

ABSOLUTE COORDINATE  CAD/CAM    The absolute distances or angles that specify the
                                position of a point or surface in a particular                                                              coordinate system.

ABSOLUTE DIMENSION   CAD/CAM    A dimension expressed with respect to a given or                                                            assumed zero point that may not be machine zero.

ACCESS               NETWORK    The ability to work with files. Usually used in                                                             connection with files stored on network disks.

ACCESS TIME          MISC       One measure of system response. The time interval                                                           between the instant that data is called for from
                                storage and the instant that delivery is complete.

ACOUSTIC COUPLER     NETWORK    A form of low speed modem that sends and receives
                                data using a conventional telephone handset and
                                does not require a permanent connection to the line.

ADDRESS              MISC       A means of locating data or communicating with
                                devices connected to a computer.

AEC                  CAD/CAM    Architecture/Engineering Construction

ALGORITHM            MISC       A set of well-defined rules or procedures based on
                                mathematical and geometric formulas for solving a
                                problem or accomplishing a given result in a finite
                                number of steps.

ALU                  MISC       Arithmetic Logic Unit - Computer circuitry that does
                                the adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing and
                                logical comparisons of equations.

ANCESTOR DIRECTORY   MISC       Any directory level in the hierarchical structure
                                which is above another specified directory level
                                ( a parent directory, grandparent directory, etc. )

ANNOTATION           CAD/CAM    Process of inserting text or a special note or
                                indentification on a drawing, map, or diagram.

ARCHIVE              MISC       To backup or store data. Archiving preserves copies
                                of files for data recovery.

ARGUMENT             CAD/CAM    A value which is used as the input to some process,
                                often passed through a module-module interface.

ASCII                MISC       American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
                                The standard character code using a 128 coded
                                character set, consisting of 7-bit coded characters
                                ( 8-bit including parity check ).

ASPECT               CAD/CAM    Any of the ways in which the appearance of a display
                                can vary, ie. highlighting, color, shading, height.

ASPECT RATIO         CAD/CAM    The ratio of the width to height on a CRT picture
                                or display

ASSOCIATIVITY        CAD/CAM    Any logical linking of geometric entities in a
                                CAD/CAM data base with their nographic attributes or
                                with other geometric entities.

ASYNCHRONOUS         NETWORK    A serial stream of data sent as generated. Characters
                                are delimited by start and stop bits whose function
                                is to synchronize character bit timing.

ATTRIBUTES           CAD/CAM    Features of a rendering under user control. They can
                                be graphical, such as color or line type, or non-
                                graphical, such as a part number.

AUXILIARY STORAGE    MISC       A storage medium that supplements the primary (RAM)
                                internal storage of a computer. Also referred to as
                                secondary storage, ie. Floppy or Hard disk.

B-SPLINE             CAD/CAM    A mathematical representation for smooth curves, see
                                BEZIER CURVE.

BACK ANNOTATION      CAD/CAM    A CAD process by which data is automatically
                                extracted from a completed design.

BACKGROUND PROCESS   MISC       The processing mode for executing low priority
                                programs which do not require user interaction.

BANDWIDTH            NETWORK    The range of frequencies available for transmission
                                of data over a transmission medium.

BANNER               MISC       A one-page information sheet, which appears as the
                                first page of a printout.

BASEBAND             NETWORK    In modulation, where the ration of the upper to lower
                                limit of the frequency band is large compared to the
                                unity of transmitted signals. Common modulation used
                                for Ethernet-like systems.

BASEBAND COAXIAL     NETWORK    A system where one information signal at a time is
                                present on a coaxial cable.

BASEBAND SIGNALLING  NETWORK    Transmission of an unmodulated signal.

BASIC                MISC       Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code.
                                The computer programming language of user-oriented
                                systems.

BAUD                 NETWORK    A measurement, in bits per second, of the speed in
                                which information is transmitted between two computer
                                devices. If the transfer rate of a computer is 9600
                                baud, 9600 bits of information can be transmitted per
                                second.

BCD                  MISC       An acronym for Binary-Coded Decimal notation.

BENCHMARK            MISC       The program(s) used to test, compare, and evaluate
                                in real time the performance of various computer
                                systems prior to selection and purchase.

BEZIER CURVE         CAD/CAM    A smooth curve defined by four points, two of which
                                are endpoints. The other two do not lie on the line
                                of the curve but attract it during interactive
                                tracking, so that the shape of the curve is influence
                                by their location, but retains a natural smoothness.

BINARY               MISC       Files written in program languages, consisting of
                                numbers in any order, which may or may not be made to
                                represent characters.

BIOS                 MISC       Basic Input/Output System. The part of the disk
                                operating system in each workstation which performs
                                the actual communication with an input/output device
                                such as printers, keyboards, etc.

BISYNC               NETWORK    An acronym for BInary SYNchronous Communication.

BIT                  MISC       A binary digit, either 0 or 1, indicating on of two
                                states, Off (0) or On (1).

BIT MAP              CAD/CAM    A grid pattern of bits, ON or OFF, stored in memory
                                and used to generate the image on a raster-scan
                                display.

BIU                  MISC       An acronym for Bus Interface Unit.

BLOCK I/O            MISC       A set of instructions that allow direct access to the
                                data blocks of a file regardless of file organization

BOOLEAN EQUATIONS    CAD/CAM    Applications of the set-therory operations of union,
                                intersection, and complement to solid models.

BOOT                 MISC       To load a computer's operating system into random
                                memory of the computer.

BOOT UP              MISC       To start up a system.

BPS                  NETWORK    An acronym for Bits Per Second.

BRIDGE               NETWORK    Software and hardware which together allow network
                                systems to communicate with each other.

BROADBAND            NETWORK    Communications that take advantage of a transmission
                                medium with a wide bandwidth. This allows more bits
                                per unit of time to be moved from point to point.

BUFFER               MISC       A storage area in random memory where the computer
                                temporarily places data that is being transfered
                                from one device to another.

BUS                  MISC       Computer circuitry that provides a communication
                                path between two or more devices, such as CPU,
                                storage and peripherals.

BYTE                 MISC       Normally the eight bit that represents a character or
                                number in the binary code.

CADD                 CAD/CAM    Computer-aided design and drafting.

CAE                  CAD/CAM    Computer-aided engineering.

CAM                  CAD/CAM    Computer-aided manufacturing, including numerical
                                control (NC), robotics, and other applications of
                                computers in the factory.

CARRIER              NETWORK    Continuous frequency upon which signals may be
                                superimposed.

CARRIER SENSE        NETWORK    In Ethernet, a signal provided by the physical layer
                                indicating that transmission is occuring on that
                                channel.

CCITT                NETWORK    An acronym for Comite Consultatif International
                                Telegraphique et Telephonique.

CHAMFER              CAD/CAM    To join or chop two perpendicular lines with another
                                line.

CLIPPING             CAD/CAM    Removing all parts of display elements that lie
                                outside a given window or viewport.

CLUSTER              NETWORK    Two or more terminals connected to a data channel
                                at a single point.

CMOS                 MISC       An acronym for Complimentary Metal Oxide
                                Semiconductor.

CNC                  CAD/CAM    An acronym for Computer Numerical Control.

COAX                 NETWORK    Coaxial cable. A transmission line consisting of an
                                inner conductor and an outer shield.

COLD BOOT            MISC       Reloading a computers operating system by turning the
                                electricity to the computer off and back on.

COLLISION            NETWORK    Garbled data caused by multiple transmissions
                                overlapping on the physical channel.

COLLISION DETECT     NETWORK    A signal provided by the physical layer to the
                                Data Link layer to indicate that other transmissions
                                are contending with the local stations transmission.

COMMAND              MISC       An order to a system which starts a movement, a
                                function, or an operation.

COMMUNICATION        NETWORK    Sending data from one station and receiving the data
                                at another station.

COMPILER             MISC       A computer program that converts or translates a
                                high level, user written language into a language
                                that a computer can understand.

CONCENTRATOR         NETWORK    A communications device whose purpose is to reduce
                                the number of physical communications links between
                                two points by logically multiplexing the links.

CONFIGURATION        MISC       Hardware - The means of connection for the equipment
                                to be used.
                                Software - A procedure performed to prepare a
                                software program for operation.

CP/M                 PC         An acronym for Control Program for Microcomputers.
CPS                  MISC       An acronym for Characters per Second.

CPU                  MISC       An acronym for Central Processing Unit.

CRC                  NETWORK    An acronym for Cyclic Redundency Check.

CRT                  MISC       An acronym for Cathode Ray Tube.

CSMA/CD              NETWORK    An acronym for Carrier Sense Multiple Access with
                                Collision Detection.

CURSOR               CAD/CAM    The position indicator which shows where the next
                                typed character will appear.

DEBUG                MISC       To detect, locate and remove errors in programs and
                                or malfunctions in equipment.

DEFAULT              MISC       A value or option assumed by a computer or program,
                                when no other value is specified.

DIGITIZING TABLET    CAD/CAM    An electronic board with a stylus or puck pointer.
                                The position of the pointer in transmitted to the
                                computer.

DIMENSIONS           CAD/CAM    Notations on drawings that indicate lengths and
                                angles.

DIRECTORY            MISC       A name which is recognized by a computer's operating
                                system as a symbol for undefined disk space.

DOS                  PC         Disk Operating System - A set of instructions and
                                commands loaded into a personal computer at bootup.
                                These commands are what the operator needs to do
                                computing functions on a PC. Without DOS loaded, a PC
                                will not operate.

DXF                  CAD/CAM    Autodesk's external drawing exchange file format.

FEA                  CAD/CAM    Finite-element analysis. A powerful way of analyzing
                                physical shares for structural, thermal, and magnetic
                                characteristics.

FEM                  CAD/CAM    Finite-element modeling or meshing. See FEA

FIELD                MISC       An item or logical grouping of data. This could be a
                                group of related characters in a record.

FILE                 MISC       A collection of related information stored as one
                                unit under a filename.

FILE SERVER          NETWORK    A device which is used to control network activity.
                                The file server may be used to manage file sharing
                                and system security, station-to-station communication
                                and control shareable resources such as disk drives
                                and printers.

FILLET               CAD/CAM    A rounded intersection between two surfaces that is
                                used primarily in mechanical engineering. In 2D
                                drawings, a fillet is a curve connecting lines or
                                arcs in such a way that they are tangent to it.

FORMAT               MISC       The logical and/or physical arrangement of tracks
                                and sectors on a floppy or hard disk.

GRID                 CAD/CAM    A matrix of dots or lines, with user defined spacing,
                                that can be used to align drawing elements visually.

GROUP                CAD/CAM    To link two entities temporarily for certain
                                operations, such as moving or erasing.

GROUP ACCESS         NETWORK    A method of granting rights to several users so they
                                may all access the group of files.

HARDWARE             MISC       Physical equipment. The electronic and mechanical
                                components of a system, such as CPU, memory, cards
                                cables, floppy and hard disk drives.

HATCHING             CAD/CAM    A shading pattern made up of lines at specified
                                spacings and angles. Hatching is used for the
                                representation of materials, ie. steel, aluminum, etc

IGES                 CAD/CAM    Initial Graphics Exchange Specification - A neutral
                                CADD file format defined in ANSI standard Y14.28.
                                IGES is used to translate CADD databases from one
                                computer system to another.

INPUT                MISC       Information which is entered into a computer from
                                outside, using a keyboard, mouse, or other input
                                device.

INTERFACE            NETWORK    A specific hardware or software connection.

INTERNETWORK         NETWORK    Two or more networks, of the same or different
                                hardware types, connected by means of special bridge
                                hardware and software.

INTERPRETER          MISC       Converts a readable program into machine-readable
                                form only at the time of execution. The interpreter
                                checks each line of code every time the program is
                                run.

ISO                  CAD/CAM    International Standards Organization.

KILOBYTE             MISC       A unit of measure for memory or disk storage capacity
                                Two to the tenth power, or 1024 in decimal, is equal
                                to 1K.

LAN                  NETWORK    Local Area Network - Computers which are connected
                                so they can communicate and share peripherals.

LAYERS               CAD/CAM    A way of organizing information in a digital drawing
                                so that different combinations of the drawing can be
                                viewed and worked on together.

MACRO                MISC       A collection of system commands that can be activatedby
                                a single code or button.

MAP                  NETWORK    Setting any network logical drive to point to a
                                chosen directory, on a particular volume of a
                                particular file server.

MCAE                 CAD/CAM    Mechanical Computer-Aided Engineering. Usually means
                                CADD, FEA, plus solids joined together to facilitate
                                the entire design process.

MEGABYTE             MISC       A unit of measure for memory or disk storage capacity
                                Two to the twentieth power, or 1,048,576 in decimal,
                                is equal to 1MB.

MEMORY               MISC       One of the essential componets of a computers central
                                processing unit. Information and programs are activly
                                processed in memory, which includes both ROM and RAM.

MODEM                NETWORK    A device that allows information to be exchanged
                                between computers using telephone lines.

MULTISERVER NETWORK  NETWORK    A single network which has two or more file servers.
                                On a multiserver network, users may access files fro
                                many server to which they are attached.

MULTIUSER            NETWORK    Used to describe operating systems that allow many
                                users, at separate workstations, to share a computers
                                processing power.

NC                   CAD/CAM    Numerical control. The control of machine tools
                                using computers.

NURB                 CAD/CAM    Nonuniform rational B-splines. A type of homogeneous
                                geometry constrained to ensure continuity among
                                objects.

NYBBLE               MISC       4 bits, or 1/2 byte.

OPERATING SYSTEM     MISC       The most inportant piece of software. It controls the
                                execution of all other programs.

OUTPUT               MISC       Information transferred from the computer memory to
                                output devices such as a printer or monitor.

PERIPHERALS          MISC       The input/output devices and auxiliary storage device
                                units of a computer system.

PIXEL                CAD/CAM    A dot on a video graphics display, which is an
                                element of the picture screen.

PLOTTER              CAD/CAM    A device which convert computer output into a graphic
                                hardcopy form.

POLAR COORDINATES    CAD/CAM    A way of specifying location by means of angles and
                                distances.

POLYLINE             CAD/CAM    A geometric entity consisting of a number of
                                connected lines.

PORT                 NETWORK    Hardware - Connectors which allow two devices to be
                                cabled together so they can communicate.
                                Software - A memory address which is used for
                                transferring information.

PUBLIC ACCESS        NETWORK    Giving all users access to a particular directory.

QUEUE                NETWORK    To temporarily keep track of the order in which a
                                servers data handling requests are received, until
                                the server processor becomes available.

RAM                  MISC       Random Access Memory - This is the memory used when a
                                program is executed.

RASTER               CAD/CAM    A way of representing pictures in digital form. The
                                picture is divided into pixels, or picture elements,
                                which are like tiles in a mosaic.

REMOTE               NETWORK    A connection which allows data to be sent and
                                received accross great distances, using telephone
                                lines or similar means.

RESOLUTION           CAD/CAM    The grouping of pixels on a graphics video display.

RIGHTS               NETWORK    Privileges which are granted to control how users
                                may work with the files in a given directory.

ROM                  MISC       Read Only Memory - An integrated circuit for storing
                                frequently used computer instructions and data. ROM
                                is permanent memory, data is not erased from ROM when
                                the computer is turned off.

SECTOR               MISC       A disk track is divided into either 8, 9, or 10
                                contiguous sections, or sectors, each of which
                                contain 512 bytes.

SOFTWARE             MISC       Computer programs. A set of stored instructions and
                                procedures that can be recalled as needed for the
                                computer processor to execute.

SPLINE               CAD/CAM    A parametric polynomial curve whose points obey
                                certain constraints. See B-spline and Bezier curve.

STATION              NETWORK    An individual personal computer, or terminal,
                                connected within a network by a communication card
                                and some communication medium.

SUBDIRECTORY         MISC       Any directory that is below an ancestor directory in
                                the hierarchical structure.

TIMESHARING          NETWORK    The simultaneous use of specific hardware by a number
                                of people, programs, or devices.

TRACK                MISC       Concentric circles on a disk where information is
                                written. The read/write head of the disk drive moves
                                between tracks to find specific data or empty space.

USER FRIENDLY        MISC       No such meaning in the world of computers!

VECTOR               CAD/CAM    The vector approach to computer graphics entails the
                                decomposition of images into edges. The program
                                stores the coordinates of the endpoints of each edge
                                rather than the entire line.

VOLUME               MISC       A volume is the name of a physical portion of disk
                                storage space, and is the highest level in the
                                hierarchical directory structure.
