Glossary GL-3
Bit Binary digit. One bit is the basic unit of binary information.
Generally, eight consecutive bits compose one byte of data. The
pattern of 0 and 1 values within the byte determines its meaning.
Bits per Second (bps) Bits transmitted or received.
Bit Binary digit. One bit is the basic unit of binary information.
Generally, eight consecutive bits compose one byte of data. The
pattern of 0 and 1 values within the byte determines its meaning.
bps See Bits Per Second.
Byte On an addressable boundary, eight adjacent binary digits (0 and 1)
combined in a pattern to represent a specific character or numeric
value. Bits are numbered from the right, 0 through 7, with bit 0 the
low-order bit. One byte in memory is used to store one ASCII
character.
BOOTP A protocol for remote booting of diskless devices. Assigns an IP
address to a machine and may specify a boot file. The client sends
a bootp request as a broadcast to the bootp server port (67) and the
bootp server responds using the bootp client port (68). The bootp
server must have a table of all devices, associated MAC addresses
and IP addresses.
boot or boot-up The process a computer goes through when it starts. During boot-
up, the computer can run self-diagnostic tests and configure
hardware and software.
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access. Digital cellular phone service
method that separates multiple transmissions over a finite
frequency allocation using Spread Spectrum techniques.
CDRH Center for Devices and Radiological Health. A federal agency
responsible for regulating laser product safety. This agency
specifies various laser operation classes based on power output
during operation.
CDRH Class 1 This is the lowest power CDRH laser classification. This class is
considered intrinsically safe, even if all laser output were directed
into the eye's pupil. There are no special operating procedures for
this class.
CDRH Class 2 No additional software mechanisms are needed to conform to this
limit. Laser operation in this class poses no danger for unintentional
direct human exposure.
Cellular Digital Packet Data See CDPD.
Character A pattern of bars and spaces which either directly represents data
or indicates a control function, such as a number, letter, punctuation
mark, or communications control contained in a message.
Character Set Those characters available for encoding in a particular bar code
symbology.
Check Digit A digit used to verify a correct symbol decode. The scanner inserts
the decoded data into an arithmetic formula and checks that the
resulting number matches the encoded check digit. Check digits are
required for UPC but are optional for other symbologies. Using
check digits decreases the chance of substitution errors when a
symbol is decoded.
Codabar A discrete self-checking code with a character set consisting of
digits 0 to 9 and six additional characters: ( - $ : / , +).