| Jargon |
Explanation |
|
C |
A high level programming language -
Designed to allow UNIX to be used on a variety of computers. |
|
CAS |
Column Address Strobe - A signal sent
from a processor (or memory controller) to a dynamic random access
memory circuit to indicate that the column address lines are valid. |
|
Cache |
Fast RAM used for storing frequently
accessed data. Internal cache is located on the CPU. Information
stored there is required by the CPU lots of times and so is stored
close to the CPU. This improves performance as retrieving from cache
is much quicker than from RAM or from disk. Disk cache is external
cache. This type of cache is set a side on a Hard Disk for data that
is read frequently from the disk. It is stored in cache so the
computer does not have to search the disk for information it
requires quickly. |
|
Celeron |
Intel's range of budget processors.
Based on the Pentium range but often with less onboard cache to
reduce the costs of the chip. |
|
CD |
Compact Disc - CD's came to replace
both the floppy disk and the tape. On the computer front the floppy
disk made way for the CD, a CD could hold over 650Mb of data and was
very cheap to produce. Now you are able to write to CD's called CD-r's.
see CD-ROM CD-R and CD-RW |
|
CD-R |
Compact Disc
Recordable - CD's that can have data written to them by a CD
writer. CD-R's can be read by any standard CD drives. Plus when
audio is written to them they can be read my stereo and hi-fi
systems. Cd-r's can only be written to once. |
|
CD-ROM |
Compact Disc Read Only Memory - See
CD |
|
CD-RW |
Compact Disc Re-Writable - A CD that
can be written to by a CD writer, data can be written to more than
once. Most claim to last for about 1000 times. Data can also be
overwritten, changed and deleted. This makes it a perfect media for
use with backup's. CDRW's are now very cheap at about £1 each. You
can also store items such as music files and pictures on these discs
so you don't have waste the space on your hard disk for infrequently
used data. |
|
CGI |
Common Gateway Interface - CGI allows
websites to be more interactive. Not as graphic as Flash programming
but does allow the user to be involved with the site rather than
clicking on links blindly. CGI allows web designers to use scripts,
mainly written in Perl to be run on the server the website is hosted
on. |
|
Client |
A computer that requests data from a Host
computer. Clients often don't contain everything they need to do
its specific function. Many client will request the same data from 1
host computer. |
|
Clipping |
Clipping removes the graphics that you will
not be able to see on the screen. It prevents the graphics card from
wasting its time drawing items that will not be seen. Clipping
improves speed by letting the card draw only the necessary items. |
|
Cluster |
An area on a hard disk for storing data.
Hard disks have many clusters of varying size depending on the way
the disk is formatted. |
|
CMOS |
Complementary Metal
Oxide Semiconductor - A memory chip that retains its data
when power is turned off as long as it receives a small amount of
electricity from a battery. CMOS is usually found on motherboards to
hold the date and time data. also known as CMOS RAM. |
|
CMYK |
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Keystone black.
Standard four colours used by printers. With these four colours
any other colour can be produced by your printer. |
|
CNR |
Communications and Networking Riser -
Made to replace the AMR its a slot that supports V.90 analogue
modem, multi-channel audio, phone-line based networking, and 10/100
Ethernet based networking. |
|
Codec |
Coder/Decoder - The codec changes
analogue signals to digital ones so they can be read by computers.
It also does the opposite and change the digital signal to analogue
where required to transmit data. |
|
Component |
A piece of hardware that makes up the
main system - Examples of components are the CPU, Graphics card,
Hard Disk and Motherboard etc. |
|
COM Port |
Communication Port - A COM port
allows peripherals to to be connected to the PC such as modems, mice
and scanners etc. Also see USB |
|
Cookie |
A small data file on your computer set by
websites to remember preferences or to allow a website to
determine which visitor has requested the site without logging in.
Forums often use cookies to save users time. |
|
CPU |
Central Processing Unit - The CPU
perform arithmetic and logical operations and decode and execute
instructions. The CPU is the "Brian" of the computer. Very few
instructions bypass the CPU. Although components are being made that
take the strain off CPU's, such as a GPU and bus mastering. |
|
Crack |
Software designed to get round copy
protection or encryption. Cracking software and acquiring
cracked software is illegal |
|
Crash |
A term used when a computer stops responding
to commands and requires rebooting in order to start working again. |
|
CRT |
Cathode Ray Tube - Display technology
that uses a cathode tube to fire an electron beam at phosphors to
illuminate a screen. This technology is being replaced by LCD
screens. |
|
CSS |
Cascading Style Sheet - Used in web
design, a style sheet determines how a page will look, it keeps all
the necessary pages looking the same. Plus it allows the creator to
change the look of a site without having to change each individual
page. |
