An interrupt is a signal from a device attached to a computer or from a program within the computer that causes the main program that operates the computer (the operating system ) to stop and figure out what to do next. Almost all personal (or larger) computers today are interrupt-driven – that is, they start down the list of
DEFINITION of extranet
An extranet is a private network that uses Internet technology and the public telecommunication system to securely share part of a business’s information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses. An extranet can be viewed as part of a company’s intranet that is extended to users outside
DEFINITION of glitch
In several usages in information technology, a glitch (pronounced GLIHTCH ) is a sudden break in function or continuity, sometimes of a transient nature, with a varying degree of seriousness. According to Eric Raymond, author of The New Hacker’s Dictionary , glitch is from the German ‘glitschen,’ meaning ‘to slip,’ via Yiddish ‘glitshen,’ meaning ‘to slide or skid.’ In different contexts, the term has different meanings.
DEFINITION of kernel
The kernel is the essential center of a computer operating system, the core that provides basic services for all other parts of the operating system. A synonym is nucleus. A kernel can be contrasted with a shell, the outermost part of an operating system that interacts with user commands. Kernel and shell are terms used more frequently in Unix operating systems than in IBM mainframe or Microsoft Windows systems.
DEFINITION of Mbps
Mbps is not to be confused with MBps (megabytes per second). Also see Kilo, mega, giga, tera, peta, and all that. Mbps stands for millions of bits per second or megabits per second and is a measure of bandwidth (the total information flow over a given time) on a telecommunications medium. Depending on the medium and the
DEFINITION of HTML
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the set of markup symbols or codes inserted in a file intended for display on a World Wide Web browser page. The markup tells the Web browser how to display a Web page’s words and images for the user. Each individual markup code is referred to as an element (but many people also refer to it as a tag). Some elements come in pairs that indicate when some display effect is to begin and when it is to end.
HTML is a formal Recommendation by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and is generally adhered to by the major browsers, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Netscape’s Navigator, which also provide some additional non-standard codes. The current version of HTML is HTML 4.0. However, both Internet Explorer and Netscape implement some features differently and provide non-standard extensions. Web developers using the more advanced features of HTML 4 may have to design pages for both browsers and send out the appropriate version to a user. Significant features in HTML 4 are sometimes described in general as dynamic HTML. What is sometimes referred to as HTML 5 is an extensible form of HTML called Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML).
DEFINITION of GUID
A GUID (global unique identifier) is a term used by Microsoft for a number that its programming generates to create a unique identity for an entity such as a Word document. GUIDs are widely used in Microsoft products to identify interfaces, replica sets, records, and other objects. Different kinds of objects have different kinds
DEFINITION of IMAP
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is a standard protocol for accessing e-mail from your local server. IMAP (the latest version is IMAP Version 4) is a client/server protocol in which e-mail is received and held for you by your Internet server. You (or your e-mail client) can view just the heading and the sender of the
DEFINITION of HPFS
HPFS (High Performance File System) is the file system introduced with IBM’s OS/2 Version 1.2. HPFS is noted for handling large files (2 gigabytes) across multiple hard disk volumes (addressable up to 2 terabytes) and long file names (up to 256 bytes). HPFS was designed to get around several limitations at the time in
DEFINITION of MAC address
In a local area network (LAN) or other network, the MAC (Media Access Control) address is your computer’s unique hardware number. (On an Ethernet LAN, it’s the same as your Ethernet address.) When you’re connected to the Internet from your computer (or host as the Internet protocol thinks of it), a correspondence table relates your IP address to your computer’s physical (MAC) address on the LAN.
