Module 3 Glossary
New terms and their definitions: Course 1 Week 3
Android: A mobile operating system based on Linux
Application: A computer program designed for a specific use
BIOS/UEFI: A low-level software that initializes our computer's hardware to make sure everything is good to go
Block storage: It improves faster handling of data because the data isn't stored in one long piece but in blocks, so it can be accessed more quickly
Boot: To start up a computer
Bootloader: A small program that loads the operating system
Chrome OS: A Linux-based operating system designed by Google
Command Line Interface (CLI): A shell that uses text commands to interact with the operating system
Computer file: Data that we store and a file can be anything, a word document, a picture, a song, literally anything
Data blocks: Data that can be broken down into many pieces and written to different parts of the hard disk
Distributions: Some common Linux distributions are Ubuntu, Debian, and Red Hat
Etcher.io: A tool you can use to load an install image onto your USB device and make it bootable
File extension: The appended part of a filename that tells us what type of file it is in certain operating systems
File handling: A process of storing data using a program
File system: A system used to manage files
Finder: The file manager for all Macs
Folders/Directories: Used to organize files
Hardware resource deficiency: It refers to the lack of system resources like memory, hard drive space, et cetera
HFS+/APFS: HFS+ is a journaling system developed by Apple Inc. and APFS is another but more encrypted Apple journaling system
Hostname: Used to identify the computer when it needs to talk to other computers
Input/Output device: A device that performs input and output, including monitors, keyboards, mice, hard disk drives, speakers, bluetooth headsets, webcams, and network adapters
Install image: A downloadable operating system image used to install an operating system on a device
I/O management: Anything that can give us input or that we can use for output of data
iOS: A mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc.
Kernel: The main core of an operating system that creates processes, efficiently schedules them, and manages how processes are terminated
Logs: Files that record system events on our computer
Mac OS: Apple's operating system
Memory management: One of the functions that a kernel performs; it optimizes memory usage and make sure our applications have enough memory to run
Metadata: Tells us everything we need to know about a file, including who created it, when it was last modified, who has access to it, and what type of file it is
Microsoft Terminal Services Client: A client program used to create RDP connections to remote computers
Open SSH: The most popular program to use SSH within Linux
Operating system: The whole package that manages our computers resources and lets us interact with it
PC: Personal computer, which technically means a computer that one person uses
Plink (PuTTY Link): A tool built into the command line after PuTTY is installed that is used to make remote SSH connections
Powershell: A shell (program that interprets text commands) for Windows
Power user: Above average computer users
Process management: The capacity to manage the many programs in a system - when to run them, the order they run in, how many resources they take up, how long they run, etc.
Qwiklabs: An online platform which provides training in cloud services
Remote connection: The ability to connect an authorized person to a computer or network remotely; allows us to manage multiple machines from anywhere in the world
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP): A secure network communication protocol developed by Microsoft that allows a user to connect to another device remotely
Scalability: The measure of a system’s ability to increase or decrease in performance and cost in response to varying loads in system processing demands
Shell: A program that interprets text commands and sends them to the OS to execute
SSH (Secure shell): A protocol implemented by other programs to securely access one computer from another.
SSH authentication key: A secure authentication method for accessing a computer from other device
SSH client: A program you must have installed on your device in order to establish an SSH connection with another device
SSH server: Software installed on a machine that allows for that device to accept an SSH connection
Standardization: A systematic way of naming hosts
Swap space: The allocated space where the virtual memory is stored on the hard drive when the amount of physical memory space is used up or full
System: A group of hardware components and software components that work together to run the programs or processes in the computer
System settings: Settings like display resolution, user accounts, network, devices, etc.
Task bar: It gives us quick options and shows us information like network connectivity, the date, system notifications, sound etc
Terminal: A text based interface to the computer
Time slice: A very short interval of time that gets allocated to a process for CPU execution
Ubuntu: The most popular Linux consumer distribution
User name: A unique identifier for a user account
User space: The aspect of an operating system that humans interact with directly like programs, such as text editors, music players, system settings, user interfaces, etc.
Virtual Box: An application you can use to install Linux and have it completely isolated from your machine
Virtual machine (VM): An application that uses physical resources like memory, CPU and storage, but they offer the added benefit of running multiple operating systems at once
Virtual memory: A combination of hard drive space and RAM that acts like memory which our processes can use
VPN (Virtual private network): A secure method of connecting a device to a private network over the internet
Terms and their definitions from previous weeks
A
Abstraction: To take a relatively complex system and simplify it for our use
Address bus: Connects the CPU to the MCC and sends over the location of the data, but not the data itself
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
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
B
Backward compatible: It means older hardware works with newer hardware
Binary system: The communication that a computer uses is referred to as binary system, also known as base-2 numeral system
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
Byte: A group of 8 bits
C
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
Character encoding: Is used to assign our binary values to characters so that we as humans can read them
Charge cycle: One full charge and discharge of a battery
Computer: A device that stores and processes data by performing calculations
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
Cryptography: The overarching discipline that covers the practice of coding and hiding messages from third parties
D
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
Decimal form- base 10 system: In the decimal system, there are 10 possible numbers you can use ranging from zero to nine
Desktop: The main screen where we can navigate our files, folders, and applications
Digital divide: The growing skills gap between people with and without digital literacy skills
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
E
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
F
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
H
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
I
Information technology: The use of digital technology, like computers and the internet, to store and process data into useful information
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
L
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
Linux OS: Linux is one of the largest an open source operating system used heavily in business infrastructure and in the consumer space
Logic gates: Allow transistors to do more complex tasks, like decide where to send electrical signals depending on logical conditions
M
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
N
Northbridge: interconnects stuff like RAM and video cards
O
Open source: This means the developers will let other developers share, modify, and distribute their software for free
Overclocking: it increases the rate of your CPU clock cycles in order to perform more tasks
P
PCI Express: Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant): Allows computing to go mobile
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
Punch cards: A sequence of cards with holes in them to automatically perform calculations instead of manually entering them by hand
R
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
RGB model: RGB or red, green, and blue model is the basic model of representing colors
ROM chip (Read Only Memory): A read-only memory chip where the BIOS is stored
RPM: Revolutions per minute
S
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
T
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
U
UEFI: Unified 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
UTF-8: The most prevalent encoding standard used today