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Technology Terminologies

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scanner

A device that senses alterations of light and dark.

scheduling

An automated capability to schedule meetings and/or resources (such as meeting rooms, projectors, etc.) by looking at online calendars.

screen

The surface of a monitor on which information can be viewed.

screen editor

A program that allows a file to be edited by making changes to the text displayed on the screen. It may also support commands to make changes to the whole file at once. Changes to the portion displayed on the screen are immediately shown.

scroll

To move all or part of the display image vertically or horizontally to view data otherwise excluded. Scrolling can be performed with a mouse in the horizontal/vertical bars on each window or by using the page up/down - home/end - or arrow keys.

segment

A section of network wiring. Segments are connected by repeaters, bridges or routers.

sequential

A method of storing and retrieving information that requires data to be written and read sequentially. Accessing any portion of the data requires reading all the preceding data.

server

A computer that shares its resources, such as printers and files, with other computers on the network. An example of this is a Network Files System Server which shares its disk space with a workstation that does not have a disk drive of its own.

service (or service provider)

An organization that provides access to part of the Internet. You have to arrange for an account with a service to connect your computer to the Internet.

session

Networking term used to refer to the logical stream of data flowing between two programs and being communicated over a network. There may be many different sessions emanating from any one node on a network.

Session Layer

The fifth layer of the OSI reference model, it provides the means for two session service users to organize and synchronize their dialogs and manage data exchange.

shareware

Protected by copyright; holder allows you to make and distribute copies under the condition that those who adopt the software after preview pay a fee to the holder of the copyright; derivative works are not allowed; you may make an archival copy.

shell

A term that usually refers to the user interface of an operating system. A shell is the command processor that is the actual interface between the kernel and the user. The C shell or the Bourne shell are the primary user interfaces on UNIX systems. Contrasts with the kernel, which interacts with the computer at low levels.

simulation

An imitation of the behavior of some existing or intended system, or some aspect of that behavior. Examples of areas where simulation is used include communications network design, weather forecasting and training. Physical systems can also be simulated, for example, chemical or nuclear reactions.

smiley

Character combinations such as :-) to denote whether a message is being made in jest with various modifications thereof ;-) to wink, etc. Also called emoticons, since not all are smiling %-( .

soft copy

An electronic version of a file, usually in computer memory and/or on disk; as opposed to hard copy, the paper printout.

software

Computer programs that perform various tasks. Word processing programs (like WordPerfect or Microsoft Word), spreadsheet programs (like Lotus or Excel), or database programs (like dBase III+, Access, or FileMaker) are all software.

software tool

A program that is employed in the development, repair or enhancement of other programs. Tools include editors, compilers and linkers. Also refers to utilities, such as formatters and file utilities.

sort

To arrange a set of items in sequence according to keys; for example, to arrange the records of a personnel file into alphabetical order by using the employee names as sort keys.

source code

The program in a language prepared by the programmer. This code cannot be directly executed by the computer and must first be translated into object code.

spool

Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On-Line. A scheme that allows multiple devices to simultaneously write output to the same device such as multiple computers printing to the same printer at the same time. The data are actually written to temporary files while a program called a spooler sends the files to the device one at a time.

spreadsheet

Software program that allows mathematical calculations, such as budgeting, keeping track of investments, or tracking grades.

SQL

Structured Query Language. ANSI standard data manipulation language used in most relational data base systems. A language for requesting data from a relational database.

storage

A device or medium that can retain data for subsequent retrieval.

string

A sequence of characters.

striping

Disk striping copies blocks, bytes or bits across multiple disks in such a way that if one disk is lost, the data can be created using the blocks or bits on the remaining disks.

Sun Microsystems

Sun originally stood for Stanford University Network, a name given to a printed circuit board developed in 1981 that was designed to run UNIX.

SunOS

The name of the operating system of the workstation from Sun Microsystems. It is based on Berkeley UNIX and AT&Ts; System V UNIX. It is composed of three major parts: the kernel and file system, shells and graphical interfaces, and utility programs.

surfing

Netspeak for wandering, whether one is surfing through cable stations or surfing the Internet.

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