Computer Science

Backbone
A high-speed line or series of connections that forms a major pathway within a network. The term is relative as a backbone in a small network will likely be much smaller than many non-backbone lines in a large network.

Bandwidth
The difference between the lowest and highest transmission channel frequencies, usually expressed in cycles per second (Hertz or Hz), or bits per second (bps).

The range of frequencies that an electronic system can transmit. High bandwidth allows fast transmission or the ability to transmit many signals at once. On a monitor screen, a higher bandwidth provides a sharper image.

Base I/O Port Address
The channel through which data flows between a computer's hardware (such as a NIC) and the CPU.

Base Memory Address
The location in a computer's RAM of the beginning of the buffer area that is reserved for use by the NIC.

Baseband
Uses the entire capacity of the cable as a single channel.

Baud
A measurement of how fast data can be sent over the telephone line.

BBS
(Bulletin Board System) -- A computerized meeting and announcement system that allows people to carry on discussions, upload and download files, and make announcements without the people being connected to the computer at the same time.

Beaconing
A process used to identify any area on the network that may be experiencing problems.

Binary System
The language used by computers and is based on something being either ON or OFF. There are only two digits used in BInary language, 1 (equals ON) and 0 (equals OFF).

Binhex
(BINary HEXadecimal) -- A method for converting non-text files (non-ASCII) into ASCII. This is needed because Internet e-mail can only handle ASCII.

BIOS
Basic Input/Output System - BIOS is software, it is hundreds of little programs stored on ROM chips and used during the start up routine to check out the system and prepare to run the hardware.

Bit
The smallest unit of information that is recognized by a microcomputer. Shorthand term for Binary Digit. There are only two possible binary digits, 0 and 1.

BITNET
Because It's Time NETwork, or Because It's There NETwork -- A network of educational sites separate from the Internet, but e-mail is freely exchanged between

BNC Connector
British Naval Connector

Boot
To start up a computer.

Boot Prom
Boot Programmable Read Only Memory is used on networks that utilize diskless workstations.

bps
Bits Per Second - The speed that a modem transmits data. Bits per second is represented in lower case letters.

Bridge
A device that will provide communication between two or more network segments therefore forming one logical network.

Broadband
Broadband allows two or more channels to share the bandwidth of the cable or medium. The signal flow is uni-directional.

Browser
A Client program (software) that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources. Short for Web Browser; it's the tool (program) that allows a user to browse the web. Popular Web Browsers are Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer.

BTW
By The Way - A shorthand appended to a comment written in an online forum.

Buffer
A bus driver. Can also refer to a class of memory registers and devices that match data transfer speeds between computers and hardware (peripherals). An area of memory that holds information for a peripheral device until it can be processed.

Bulletin Board Service
BBS - Software on a remote computer that allows connection by a remote computer. BBSs offer the ability to pass and retrieve email messages, upload and download files and sometimes to chat live with other members who are on-line at the same time.

Bundling
Aggregate information and interactive services on a single Web site with the intent for surfer incentive to return repeatedly.

Bus
The main communication avenue in a computer. It consists of a set of parallel wires that are connected to the CPU, memory and all input/output devices. The bus can transmit data in either direction between any two components. If a computer did not have a bus, it would need separate wires connecting all the components.

Bus Network
All computers are connected to a single linear cable. Both ends of the cable must be terminated. Since there is no central point it is harder to isolate problems than in a star network topology.

Bus Topology
A LAN in which all workstations are connected to a single cable.

Business Intelligence (BI)
A variety of software and technology that provides businesses the functionality they need to store, gather, and access data. BI helps businesses to analyze this information and use it to make better business decisions.

Byte
A byte is a group of eight bits and represents one character of information (i.e. pressing one key on the keyboard). A byte is the standard unit of measuring memory in a microprocessor. Memory size is measured in terms of kilobytes (K) or megabytes (MB). 1K of RAM is 1,024 bytes, 1MB is approximately one million bytes.