National Teaching and Learning Change ProgrammeInformation and Communication Technology:
Dictionary

• Home
• Data representation
• General
• Hardware
• Internet/web
• Managing data
• Multimedia
• Networks and communications technology
• Programming
• Security
• Software
• Systems design
• My downloads

Search results

• parent process
  A computer process which has created, or spawned, one or more child processes.
• 
• parity bit
  Parity checks ensure that a single byte or word of data has been transferred within the system correctly. A bit in each byte or word is reserved to be the parity bit. This parity bit is set to 1 or to 0 depending on the data. If the data is corrupted then the parity check is likely to fail.
• 
• parity check
  A parity check is a type of verification check to ensure that a single byte or word of data has been transferred correctly. A bit in each byte or word is reserved to be the parity bit. This parity bit is set to 1 or to 0 depending on the data. If the data is corrupted then the parity check is likely to fail.
• 
• park
  To park the read/write heads in a disk drive is to move them to a safe position whenever they are not being used to access the disk.
• 
• parsing
  The breaking down of high-level programming language statements into their component parts during the translation process, for example identifying reserved words and variables.
• 
• partition
  A hard disk can be partitioned into more than one part, so that each part can have a different operating system, or act as a different drive.
• 
• password
  Passwords are words or codes that are linked to a specific user name. Although a user name may be generally known to others, access can only be gained with the correct combination of user ID and password.
• 
• password protection
  A file (or other data, programs, computers, etc.) can be protected by a password, which must be supplied before access is allowed.
• 
• paste
  Transfer the contents of the clipboard to an application. Usually follows a cut or copy operation.
• 
• paste special
  A paste operation which allows you to specify in more detail precisely how it is pasted. Options depend on the application.
• 
• patch
  A software update used to fix problems within a computer program.
• 
• pause
  To temporarily stop an action.
• 
• peer-to-peer network
  A simple network which provides shared resources, such as printers and storage, but may offer little else in the way of additional facilities, such as file security. The name comes from the fact that all the computers on these networks have equal status and can send data to and from each other. For example one station may send data to another station, which can then print it out, acting as a printer server. Similarly, one station can send data to another for storage on that station
• 
• peripheral
  A hardware device which can be plugged into the computer to perform some additional function, for example, a disk drive, a printer, a keyboard or monitor.
• 
• Personal Computer (PC)
  An IBM-compatible microcomputer.
• 
• personal digital assistant (PDA) (1)
  A small hand-held computer, similar to a palmtop.
• 
• personal digital assistant (PDA) (2)
  A small hand-held computer, similar to a palmtop.
• 
• physical address
  A memory address which stores the actual physical location of the data.
• 
• pie chart
  A graphical way of displaying the data in a spreadsheet. Each item of data appears as a slice of a circle, the size of which is proportional to the size of the data.
• 
• PIN
  Personal Identification Number. A number used as a password, particularly with bank cards and credit cards. For example, a bank card is the personal identification device, which provides the user ID, and is used with a personal identification number to obtain money from a cash point.