Segment of a communications
network where many lines come together. The term is relative ("the"
Internet backbone doesn't exist): a backbone in a small network will be much smaller than many non-backbone lines in a large network.
An attribute of the Body
tag for specifying to a
browser an
image to be Tiled behind all other document elements. This attribute's value is the
URL of the graphic that will be tiled as the background of the
page. The user will not see this background in non-compliant browsers, if image loading is turned off, or if the user has overridden the background images in their preferences.
A backup is a duplicate
copy of some
data or a disk or some
software that is made by the user as a safeguard against the loss of the original information. Should this happen then the information can be recovered by restoring or copying the information back from the backup.
A
file extension used to indicate that the file is a
backup of something else. This could be a straight
copy of something or a backup that has been created by an
application program.
Notated in
Hertz (Hz). This is the diference between the highest and lowest frequencies o a transmission channel. On the
Web it is the amount of
data, usually measured in
bits per second, that can be sent through a given communications circuit.
The ability to be able to increase the
bandwidth as and when it is required.
A component of a
Web page containing an advertisement that is usually an inch or less tall and spans the width of the Web page. The banner contains a
link to the advertiser's own Web
site. Each page of my Glossary has a Link Exchange banner - a banner exchange
program that many of us dedicated anoraks use to advertise each other's work.
Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. A very popular
programming language developed by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz at Dartmouth College in the 1960's. Their have been a number of implementations of basic over the years including : Tiny Basic; Microsoft Basic; CBasic;
Integer Basic; Applesoft Basic; GW Basic; Turbo Basic; Microsoft QuickBasic; Historically, basic has been the programming language with which most people have got their first experience of programming.
The part of a computer that
registers and stores instructions that tells the PC how it should handle many of the components exist within the computer and that are attached to it
File Extension of a
DOS Batch file - An
ASCII text file of Dos Commands, which are executed in sequence. AUTOEXEC.BAT is a BAT file.
The speed of a
modem; the transfer speed of
data from one computer to another; approximately equal to characters per second
A measure of the rate at which a
modem can transmit
data. This is measured in
bits per second (
bps) - named after the French engineer Jean Maurice Emile Baudot.
An opening at the front of the PC's Case that is designed to hold a
data storage device such as a
hard disk or a
CDROM
Bulletin Board System
Beta Version refers to a version of an
Application Program which is available for use but is not the definitive version that the company who developed the product will be releasing as the final product - it carries a warning that it is not 100% reliable - the idea of this is to iron out any unidentified problems before releasing it to the whole world.
Border Gateway Protocol
The Base 2 numbering system that has a very high use in PC technology. 10 in Binary is equivalent to 2 in decimal.
Basic Input and Output System.
A bit is the smallest unit of information understood by a computer. A bit can take a value of 0 or 1. A
byte is made up of 8 bits which is large enough to contain a single character. For example the character 2 would be equivalent to "00000010" when represented in bits. A
Kilobyte is equivalent to 1024 bytes. A
Megabyte is equivalent to 1024 Kilobytes. A
Gigabyte is equivalent to 1024 Megabytes. A Megabit is 1048576 bits.
Where
data is represented in the form of individual
bits. These individual bits make up the
file. A simple bitmap
image is made up of tiny little parts called
pixels. Bitmap files are most commonly used as
graphics or pictures. Bitmap Files have a
file extension of
BMP. Below is an example where the Number 2 has been removed from a picture and magnified several times to show how it has been constructed.
A measure of the speed at which
data is transmitted between computers. A 28.8
modem transmits data at speeds of up to 28,800
bits per second.
A shortening of the phrase "Web Log" denoting a diary-like collection of writing presented in reverse-time order (lastest entry first). Blogs often have additional organizational methods such as categories, and may incorporate a public comments/feedback feature.
File type for bitmapped files -
graphics files used for pictures & diagrams.
Windows paintbrush produces bmp files. These files have a
file extension of bmp.
A Bookmark is a
link set up by the user to a particular
Web page - the
URL is stored. This allows the user to
click on the bookmark in the future to retrieve that web page automatically
Quite simply to start up or restart (re-boot) the PC. When the PC is switched on the
files which run the
operating system are executed. If you ever decide to phone a support number because you are having a problem the person on the other end of the phone will most likely tell you to do this as it solves the problem without them having to think about or even understand your concern. After a while you may well feel like giving the PC a real boot. This is not recommended.
A
floppy disk which contains the necessary
files for an
operating system which when processed will start up or "Boot"" the PC. The floppy disk is inserted into the Floppy
disk drive & the PC switched on.
A protocol for exchanging routing information between gateway hosts (each with its own router) in a network, often the protocol used between gateway hosts on the Internet.
Return of an email because it could not be delivered to the specified address.
Bits per second.
An
application program that interprets
HTML & presents the final
Web Page. Used to "Surf the WWW". Examples include:
Internet Explorer;
Netscape Navigator;
Mosaic.
An unintentional error in
software or
hardware. For software bugs the application may stop altogether or produce unexpected results. There are various stories of where the term originated - the most famous from about 50 years ago credited to a moth that was squashed between components of an ancient computer.
A computer which allows the people who subscribe to it to:
Copy files to it from their own PC's; Copy files from it to their own PC's; Send messages to other users of the Bulletin board; Play multi-player games.
BBS's are still around in abundance but have generally been superseded by the
Internet
Eight digits in
binary, 0 or 1; eight
bits; in decimal 0 to 255; the amount used space to store one character in a computer