A path that begins at the root and includes all successive subdirectories

A container whose properties (data and operations) are specified independently of any particular implementation

An algorithmic step for which some details remain unspecified

A model of a complex system that includes only the details essential to the viewer

A set of rules established by an organization that specify which types of network communication are permitted and denied

The time it takes for a block to start being read; the sum of seek time and latency

An electronic circuit that performs an addition operation on binary values

The number of bits stored in each addressable location in memory

The mapping from a logical address to a physical address

Two vertices that are connected by an edge

An operation on a data structure as a whole, as opposed to an operation on an individual component of the data structure

Unambiguous instructions for solving a problem or subproblem in a finite amount of time using a finite amount of data

See arithmetic/logic unit

A continuous representation of data

Software designed to detect, remove, and/or prevent malicious software

Programs that help us solve real-world problems

The identifiers listed in parentheses on the subprogram call; sometimes called actual parameters

The computer component that performs arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) and logical operations (comparison of two values)

The study of computer systems that model and apply the intelligence of the human mind

A computer representation of knowledge that attempts to mimic the neural networks of the human body

A program that translates an assembly-language program into machine code

Instructions to the translating program

A low-level programming language in which a mnemonic represents each of the machine-language instructions for a particular computer

A statement that stores the value of an expression into a variable

Not occurring at the same moment in time as some specific operation of the computer; in other words, not synchronized with the program’s actions

Part of a tag that provides additional information about the element

Information users provide to identify themselves

The degree to which authorized users can access information for legitimate purposes

A program feature that gives special and unauthorized access to a software system to anyone who knows it exists

The number of bits or bytes that can be transmitted from one place to another in a fixed amount of time

The foundational value of a number system, which dictates the number of digits and the value of digit positions

A register that holds the beginning address of the current partition

A notation that expresses computing time (complexity) as the term in a function that increases most rapidly relative to the size of a problem

Large data sets that defy conventional management solutions, such as spreadsheets and databases

A digit in the binary number system; a 0 or a 1

A file that contains data in a specific format, requiring a special interpretation of its bits

Looking for an item in an already sorted list by eliminating large portions of the data on each comparison

An abstract composite structure with a unique starting node called the root, in which each node is capable of having two child nodes and in which a unique path exists from the root to every other node

Using physiological characteristics, such as fingerprints, to identify users and control access

Binary digit

The information stored in a sector

An incorruptible public ledger of transactions

A technology used for wireless communication over short distances

A mathematical notation for expressing two-valued logical functions

A sequence of identifiers, separated by compatible operators, that evaluates to either true or false

A register that holds the length of the current partition

An instruction that indicates which instruction to process next

Searching across levels of a tree prior to searching down specific paths

Network technologies that generally provide data transfer speeds greater than 256 Kbps

A defect in a computer program that could cause a system to crash and leave the user with heightened privileges

A LAN configuration in which all nodes share a common line

The number of bits that can be transferred in parallel over the bus

Eight binary digits

A standard machine language into which Java source code is compiled

A device that allows computer network communication using the cable TV hookup in a home

A type of small, high-speed memory used to hold frequently used data

A substitution cipher that shifts characters a certain number of positions in the alphabet

A loss of accuracy during addition or subtraction of numbers of widely differing sizes, due to limits of precision

A software mechanism used to verify that a web form is submitted by a human and not an automated program

The number of relationships that may exist at one time among entities in an ER diagram

Uppercase and lowercase letters are not considered the same; two identifiers with the same spelling but different capitalization are considered to be two distinct identifiers

An element of a spreadsheet that can contain data or a formula

A list of the characters and the codes used to represent each one

A program designed to carry on a conversation with a human user

An algorithm used to encrypt and decrypt text

A combination of interacting gates designed to accomplish a specific logical function

The same output for each corresponding input-value combination for two circuits

A set of formulas that ultimately, and erroneously, rely on each other to compute their results

A pattern for an object

Problems that can be solved in polynomial time with as many processors as desired

The class made up of all polynomial-time algorithms

Problems that can be solved with one processor in polynomial time

A distributed approach in which a client makes requests of a server and the server responds

A paradigm in which computing system resources are provided by a third party and managed through Internet communication

Testing a program or subprogram based on covering all the statements in the code

A circuit whose output is solely determined by its input values

Explanatory text for the human reader

A program that translates a high-level language program into machine code

The size of the compressed data divided by the size of the uncompressed data

An interdisciplinary field that applies techniques of computer science, applied mathematics, and statistics to problems in biology

A computer simulation of a virtual world

The physical elements of a computing system

A collection of computing devices connected so that they can communicate and share resources

The programs that provide the instructions that a computer executes

Computer hardware, software, and data, which interact to solve problems

A step for which the details are fully specified

Ensuring that data is protected from unauthorized access

An algorithm whose Big-O work expression is a constant

Objects whose role is to hold and manipulate other objects

The exchange of register information that occurs when one process is removed from the CPU and another takes its place

The separation of the logical view of a control structure from its implementation

An instruction that determines the order in which other instructions in a program are executed

The computer component that controls the actions of the other components so as to execute instructions in sequence

The central processing unit, a combination of the arithmetic/logic unit and the control unit; the “brain” of a computer, which interprets and executes instructions

The act of determining which process in memory is given access to the CPU so that it may execute

The process of decrypting a message without knowing the cipher or key used to encrypt it

The field of study related to encoded information

The set of concentric tracks on all surfaces

Basic values or facts

The separation of the logical view of data from its implementation

Reducing the amount of space needed to store a piece of data

Testing a program or subprogram based on the possible input values; treating the code as a black box

The implementation of a composite data field in an abstract data type

The speed with which data is moved from one place to another on a network

A description of the set of values and the basic set of operations that can be applied to values of the type

A structured set of data

A combination of software and data made up of the physical database, the database engine, and the database schema

A statement that associates an identifier with a variable, an action, or some other entity within the language that can be given a name so that the programmer can refer to that item by name

The process of converting ciphertext into plaintext

An extension to paged memory management in which pages are brought into memory only when referenced (on demand)

An attack on a network resource that prevents authorized users from accessing the system

Searching down the paths of a tree prior to searching across levels

Tracing the execution of a design on paper

A representation of a sender’s authenticated public key used to minimize malicious forgeries

A discrete representation of data

Data that is appended to a message, made from the message itself and the sender’s private key, to ensure the authenticity of the message

An Internet connection made using a digital signal on regular phone lines

The act of breaking information down into discrete pieces

The technique in which data in a file is accessed directly, by specifying logical record numbers

A graph in which each edge is directed from one vertex to another (or the same) vertex

A named group of files

A structure showing the nested directory organization of the file system

The act of deciding which outstanding requests for disk I/O to satisfy first

A specification of the organization of an XML document

The part of a hostname that specifies an organization or group

A computer that attempts to translate a hostname into an IP address

A distributed system for managing hostname resolution

Purchasing a domain name with the sole intent of selling it at a high price to a person or organization that actually wants to use it

Receiving data on a local computer from the Internet

A monitor and keyboard that allowed the user to access the mainframe computer in early timesharing systems

The memory management technique in which memory is divided into partitions as needed to accommodate programs

A pair of vertices representing a connection between two nodes in a graph

In an artificial neuron, the sum of the weights multiplied by the corresponding input values

The process of buying and selling products and services using the World Wide Web

A language feature that enforces information hiding; bundling data and actions so that the logical properties of data and actions are separated from the implementation details

The process of converting plaintext into ciphertext

A popular technique for designing relational databases

A graphical representation of an ER model

A network communication protocol that is integrated into most personal computers

A software system based on the knowledge of human experts

A language that allows the user to describe the content of a document

A language for defining transformations from XML documents to other output formats

A single value in a database record

Named items in a class; can be data or subprograms

A named collection of data, used for organizing secondary memory

Part of a file name that indicates the file type

A computer dedicated to storing and managing files for network users

The operating system’s logical view of the files it manages

The specific kind of information contained in a file, such as a Java program or a Microsoft Word document

A technique used for user authentication that compares a scanned fingerprint to a stored copy of the authorized user’s fingerprint

A gateway machine and software that protects a network by filtering the traffic it allows

The memory management technique in which memory is divided into a specific number of partitions into which programs are loaded

A representation of a real number that keeps track of the sign, mantissa, and exponent

A fixed-size portion of main memory that holds a process page

A circuit that computes the sum of two bits, taking an input carry bit into account

A software system within which computer games are created

The type of interactions and experiences a player has during the game

A device that performs a basic operation on electrical signals, accepting one or more input signals and producing a single output signal

A node that handles communication between its LAN and other networks

A system that uses satellites to pinpoint the location of any GPS receiver

A data structure that consists of a set of nodes and a set of edges that relate the nodes to each other

A circuit that computes the sum of two bits and produces the appropriate carry bit

The unsolvable problem of determining whether any program will eventually stop given a particular input

The part of an IP address that specifies a particular host on the network

A name made up of words separated by dots that uniquely identifies a computer on the Internet; each hostname corresponds to a particular IP address

The newest HTML standard with a streamlined tag system and support for dynamic content

Using a variable-length binary string to represent a character so that frequently used characters have short codes

The language used to create or build a web page

The international organization that approves top-level domain names

The software that processes rules to draw conclusions

Data that has been organized or processed in a useful manner

The practice of hiding the details of a module with the goal of controlling access to the details of the module

The techniques and policies used to ensure proper access to data

Software that helps the user organize and analyze data

A mechanism by which one class acquires the properties—data fields and methods—of another class

A device that accepts data to be stored in memory

A verification method in which one member of a team reads the program or design aloud line by line and the others point out errors

A technique for sending short messages in real time

To create an object from a class

The register that contains the instruction currently being executed

A natural number, a negative of a natural number, or zero

A piece of silicon on which multiple gates have been embedded

Ensuring that data can be modified only by appropriate mechanisms

A system that allows direct communication between the user and the computer

A wide-area network that spans the planet

A set of high-speed networks carrying Internet traffic

The network protocol that deals with the routing of packets through interconnected networks to the final destination

An organization providing access to the Internet

The ability of software and hardware on multiple machines and from multiple commercial vendors to communicate

A program that inputs a program in a high-level language and directs the computer to perform the actions specified in each statement

An address made up of four numeric values separated by dots that uniquely identifies a computer on the Internet

A Java program designed to be embedded into an HTML document, transferred over the Web, and executed in a browser

A portion of code embedded in an HTML document designed to dynamically contribute to the content of the web page

One or more fields of a database record that uniquely identifies it among all other records in the table

Replacing a frequently used word with a single character

Software that uses a specific set of information

A name given to a memory location, which can then be used as an operand

The time it takes for the specified sector to be in position under the read/write head

A tree node that has no children

The ambiguity created when words have multiple meanings

A connection between one web page and another

A list in which the order of the components is determined by an explicit link field in each node, rather than by the sequential order of the components in memory

An implementation of a container where the items are stored together with information on where the next item can be found

A piece of software that takes a machine-language program and places it into memory

A network connecting a small number of nodes in a close geographic area

The first formal instantiation of the Turing test, held annually

A malicious program that is set up to execute when a specific system event occurs

A graphical representation of a circuit; each type of gate has its own symbol

A reference to a stored value relative to the program making the reference

A data compression technique in which there is no loss of information

A data compression technique in which there is loss of information

The language made up of binary-coded instructions that is used directly by the computer

A large, multi-user computer often associated with early timesharing systems

A computer program that attempts to bypass appropriate authorization safeguards and/or perform unauthorized functions

A security attack in which network communication is intercepted in an attempt to obtain key data

A language that uses tags to annotate the information in a document

The act of keeping track of how and where programs are loaded in main memory

Data about data

A language that is used to define other languages

A named algorithm that defines one aspect of the behavior of a class

A network infrastructure developed for a large city

A standard for defining the format of files that are included as email attachments or on websites

An abstraction of a real system; a representation of objects within a system and the rules that govern the behavior of the objects

The main circuit board of a personal computer

Several different media types

A circuit that uses a few input control signals to determine which of several input data lines is routed to its output

The technique of keeping multiple programs in main memory at the same time, competing for the CPU

Languages that humans use to communicate, such as English

Using a computer to apply a meaningful interpretation to human communication

The number 0 and any number obtained by repeatedly adding 1 to it

A value less than 0, with a sign opposite to its positive counterpart

A structure in which one control structure is embedded within another

The part of an IP address that specifies a network

The principle that ISPs should deliver data to everyone equally, as fast as the technology allows

Any addressable device attached to a network

CPU scheduling that occurs when the currently executing process gives up the CPU voluntarily

A class of problems within Class NP that has the property that if a polynomial time solution with one processor can be found for any member of the class, such a solution exists for every member of the class

A unit of an abstract mathematical system subject to the laws of arithmetic

An entity or thing that is relevant in the context of a problem

An instance of a class

A description of a group of objects with similar properties and behaviors

A system that is based on a common model of network architecture and an accompanying suite of protocols

A seven-layer logical breakdown of network interaction to facilitate communication standards

System software that manages computer resources and provides an interface for system interaction

A device that prints or otherwise displays data stored in memory or makes a permanent copy of information stored in memory or another device

The condition that occurs when the results of a calculation are too large to represent in a given machine

A decentralized approach that shares resources and responsibilities among many “peer” computers

A unit of data sent across a network

The approach to network communication in which packets are individually routed to their destination, then reassembled

A fixed-size portion of a process that is stored into a memory frame

The table used by the operating system to keep track of page/frame relationships

Bringing in one page from secondary memory, possibly causing another to be removed

A memory management technique in which processes are divided into fixed-size pages and stored in memory frames when loaded

A mechanism for communicating between two parts of a program

The identifiers listed in parentheses beside the subprogram name; sometimes called formal parameters

A set of rules that must be followed when creating a password

An attempt to gain access to a computer system by methodically trying to determine a user’s password

A program that helps you manage sensitive data, such as passwords, in a secure manner

A text designation of the location of a file or subdirectory in a file system

Using a web page to masquerade as part of a trusted system to trick users into revealing security information

A device that converts computer data into an analog audio signal and back again

The set of fundamental sounds made in any given natural language

An actual address in the main memory device

A program used to test whether a particular network computer is active and reachable

A technique that breaks an instruction into smaller steps that can be overlapped

Individual dots used to represent a picture; stands for picture elements

The ability of a language to determine at runtime which of several possible methods will be executed for a given invocation

Algorithms whose complexity can be expressed as a polynomial in the size of the problem

A numeric designation corresponding to a particular high-level protocol

A system of expressing numbers in which the digits are arranged in succession, the position of each digit has a place value, and the number is equal to the sum of the products of each digit by its place value

The maximum number of significant digits that can be represented

CPU scheduling that occurs when the operating system decides to favor another process, preempting the currently executing process

The separation of the logical view of an action from its implementation

The dynamic representation of a program during execution

The data structure used by the operating system to manage information about a process

The act of keeping track of information for active processes

The conceptual stages through which a process moves as it is managed by the operating system

A sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task

The register that contains the address of the next instruction to be executed

A system that uses technologies kept private by a particular commercial vendor

A set of rules that defines how data is formatted and processed on a network

Layers of protocols that build and rely on each other

A language designed to express algorithms

An approach to cryptography in which each user has two related keys, one public and one private

Variation in a signal that jumps sharply between two extremes

A request to retrieve data from a database

The dot that separates the whole part from the fractional part in a real number in any base

A set of contiguous cells specified by the endpoints

Storing image information pixel by pixel

An integer or the quotient of two integers (division by zero excluded)

A system in which response time is crucial given the nature of the application domain

The act of reasserting an original digital signal before too much degradation occurs

A collection of related fields that make up a single database entry

The ability of an algorithm to call itself

A parameter that expects the address of its argument to be passed by the calling unit (put on the message board)

The ambiguity created when pronouns could be applied to multiple objects

A small storage area in the CPU used to store intermediate values or special data

A database model in which data and the relationships among them are organized into tables

A path that begins at the current working directory

A network device that strengthens and propagates a signal along a long communication line

An arithmetic error caused by the fact that the precision of the result of an arithmetic operation is greater than the precision of our machine

A word in a language that has special meaning; it cannot be used as an identifier

The number of pixels used to represent a picture

The time delay between receiving a stimulus and producing a response

A LAN configuration in which all nodes are connected in a closed loop

Determining the nature and likelihood of the risks to key data

The unique starting node in a tree

The topmost directory, in which all others are contained

A transposition cipher that lays out a message in a grid and traverses it in a particular way

A network device that directs a packet between networks toward its final destination

A software system based on a set of if-then rules

Replacing a long series of repeated characters with a count of the repetition

A specification of the logical structure of data in a database

An alternative floating-point representation

A structure that represents alternatives in adversarial situations, such as game playing

A section of a track

A written statement describing the constraints or behavior an organization embraces regarding the information provided by its users

The time it takes for the read/write head to get positioned over the specified track

A knowledge representation technique that represents the relationships among objects

Material such as silicon that is neither a good conductor nor a good insulator

A circuit whose output is a function of its input values and the current state of the circuit

The technique in which data in a file is accessed in a linear fashion

The situation in which multiple processors share a global memory

Number representation in which the sign represents the ordering of the number (negative and positive) and the value represents the magnitude

Those digits that begin with the first nonzero digit on the left and end with the last nonzero digit on the right (or a zero digit that is exact)

Developing a model of a complex system and experimenting with the model to observe the results

The approach to memory management in which a program is loaded into one continuous area of memory

A card with an embedded memory chip used to identify users and control access

An online service that allows people with shared interests to communicate and interact

A statement of what is to be provided by a computer system or software product

A detailed description of the function, inputs, processing, outputs, and special features of a software product; it provides the information needed to design and implement the software

Movie compression technique based on the same compression techniques used for still images

An attack on a computer system in which a malicious user masquerades as an authorized user

A program that allows the user to organize and analyze data using a grid of cells

A computation provided by the spreadsheet software that can be incorporated into formulas

A LAN configuration in which a central node controls all message traffic

The equality of two systems based on their results and the process by which they arrive at those results

Each variable is assigned a type and only values of that type can be stored in the variable

A comprehensive relational database language for data management and queries

A cipher that substitutes one character with another

Multiple processors apply the same program in lockstep to multiple data sets

The ambiguity created when sentences can be constructed in various ways

Programs that manage a computer system and interact with hardware

A collection of database records

The syntactic element in a markup language that indicates how information should be displayed

A suite of protocols and programs that support low-level network communication

Movie compression technique based on differences between consecutive frames

A representation of negative numbers, such that the negative of I is 10 raised to k minus I

A document that specifies how a program is to be tested

Using the test cases specified in a test plan to verify that a program outputs the predicted results

A file that contains characters

Inefficient processing caused by constant page swapping

The amount of time given to each process in the round-robin CPU scheduling algorithm

A system in which CPU time is shared among multiple interactive users at the same time

The last section of a domain name, specifying the type of organization or its country of origin

A program that shows the route a packet takes across the Internet

A concentric circle on the surface of a disk

The process of adjusting the weights and threshold values in a neural net to get a desired outcome

The rate at which data moves from the disk to memory

A device that acts either as a wire or a resister, depending on the voltage level of an input signal

The network protocol that breaks messages into packets, reassembles them at the destination, and takes care of errors

A cipher that rearranges the order of characters in a message

A malicious program disguised as a benevolent resource

A table showing all possible input values and the associated output values

A behavioral approach to determining whether a computer system is intelligent

The CPU scheduling metric that measures the elapsed time between a process’s arrival in the ready state and its ultimate completion

The condition that occurs when the results of a calculation are too small to represent in a given machine

A graph in which the edges have no direction

A standard way of specifying the location of a web page

Sending data from a local computer to a destination on the Internet

The process of verifying the credentials of a particular user of a computer or software system

An alternative to TCP that achieves higher transmission speeds at the cost of reliability

A parameter that expects a copy of its argument to be passed by the calling unit (put on the message board)

A location in memory, referenced by an identifier, that contains a data value

Representation of an image in terms of lines and shapes

A node in a graph

Methods used to shrink the size of a movie

A hypothetical machine designed to illustrate important features of a real machine

The illusion created by a timesharing system that each user has a dedicated machine

The illusion that there is no restriction on program size because an entire process need not be in memory at the same time

A malicious, self-replicating program that embeds itself into other code

Using a computer to recognize the words spoken by a human

Using a computer to create the sound of human speech

The plot of frequency changes over time representing the sound of human speech

A verification method in which a team performs a manual simulation of the program or design

The equality of two systems based on their results

The collection and analysis of data related to website usage

A software tool that retrieves and displays web pages

A document that contains or references various kinds of data

A computer set up to respond to requests for web pages

A collection of related web pages, usually designed and controlled by the same person or company

Modifying spreadsheet values that represent assumptions to see how changes in those assumptions affect related data

A network connecting two or more local-area networks

A website whose content can be created and edited by multiple users

A network connection made without physical wires

A network in which devices communicate with other nodes through a wireless access point

A group of one or more bytes; the number of bits in a word is the word length of the computer

The currently active subdirectory

An infrastructure of information and the network software used to access it

A malicious stand-alone program that often targets network resources