National Teaching and Learning Change ProgrammeInformation and Communication Technology:
Dictionary

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• disk
  A disk is a medium for storing computer programs and data. It is a type of backing store.
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• disk drive
  The piece of hardware which reads from, and writes to, a disk.
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• disk drive
  The piece of hardware which reads from, and writes to, a disk.
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• disk format
  The arrangement and organisation of the tracks on a disk. Each track is divided into a number of equal-length blocks, called sectors. A sector is the smallest addressable portion of a track and is the smallest unit of data that is written to or read from a disk. Normally each sector on each track holds the same amount of data, even though outer tracks are longer than inner tracks, so the packing density depends upon the distance of the track from the centre of the disk. Some disk systems use variable speed disks which have different amounts of data on each track. A disk formatted for one operating system cannot normally be used in a different operating system.
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• disk pack
  A disk drive with multiple disks.
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• display
  In hardware, a device which displays output, e.g. a monitor.
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• DNS server
  A computer that resolves (translates) domain names to IP addresses.
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• document
  A file created using an application, such as a piece of text created in Word or an HTML page on the web.
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• documentation
  Information given about the running of a system. It could be aimed at the user, or documentation about a program to make it easier to maintain the program.
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• domain
  A domain is a sub-set of internet addresses. Domains are hierarchical, and lower-level domains often refer to specific websites within a top-level domain, e.g. .com, .org, .uk.
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• domain name
  The name for the apparent location, or site, of a resource on the internet. Each location has a unique domain name and this is part of the filename of each resource e.g. bbc.co.uk is a domain name owned by the BBC.
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• domain name system (DNS)
  The domain name system defines how domain names are structured. Domain names are allocated and registered in this format by companies contracted to do this.
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• dongle
  A piece of hardware used to reduce the possibility of software piracy. It usually plugs into a standard interface on a computer. Without the correct dongle the protected software will not run.
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• DOS
  Short for disk operating system. The portion of the operating system that deals with access to and management of files and programs stored on disk.
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• DOS prompt
  The operating system prompt used by MS-DOS.
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• dots per inch (dpi)
  Printer resolution is measured in dots per inch, or dpi. The smaller the dots making up the printing and the closer they are together, the clearer the image will be.
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• double click
  This means to click the mouse twice in quick succession. This often has the effect of selecting an item.
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• double spacing
  Lines which are double spaced have a blank line between each line of text.
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• down time
  The time when a computer system is not available to the user. This may be because the computer is being maintained, it has broken down, there is a failure in the operating system or there is a communications failure.
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• download
  The term commonly used to refer to the transfer of a file from one computer to another. Generally, the term is used when the user who starts the process is operating the computer which will eventually receive the file. When the user is sending the file to another site, the term used to describe the operation is upload.