decimal form- base 10 system: In the decimal system, there are 10 possible numbers you can use ranging from zero to nine
Digital divide: The growing skills gap between people with and without digital literacy skills
I
Information technology: The use of digital technology, like computers and the internet, to store and process data into useful information
L
Linux OS: Linux is one of the largest an open source operating systems used heavily in business infrastructure and in the consumer space
Logic gates: Allow transistors to do more complex tasks, like deciding where to send electrical signals depending on logical conditions
O
Open source: This means the developers will let other developers share, modify, and distribute their software for free
P
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant): Allows computing to go mobile
Punch cards: A sequence of cards with holes in them to automatically perform calculations instead of manually entering them by hand
R
RGB model: RGB or red, green, and blue model is the basic model of representing colors
U
UTF-8: The most prevalent encoding standard used today