DataTalker Owner’s Manual
BSC (Binary Synchronous Communications): Also called "bisync", this communications protocol was the first synchronous data format used by IBM. It is still in use, but is rapidly being replaced by IBM's newer Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC). Bisync is a
Bit (Binary digIT): A bit is the basis of the binary number system. It can take the value of 1 or 0. Bits are generally recognized as the electrical charge generated or stored by a computer that represent some portion of usable information.
Boot: To start or restart your PC. This term originates from the saying " to pull oneself up by the bootstraps".
Bps (bits per second): A unit to measure the speed at which data bits can be transmitted or received. Bps differs from baud when more than one bit is represented by a single cycle of the carrier.
Buffer: A temporary storage register or Random Access Memory (RAM) used in all aspects of data communications which prevents data from being lost due to differences in transmission speed. Keyboards, serial ports, muxes and printers are a few examples of the devices that contain buffers. A buffer allows one device to dump data at a high speed and for the
Bus: A common channel between hardware devices either internally between components in a computer, or externally between stations in a communications network.
Byte: The unit of information a computer can handle at one time. The most common understanding is that a byte consists of 8 binary digits (bits), because that's what computers (PCS) can handle. A byte holds the equivalent of a single character (such as theletter A).
C
Capacitor: An electronic device that stores an electrical charge. It comes in varying sizes for use in anything from power supplies to the tiny cells in dynamic RAM chips. When the device is powered down, it's capacitors lose their charge.
Carrier signal: An analog signal with known frequency, amplitude and phase characteristics used as a transport facility for useful information. By knowing the original characteristics, a receiver can interpret any changes as modulations, and thereby recover the information.
CCITT (Consultative Committee for International Telephone and Telegraph): An advisory committee created and controlled by the United Nations and headquartered in Geneva whose purpose is to develop and to publish recommendations for worldwide standardiza- tion of telecommunications devices. Now known as the International Telecommunications Union
Character set: One of a number of coding schemes which uses binary digits to represent characters, numbers, punctuation, and/or control characters. Common character sets are ASCII, ANSI or EBCDIC.
Checksum: A control field found in synchronous data packets which contain the results of the error control algorithm used.
Chip: Also called integrated circuits (IC), they are squares or rectangles that contain from a few dozen to a few million electronic components.
Circuit: Any closed path through which electrical current can flow.
Circuit switching: The temporary connection of two or more communications channels using a fixed,
Clock: A timing signal generated by an oscillating circuit which is used to synchronize data transmissions.
Command: An instruction that tells a computer to begin, continue or end a specific operation.
Command mode: One of two states of an intelligent (i.e. programmable) device. The mode in which commands can be issued to alter operating parameters.
CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check): A field used in packetized data that contains two
CTS (Clear To Send signal): With communications between modems, an
D
DC (Direct Current): This is usually understood to mean a constant voltage supply that fluctuates only a nominal amount. An analog or digital signal that may vary in voltage level, but it never crosses the reference voltage (usually called ground). Contrast with AC.
