Operating system

A collection of programs (such as MS-DOS or MS OS/2) that manages a computer’s operations. The operating system determines how programs run on the computer and supervises all input and output.

Option card

A circuit board you install inside the computer to provide additional capabilities, such as a modem.

Parallel

The type of interface that transmits all the bits in a byte of data simultaneously over separate lines. See Interface and Serial.

Parameter

A qualifier added to a command that tells MS-DOS what particular conditions to look for and specifies information such as what data you want to process and where to locate or store a file.

Parity

A method used to verify the accuracy of data transmissions by adding a bit that makes the total of the byte odd for odd parity or even for even parity.

Partition

(1)The area defined on a hard disk for use by an operating system; (2) to divide a hard disk into separate sections or logical drives. You can define a primary partition and an extended partition on the hard disk.