Appendix Glossary B

In the left margin you will find links to the glossary categorised alphabetically. Some of the pages are quite long and may take a few moments to load if you use a modem. This glossary is always being updated.

Glossary - B

B2b - (business to business) A popular phrase that refers to a company either online, brick and mortar (a physical location) or both, that specialises in providing goods and services to other businesses and not consumers.

B2c - (business to consumer) Refers to a company either doing business online, a business with a physical location, or both, that provides goods and services primarily to consumers.

Baby AT - A system board size measuring approximately 10.8" x 8.6".

Backbone - The major pathways used to carry traffic on the Internet.

Backdoor - An alternative way of gaining access to a computer system. A back door entry might be a programmed secret access into the system unknown to routine users of the system.

Backend - The database to which information presented by the front-end application connects.

Background Execution - Modern computers are capable of running more than one program at a time. This is called multitasking. The program in use (primary program) is said to be operating in the foreground. Secondary programs are running in the background.

Backlighting - Flat-panel display illumination from behind that causes the foreground to appear more distinct in contrast to the background.

Backplane - A short PCB used to connect other boards and cards. Backplanes are normally used in places where a motherboard won't fit.

Backside Bus - (BSB) The data path that runs between the CPU and L2 cache. A special interface that connects a microprocessor to a Level 2 (L2) cache. No other system device shares the backside bus. This contrasts with the frontside bus, or system I/O (input/output) bus, which many system devices typically share. A backside bus helps eliminate performance bottlenecks.

Backside Cache - A feature of the G3 processor card that allows your computer to access L2 cache faster and more efficiently because it is a part of the processor card itself. When you install a processor card with backside cache, any motherboard cache present becomes "L3 cache".

Backslash - This is the "\" character. It is a backwards slanting slash. In DOS the backslash is used to symbolise the root directory. It also helps to separate several items in a path name. eg. C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM

Backup - A copy of a file, directory, or volume on a separate storage device from the original, for the purpose of retrieval in case the original is accidentally erased, damaged, or destroyed. A method of copying your files from the Hard Drive to a safe place - like on floppy disks, or a tape drive. This is totally for safekeeping ... in case something happens and the HD "crashes" (all of the data is lost)!

Backward Compatible - Referring to a device that will work with earlier models (hardware) or versions (software) of the same product.

Bad Block - A block (usually the size of a sector) that cannot reliably hold data because of a media flaw or damaged format markings.

Banding - Extraneous lines in a printed page or displayed image. On a monitor, banding occurs when the colour depth of the video signal isn't rich enough to display a continuous colour gradient.
The undesirable effect of waves or bands of the same colour on a digital graphic. Banding often occurs in images that include finely graduated transitions from one colour to another. The effect can be created by sending an image to an output device that can't support the number of shades necessary to preserve the integrity of the image. Banding also occurs when an image is saved without enough colour depth in the file. At its worst, banding ends up making images look like they were drawn with cheap magic markers, which is interesting, but rarely the desired effect.

Bandwidth - Amount of data which can be sent through a connection. Usually measured in bits per second. Contrary to popular belief, this does not refer to the aggregate girth of a group of musicians. Bandwidth is the capacity of a data connection expressed by the amount of data that can be conducted by it per second. The closest analogy is that bandwidth is the thickness of the pipeline through which data travels. Generally speaking, more bandwidth at both ends of a pipeline will result in faster data transfer. Bandwidth and transfer speed are closely related, but are not the same thing.
Describes the rate at which a network can transfer data. Standard Ethernet operates at 10 MBps. Fast Ethernet operates at 100 MBps. For digital devices, the bandwidth is expressed in bits per second (bps) or bytes per second. For analog devices, the bandwidth is expressed in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz).

Bank Schema - A method of diagramming memory configurations. The bank schema consists of rows and/or columns that represent memory sockets on a computer board. Rows indicate independent sockets; columns represent banks.

Banner Ad - An advertisement on a Web page with a short compelling message. The message is designed to get the user to click on the ad. The ad contains a hyperlink to the advertiser's Website.

Bar Chart - (bar graph) A type of chart or graph that quantifies or measures relative values represented by rectangular bars.

Base Rambus - The first generation of Rambus technology, first shipped in 1995.

Baseline - A method of comparison.

BASIC - Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. BASIC is a programming language invented in the 1960s for teaching purposes. Since then, BASIC has evolved into a powerful language often used by professionals. Microsoft's Visual Basic is currently the most popular version.

Baud - A measurement of the speed with which a modem is capable of communicating. It refers to the number of times per second that a modem can switch channels. It is worth noting that the baud rate of a modem is not the same thing as the connection speed, which is expressed in bits per second. A modem with a higher baud rate is designed to connect at a higher speed, but it does not ensure a faster connection. A really fast modem is kind of like a really fast car; it doesn't travel at 180 mph all the time. A 2400 bits per second modem actually runs at 300 baud, but it moves 4 bits per baud (4 x 300 = 2400 bits per second).
Baud Actually refers to a signal change in computereze. But it has come to be known as BPS or bytes per second - the speed at which a modem transfers information. eg. 2400bps.

Bay - (bay drive, drive bay) A site on a computer or portable disk drive where a disk or tape drive may exist or be installed.

BBS - BBS stands for "Bulletin Board System," which is a pretty fair illustration of what it does. A BBS is an electronic repository for uploading and downloading files over a network, usually a WAN. Users who wish to take files from or leave files on a BBS can simply connect to the BBS server via a modem or LAN and make their deposits or withdrawals. Amazingly enough, the whole thing works without the use of thumbtacks. Members can dial in and leave messages, play games, send e-mail, or swap files with other users.

Bcc - Abbreviation for blind carbon copies. When composing email, the writer has the option of sending copies to others so the recipients cannot see each other's email addresses and are not aware that copies are going to addresses other than their own.

Benchmark - A program used to test the performance of software and/or hardware. A benchmark is a standard that is not entirely objective because of the possible bias of the individual who developed the test, or the equipment settings determined by the tester.

Beta - (beta testing) Software that is in the preliminary or testing stage where glitches or bugs may still be undetected. Users involved in beta testing are often required to run the application extensively and record findings such as ease of use, and any problems encountered, and report back to the developer with suggestions as to how the software might be improved.

Beta Silicon - Electronics equipment goes through several stages of development: alpha, beta, and final. Alpha refers to first-run hardware - it is extremely buggy and prone to crashes. The purpose of alpha silicon is to test whether the design works and to shake out any problems or bottlenecks within the architecture. Beta is the second stage, and this is where most of the major bugs are ironed out. Beta silicon will more likely resemble the final product. From here, once the product goes through final quality assurance, it's deemed a "final" product and is packaged and shipped into your hot little hands.

Beta SP - A production-quality tape format with significantly better fidelity than the consumer-grade VHS format. Beta SP is a popular format for use in professional video production, where VHS just doesn't cut the mustard.

Bezel - A plastic panel that extends the face of a drive so that it covers a computer's drive bay opening. The bezel usually contains a drive-activity LED. Also known as the faceplate.

Bezier - A curved line defined by at least three adjustable points. The shape of the curve can be altered by tweaking the handles extending from each point.

Bezier Control Point Deformation - Defining the contours of an object or path using discrete points on it by moving "control handles" that alter the curvature of the spline entering and leaving these points.

BGA - (Ball Grid Array) A chip package having solder balls on the underside for mounting. BGA allows for a reduction in die package size, better heat dissipation, and greater module densities.

Bidirectional - The ability to transmit data in two directions. Contemporary parallel ports are bi-directional because of their ability to communicate with printers as well as disk drivers.

Bidirectional Parallel Port - A type of parallel port that can both send and receive information.

Bilinear Filtering - Bilinear interpolation. An Algorithm that can be used to apply textures to 3D objects. An example of this would be to apply a texture of bricks over a sphere, making it look as if it were composed of bricks.

Bin - In CPU-speak, a single speed increment as defined by a 0.5 multiplier jump. For example, on a 66MHz system bus, a 266MHz processor (66MHz x 4.0) is one bin faster than a 233MHz processor (66MHz x 3.5)

Binary - A numbering system that uses combinations of 0 and 1 to represent data. Also known as Base 2. e.g. 11001001.

Binary Code - The actual program code a computer executes. Programmers write in source code, which a compiler converts into binary code (also called object code, executable code, or machine code). Binary code is specific to a particular microprocessor architecture, so a program compiled for an x86 processor won't run on a PowerPC processor or vice versa.

Binhex - An encoding method, commonly used by Macintosh computers.

BIOS - (Basic Input-Output System) - Startup routines that prepare the computer for operation. Software which contains your computers most rudimentary instructions on how the operating system communicates with hardware. Your BIOS runs at start-up, configures devices, and then boots the operating system. Because the BIOS is so integral to getting your computer started, it's stored on a separate ROM chip, not your hard drive, to isolate it from crashes.

Bit - A bit is the base unit of data storage. All information that is stored digitally is made up of collections of bits. By itself, a bit doesn't do much of anything, but when they get together, bits are capable of some pretty cool stuff.
Abbreviation for binary digit. A binary digit may have one of two values - 1 or 0. This contrasts with a decimal digit, which may have a value from 0 to 9. A bit is one of the logic 1 or logic 0 binary settings that make up a byte of data.
Information represented by the number "1" or the number "0" and transmitted as a discrete (discontinuous) step rather than as a wave. Digital information is transmitted as a series of bits, or "1's" and "0's" strung together in various ways.
Meaning "binary-digit". This refers to a single microscopic switch inside the computer, which contains the value of 0 or 1. Millions of these can be found in a computer system. They go into making up memory and disk storage.

Bit Shifts - A bit shift is an basic operation that shifts the bits in a register either left or right. Bit shifts are used in numerous binary computation algorithms, such as integer and floating-point multiplication, division, etc.... A close analogy to a bit shift in elementary base-10 math can be found in the technique for multiplying two multiple-digit numbers. Let's take 123 X 456, for example. You would write the 123 over the 456, and then the first step would be to multiply the 6 by 3, 2, and then 1, propagating the carry as you go. You then write the result directly under the 456. Next, you take the 5 and multiply it by 3, 2, and 1, but you shift the result left by one digit and write down the answer. You follow the same steps with the 4, this time shifting the result by two digits and writing down the answer. Finally, you add up all the shifted results to produce the solution.

Bitmap - A graphic image (file extension .bmp) represented by rows and columns of dots. Each dot's value is stored in one or more bits of data, and the more bits used to represent a dot, the more colours and shades of grey that can be represented in the image. Generally, monochrome images have one bit representing each dot. When representing colours and shades of grey, each dot requires more than one bit of data.

BITNET - Large area-wide network originating in the early 1980s used to transmit email among university scholars and researchers.

Blit - Bit Level Transfer. The act of drawing a pixel on screen in a 2D application. Examples of this include drawing sprites in a game or manipulating graphics in a PhotoShop file.

Bloatware - Application software that attempts to do too much and becomes unwieldy for the the user. An example of bloatware would be a word processing application that also tries to be your page layout program, drawing tool, and web browser; absorbing half your hard drive and all your RAM in the process.

Block - A sector or group of sectors. By default, a sector of data consists of 512 bytes.

Blocky Filtering - A term used to describe texture-mapping visual quality that resembles blocky point sampling as opposed to smooth bilinear filtering.

Blue Screen Of Death - Slang to describe the Fatal Exception Error screen that appears after a full-blown system crash.

Bluetooth - A wireless technology based on a short-range 2.4GHz signal, designed for creating "personal area networks."

BNC Connector/Port - A high grade locking connector used with thin and thick Ethernet cabling. The BNC port connects to thin Ethernet cables using a BNC Y- or T-connector.

Boning - The placement of control vertices called "bones" within a mesh object. A related set of bones forms a hierarchy that, when associated with the mesh, defines mesh movement in animation.

Boolean - Branch of mathematics addressing relationships between entities. In 3D modelling they are: Union (the combination of two sets), Intersection (the overlapping of two sets), and Subtraction (the part of one set remaining after an intersecting set is removed).

Boolean Operations - Named after the nineteenth-century mathematician George Boole, Boolean operations are mathematical relationships based on a core logic that can be represented in a Venn diagram. In 3D modelling they are: Union (the combination of two sets), Intersection (the overlapping of two sets), and Subtraction (the part of one set remaining after an intersecting set is removed).

Boot - Also known as the "boot process." To turn on a computer. To gather hardware information and load software, such as the operating system. Slang: to throw up, hurl, vomit, or toss your cookies. This is how you turn the computer on - you "boot it up"! Resetting the computer is the same as "rebooting" or giving it a "warm boot"!

Bot - Slang expression for robot, a program that runs automatically. Among the uses for bots are to locate information on the World Wide Web and for the automatic collection of email addresses.

Bounced mail - Undeliverable EMail returned to sender.

BPI - Acronym for bits per inch. A measure of how densely information is packed on a storage medium.

BPS - Bits per second. The rate that data is transferred between two modems.

BPS - Bytes per second when written with a capital B.

Branch - A program instruction that diverts the flow of execution along two or more alternate paths. For example, a dialogue box with "OK" and "Cancel" buttons represents a branch in the program. Depending on which button the user clicks, the program will execute one path of instructions or the other.

Branch Caching - To store specific or commonly-used instructions in a closely coupled cache in order to speed up performance and execution.

Branch Prediction - Pipelining is the timesaving process that allows a microprocessor to decode one instruction while executing another. A branch instruction is the implementation of an "if-then-else" construct. If a condition is true, then the pipeline will jump to some other location; if the condition is false then it will continue with the next instruction. The longer the pipeline, the longer the whole process. Branch prediction speeds things up by allowing the processor to predict whether this jump will occur, based on what the branch has done in the past. If the prediction turns out to be wrong, the entire pipeline has to be flushed and all calculations discarded. But if the prediction turns out to be correct, time is saved, and everyone is the happier.

Bridge - Bridges are used to connect two or more networks together so that devices on the networks can communicate. Bridges only connect networks running the same protocol.

Broadband - A type of data transmission that can accommodate multiple channels at once over a single medium (such as wire). Cable TV, for example, uses broadband transmission to send multiple channels over a single cable.

Broadcast - A network transmission sent to all nodes on the network.

Broadcast Conformity - Ensuring your video meets broadcast specifications, meaning your whites aren't above +110 ire and your blacks aren't below -40.

Browser - A program whose job it is to allow a user to view and interact with content on the Internet. The most popular browsers in use today are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. The central functionality shared by all browsers is the interpretation of HTML-formatted pages on the world wide web. Recently, browsers are tending to expand their functionality more and more with each release of the software, (for example, I heard that they're working on a beta version of Netscape Navigator that's supposed to make really great cappuccino).

Browsing - The act of navigating the World Wide Web.

Brushes - 2D sprite-based elements integrated with transparent margins in a 3D engine.

BSP - Binary Space Partition. A way of dividing world geometry into a tree structure so it can be searched efficiently.

Buffer - A holding area for data shared by devices that operate at different speeds or have different priorities. A buffer allows a device to operate without the delays that other devices impose.
An area of RAM reserved for temporary storage of data that is waiting to be sent to a device. The data is usually on its way to or from the hard disk drive or some other peripheral device.

Buffer Underrun - Occurs when the system cannot keep up a steady data stream to the CD recording software. The CD recorder itself has a buffer that is constantly filled with data in the event of a system slowdown or interruption. If the buffer is emptied before the system can recover, a buffer underrun occurs. The disc that was being burned is no longer usable and is further referred to as a "Gold Coaster."

Buffered Memory - A memory module that contains buffers. Buffers re-drive the signals through the memory chips and allow the module to include more memory chips. Buffered and unbuffered memory cannot be mixed. The design of the computer memory controller dictates whether memory must be buffered or unbuffered.

Bug - An error in programming code that causes undesirable behaviour in an application. Bugs are often very small and insidious errors, but the problems that they cause can be devastating. Software developers strive to eliminate every bug from a program before it is released, but they practically never get them all.

Buick - Slang for a really large server. Large in physical size, that is, not in storage capacity or functionality.

Bump Mapping - A visual trick that attempts to simulate a texture's roughness or smoothness, depending on how the texture reflects lights. In 3D, this is usually accomplished by laying two textures onto a polygon - a base texture for the graphics, and a second displacement texture that is mapped on the object. This second texture determines how "rough" the surface will appear.

Bump Maps - Much like texture maps, but they give the illusion that a flat surface is distorted. For example if you used a bump map on a sphere you could get the illusion that it was an orange with many small pitted areas. As the light moves across, the bump map would make the pits look embossed.

Burn - Refers to the copying or recording of data on to a CD-ROM.

Burst EDO RAM - (BEDO) EDO memory that can process four memory addresses in one burst. Bus speeds range from 50MHz to 66MHz (compared to 33MHz for EDO and 25MHz for Fast Page Mode).

Burst Mode - High-speed transmission of a block of data (a series of consecutive addresses) when the processor requests a single address.

Bursts - Burst speed is the rate at which data can be accessed from the drive's own cache.

Bus - A data path in a computer, consisting of various parallel wires to which the CPU, memory, and all input/output devices are connected. The part of a chip, circuit board, or interface designed to send and receive data.

Bus Bandwidth - The clock frequency of a bus interface. To calculate peak bus throughput, multiply the bus frequency by the bus width. If a 100MHz bus is 64 bits wide, it transfers 8 bytes per clock cycle 100 million times per second - for a maximum theoretical throughput of 800 MB/sec.

Bus Cycle - A single transaction between main memory and the CPU.

Bus Mastering Drivers - A feature that enables a controller connected to the bus to communicate directly with other devices on the bus without going through the CPU. Most modern bus architectures, including PCI, support bus mastering because it improves performance.

Bus Topology - A networking set-up in which a single cable, such as thin Ethernet, is used to connect one computer to another like a daisy chain to carry data over a network.

BX or "BX based" Refers to a motherboard based on Intel's 440BX chipset. BX motherboards, with a suitable CPU, are capable of supporting an bus speed of 100 MHz. The "LX" and "EX" chipsets and their predecessors, by comparison, are designed for a 66 MHz bus. Only BX boards (and their successors) are compatible with Intel Pentium III processors. The most notable limitation of the BX chipset is its inability to support FSB speeds over 100 MHz without "overclocking" the AGP graphics functions.

Byte - A byte is a unit of data storage equivalent to eight bits. In order to be of use for storing information, bits are organised into bytes, which are in turn grouped into larger chunks. The byte is the fundamental unit of computer processing; almost all specifications and measures of computer performance are in bytes or multiples thereof.