Computer jargon

(Computer jargon must be distinguished from hacker slang, which is the language of a certain subculture of people involved with computers. See jargon file.)

CAD- Computer Aided Design; particular software design program, esp. architectural

CRC- Cyclic Redundancy Check; a specific type of checksum added data that can be used to verify that the data was received without bits being dropped during transimisson or storage/retrival. The calculation is done, serialy, on the data using a polynomial which is selected to maximize the probability that any change in the data will be detected.

ENIAC- the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer. Arguably, the first all electronic digital computer started in 1943 and finished in 1946. Some claim that Goliath really was the first, but ENIAC has the best press agent ;^)

Gesture recognition- interpreting body movements into text, as a command (recognizing handwriting, signlanguage, etc)

Facemail - a method of communication involving a face-to-face discussion. Becoming extinct.

FIFO- First in, first out. This is a way of processing queues.

GIGO- Garbage in garbage out. A reply to the explanation "The computer made an error."

GOMS- Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection rules; hard science approach to HCI developed by Card, Moran & Newell in spelled out in their book "The Psychology of Human Computer Interaction, 1983.

GUI - Graphical User Interface; A desktop-like interface that usually contains icons, menus and windows and allows you to multi-task. Invented by Xerox but since "borrowed" by industry giants Microsoft and Apple.

Hypertext- gives the reader control instead of the author; allows user to jump around from source to source; linkages between texts.

Interface- parts of the computer that we work with; two different subsystems transmitting one piece of information to another;give and take of information

KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. Rule of thumb for software designers and network administrators - to minimize dispersion and error proneness, keep your designs small.

LIFO- Last in first out. This is one way of processing stacks.

MMI- Man Machine Interface.

Nanotechnology- cellular, microscopic, level of technology

Newbie - (Also n00b and newb) a newcomer to a certain computer topic or program, usually seeking out help from more experienced users.

Novice - a computer user that actually knows nothing, but boasts that they can figure it out.

RTFM - Read the f***ing manual. Common answer to basic and often repeated questions, that could be avoided in the first place just by looking at the manual.

Safe / regular / atomic semantics - different guarantee levels for shared data

Treeware - paper version of something. As in, Bill Gates is reading the TreeWare version of the New York Times.

UI - User Interface, a way of controlling a computer or device. Can be graphical (see GUI) or not.

Wetware - a sentient organic being. Usually used for humans, but with an implicit wider scope.

Widget- objects that make up interfaces, i.e. mouse, menus, textbox, buttons; basic tools and objects.

WYSIWYG- What You See Is What You Get (but not very often!) Most is WYSIAYG (...All You Get!).

See also: jargon file