Appendix I Glossary

APPENDIX I GLOSSARY A ABORT— Procedure for terminating a program when a mistake, malfunction, or error occurs. Ada— A high-level programming language designed by the Department of Defense. ADDRESSING— Locating a required piece of data by specific techniques. ARITHMETIC-LOGIC UNIT— The part of the cpu that contains the logic capability and performs all the arithmetic functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE— The capability of a machine to perform human-like intelligence functions, such as learning, adapting, reasoning, and self-correction. ASSEMBLER— A computer program that translates assembly language programs into machine language (object) programs. B BASIC (Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code)— A high-level, general- purpose programming language used primarily on microcomputers. BIT MAPPING— A data structure that describes a bit image being held in computer storage. BUBBLE MEMORY— Method by which information is stored as magnetized dots (bubbles) that rest on a thin film of semiconductor material. C — An object-oriented version of the C programming language. CACHE MEMORY— A faster memory in which parts of the information in the main (slower) memory or disk are copied. CARRIER PACKAGE— The portion of the microprocessor chip that plugs into the motherboard. CERTIFIER— The piece of equipment that is used to certify magnetic tape and check for errors. C O B O L ( C O m m o n B u s i n e s s O r i e n t ed Language)— A high-level programming language designed for business-type applications. COMPILER— A program that translates a source program written in a high-level programming language into machine language. CONTROL MEMORY— RAM consisting of addressable storage registers, primarily used in mini- and mainframe computers. D DEGAUSSER— Device used to erase information from magnetically recorded media, such as a floppy disk or magnetic tape. DIAGNOSTIC LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES— Indicator lights used to help isolate a hardware failure. DIAGNOSTIC ROUTINE— Routine designed to locate a malfunction in the central processing unit or a peripheral device. DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM— A computer system designed to operate as a communications network with al1 its terminals linked to a remotely located central processing unit. DUPLEX— Pertaining to a communications system or equipment capable of transmission in both directions. E EXTERNAL DIAGNOSTICS— Diagnostics that can be run from a peripheral device. F FILE FRAGMENTATION— Files that are split into many noncontiguous areas on the disk. FINITE— To have limits, an end, or a last number. C++ AI-1