Appendix .V

Glossary

V. Appendix

ii. Glossary

Byte (Binary Term)

One byte is a group of eight contiguous bits. A byte is used to represent a single alphanumeric character, punctuation mark, or other symbol.

CHKDSK (Check Disk)

An MS-DOS command that gives you information such as disk space, files, and directories on your hard disk drive.

COM Port

COM is a logical device name used to designate the computer serial ports. Pointing devices, modems, and infrared modules can be connected to COM ports. Each COM port is configured to use a different IRQ and address assignment.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

The CPU, sometimes called “Processor,” actually functions as the “brain” of the computer. It interprets and executes program commands and processes all the data stored in memory. Currently, there are socket 7, slot 1, and slot 2 CPUs. Intel Pentium Processors fit on socket 7, Intel Pentium II fit on slot 1, and Intel Xeon fit on slot 2.

Endian

Endian is a byte order system used in data transfers. In big-endian architec- tures, the lower addresses are most significant. In little-endian architectures, the higher bytes are most significant. Mainframe computers, such as those by IBM, use a big-endian architecture. Modern PCs use the little-endian system.

FDISK (Fixed Disk Setup Program)

An MS-DOS program used to partition the hard disk drive. FDISK is required to setup a new non-RAID hard disk drive before formatting and installing an operating system.

IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics)

IDE devices integrate the drive control circuitry directly on the drive itself, eliminating the need for a separate adapter card (in the case for SCSI de- vices). UltraDMA/33 IDE devices can achieve up to 33MB/Sec transfer.

LPT Port (Line Printer Port)

Logical device name reserved by DOS for computer parallel ports. Each LPT port is configured to use a different IRQ and address assignment.

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AP8000 Hardware Reference Guide