Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Bluetooth
A wireless communications
specification that describes how cell
phones, computers, faxes, personal digital
assistants, printers, and other electronic
devices can be interconnected over
distances of 10-30 feet at a rate of about
2 Mbps.
acceptance testing
Conducting any
tests required by the user.
artificial intelligence (AI)
The ability of
computers to mimic or duplicate the
functions of the human brain.
accounting MIS
An information system
that provides aggregate information on
accounts payable, accounts receivable,
payroll, and many other applications.
artificial intelligence systems
People,
procedures, hardware, software, data, and
knowledge needed to develop computer
systems and machines that demonstrate
the characteristics of intelligence.
bot
A software tool that searches the
Web for information such as products
and prices.
ad hoc DSS
A DSS concerned with
situations or decisions that come up only
a few times during the life of the
organization.
asking directly
An approach to gather
data that asks users, stakeholders, and
other managers about what they want and
expect from the new or modified system.
brainstorming
A decision-making
approach that often consists of members
offering ideas “off the top of their heads.”
Advanced Encryption Standard
(AES)
An extremely strong data
encryption standard sponsored by the
National Institute of Standards and
Technology based on a key size of 128
bits, 192 bits, or 256 bits.
asynchronous communications
A
form of communications where the
receiver gets the message after some
delay—sometimes hours or days after the
message is sent.
bridge
A telecommunications device
that connects one LAN to another LAN
using the same telecommunications
protocol.
alpha testing
Testing an incomplete or
early version of the system.
broadband communications
A
telecommunications system in which a
very high rate of data exchange is possible.
attribute
A characteristic of an entity.
analog signal
A variable signal
continuous in both time and amplitude
so that any small fluctuations in the signal
are meaningful.
auditing
Analyzing the financial
condition of an organization and
determining whether financial statements
and reports produced by the financial
MIS are accurate.
business intelligence
The process of
gathering enough of the right
information in a timely manner and
usable form and analyzing it to have a
positive impact on business strategy,
tactics, or operations.
antivirus program
Software that runs in
the background to protect your computer
from dangers lurking on the Internet and
other possible sources of infected files.
backward chaining
The process of
starting with conclusions and working
backward to the supporting facts.
business-to-business (B2B)
e-commerce
A subset of e-commerce
where all the participants are
organizations.
application flowcharts
Diagrams that
show relationships among applications or
systems.
backbone
One of the Internet's high-
speed, long-distance communications
links.
business-to-consumer (B2C)
e-commerce
A form of e-commerce in
which customers deal directly with an
organization and avoid intermediaries.
application program interface (API)
An interface that allows applications to
make use of the operating system.
batch processing system
A form of data
processing where business transactions
are accumulated over a period of time and
prepared for processing as a single unit or
batch.
byte (B)
Eight bits that together
represent a single character of data.
application service provider (ASP)
A
company that provides software, support,
and the computer hardware on which to
run the software from the user's facilities
over a network.
benchmark test
An examination that
compares computer systems operating
under the same conditions.
cache memory
A type of high-speed
memory that a processor can access more
rapidly than main memory.
arithmetic/logic unit (ALU)
The part
of the CPU that performs mathematical
calculations and makes logical
comparisons.
best practices
The most efficient and
effective ways to complete a business
process.
Cascading Style Sheet (CSS)
A file or
portion of an HTML file that defines the
visual appearance of content in a Web
page.
beta testing
Testing a complete and
stable system by end users.
ARPANET
A project started by the U.S.
Department of Defense (DoD) in 1969
as both an experiment in reliable
networking and a means to link DoD and
military research contractors, including
many universities doing military-funded
research.
CASE repository
A database of system
descriptions, parameters, and objectives.
blade server
A server that houses many
individual computer motherboards that
include one or more processors,
computer memory, computer storage,
and computer network connections.
central processing unit (CPU)
The
part of the computer that consists of three
associated elements: the arithmetic/logic
unit, the control unit, and the register
areas.
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