The Computer Folks Computer Term Glossary

Backspace key	Key used to move to the left of currently typed text, deleting consecutive characters.
Backup	The process of making duplicate copies of data, in case something happens to the originals. the term also refers to a duplicate copy of a file or the contents of a disk drive.
Backup software	Computer programs designed to manage hard disk backup to tapes or disks.
Bandwidth	The range of frequencies that a communications channel can carry.
Banyan Vines	A network operating system produced by Banyan.
Bar code reader	A device that gathers information by scanning bar code labels on products, price tags, or other objects.
Batch file	A series of operation system commands used to automate tasks.
Bays	Opening in the computer sysem unit case that allows for the installation of peripherals.
Benchmarking	The process of measuring aspects of products, services, and business practices, and comparing them to a standard or reference measurement (for example, a comparison of a computer's performance against an industry standard).
Binary codes	Means of representing information using only the digits 0 and 1.
Binary number system	Number system used by digital computers to represent data using two digits, 0and 1.
Biometrics	A method of personal identification that bases identification on a unique physical characteristic, such as a fingerprint or the pattern of blood vessels in the retina of the eye.
Bit	The smallest unit of information in a computer system, consisting of a 1 or a 0 that represents data (abbreviation of binary digit).
Bitmap display	Also called graphics display. A form of display in which the monitor screen is divided into a matrix of small dots called pixels.
Bitmap graphics software	Programs used to modify or edit bitmap graphics (also called photo-editing or paint software.
Bitmapped image	An image that is displayed and stored as a collection of individual pixels.
Black hole	In a DFD, a process that has no output.
Block	A discrete series of data bits.
Block operations	Deleting or moving blocks in a document.
Blocks	In a document production terminology, discrete sections of a document.
Body	The part of a HTML document that contains informational text, graphics, and links.
Boilerplating	The process of merging standard paragraphs to create a new document (contracts, wills, etc.)
Bookmarks	Frequently visited sites stored as a list on a user's computer, by means of Web browser software.
Boot process	The sequence of events that occurs within the computer system between the time the user starts the computer and the time it is ready to process commands.
Boot sector viruses	Computer viruses that infect the system files a user's computer relies on every time it is started up.
Bootable floopy disk	A disk containing the operating system files necessary to activate the computer.
Border	A box around text or graphics - usually around a title, heading, or table.
Bus	The component of a microcomputer motherboard that transports data between other components on the board, in network terminology, a series of nodes connected by cable that is run directly from one node to the next.
Business	An organization that seeks profit by providing goods and/or services.
Business process redesign (BPR)	The process of making radical changes to existing business practices in order to achieve improvement in performance (also called business process re-engineering).
Business software	Computer programs that help organizations to efficiently accomplish routine professional and clerical tasks.
Button	An area of the screen containing a three-dimensional image (usually square or rectangular) that can be pressed with the mouse pointer to activate a function.
Byte	An eight-bit unit of information, usually representing one character (a letter, punctuation mark, space, or numeral).