P a r i t y

Data signals sent during communications to detect errors in transmitting or receiving data.

Partition

The area defined on a hard disk for use by an operating system; to divide a hard disk into separate sections or logical drives.

Pathname

The list of directories and subdirectories you need to specify to locate a file. For example, the pathname for the file SALES which is located in the subdirectory BUSINESS of the root directory (\) is \BUSINESS\SALES.

Peripheral

A device (such as a printer or a modem) connected to a computer that depends on the computer for its operation.

Port

A physical input/output socket on a computer where you can connect a peripheral device.

Power-on diagnostics

The system tests the computer runs to check its internal circuitry and configuration each time you turn it on.

Primary partition

The MS-DOS partition from which the operating system starts.

Program

A disk file that contains coded instructions and tells a computer what to do and how to do it.

12Glossary