Diskeeper 10 User's Manual

Glossary 83
Glossary
access: To store data on, or retrieve data from, a disk drive or other peripheral device. See also file.
administrator: See system administrator.
applet: A small application program that is usually built into an operating system or a larger application
program. For example, the built-in writing and drawing programs that come with Windows are sometimes
called “applets.”
application: A computer program, which causes a computer system to perform some useful work for the user.
ATA: Advanced Technology Attachment. One of several standard types of interfaces used to connect a disk
drive and a computer. See also PATA and SATA.
AutoPlay: A feature of some Windows applications on CD-ROM that causes the program to start automatically
when the CD-ROM is placed in the drive.
background processing: The execution of certain operations during momentary lulls in the primary
(foreground) process. An example of a background process is printing while a word processor is waiting for
keystrokes.
binary: From Latin “bini,” meaning two by two and “ary,” meaning of, or pertaining to. Computers use the
binary number system, which is a way of counting in which only two digits (0 and 1) are used. Contrast with
the familiar decimal number system, in which we count with 10 digits (0 through 9).
bit: Short for binary digit. The smallest unit of information handled by a computer. Like a light switch, a bit is
either on or off, which corresponds to a numerical value of one or zero. Larger numbers are expressed by
groups of bits. See also byte.
boot: Refers to the initial start-up of a computer, such as when you turn on the computer’s power. From the
word “bootstrap,” indicating the computer “lifts itself by the bootstraps;” that is, it gets itself going.
boot-time: The time during which a computer boots; that is, the computer is starting up and the operating
system has not yet taken over control of the computer.
browser: A software program, such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, designed to locate and view Web pages
on the Internet. In addition to displaying text, modern browsers also can display pictures and play sounds.
byte: A group of eight bits, which can represent a number from zero through 255, a letter of the alphabet, or a
variety of other things.
cache: From the French word cacher, meaning “to hide.” A temporary storage facility designed to speed things
up by providing information to software that would otherwise have to be obtained from a slower medium.
Caches exist for Web browsers, disk drives and CPUs. See also cache memory.
cache coherency: A condition where the data contained in the cache memories in a computer with multiple
processors is kept consistent at all times.
cache memory: In computers, a cache is a small amount of very fast memory that is placed close to (or inside)
the CPU chip, in order to improve performance. The cache memory holds copies of recently accessed data.
Because computer programs often run the same instructions repeatedly, many times the CPU will find the data
it needs in the cache and therefore will run faster because it does not need to access the computer’s main
memory.
CD-ROM: Compact Disk Read-Only Memory. A stiff plastic disk commonly used by software manufacturers
to distribute software to customers. As the name implies, the original contents of a CD-ROM cannot be
changed.