               Common Terms and Abreviations Reference List


NOTE: This is a small list of our PC world most used terms and
      abreviations explained. Hope it helps.
      Please forgive the mess. This file is always under construction!
      Please contact me if you consider any other terms (and their
      definitions) I should include in this file, or/and if you find
      any mistaken explanations to these terms, and you are able to
      send me the corrected definitions.
      Many thanks for your time and patience. You can contact me at:
      AXCEL216@aol.com


0-9

      86=Intel 8086 processor.
      286=Intel 80286 processor.
      386=Intel 80386 processor.
      386MAX=Qualitas 386 Expanded Memory Manager (386MAX.SYS).
      3D=Three Dimensional.
      486=Intel 80486 processor.
      586=Intel 80586 processor (Pentium).
      686=Intel 80686 processor (Pentium Pro).

A

      ANSI=American National Standards Institute.
      AOL=America OnLine.
      API=Application Programming Interface.
      ASCII=American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
      AT=
      ATA=AT Attachment (IDE).
      ATAPI=AT Attachment Programing Interface.

B

      B=Byte (1B = 8 bits).
      BAT=BATch program file.
      Baud=Bits per second (baud rate).
      BBS=Bulletin Board System.
      BEDO=
      BIF=Binary Image Format file.
      BIOS=Basic Input Output System.
      BMP=RGB/RLE encoded Microsoft Windows BitMap Picture file.
      BPP=Bits Per Pixel.

C

      CD=Compact Disk.
      CDA=Compact Disk Audio.
      CDR=CorelDRAW! image file.
      CD-R=Compact Disk Recorder.
      CD-ROM=Compact Disk Read Only Media.
      CGM=Computer Graphics Metafile.
      CHS=Cylinder/Head/Sector.
      CLP=Microsoft Windows Clipboard Bitmap file.
      CMOS=Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor.
      CODEC=Video for Windows enCOding DECoding standard.
      COM=Serial COMmunication Port.
      CON=CONsole.
      CPU=Central Processing Unit (processor).
      CRT=Cathode Ray Tube.
      CS=CompuServe.
      CUT=Dr. Halo picture file.

D

      DAC=Digital to Analog Converter.
      DBX=
      DDE=Dynamic Data Exchange.
      DIB=RGB/RLE encoded Microsoft Windows Device Independent Bitmap.
      DLL=Dynamic Link Library.
      DMA=Direct Memory Access.
      DMF=high Density Media Format (floppy disk).
      DPI=Dots Per Inch.
      DPMI=DOS Protected Mode Interface.
      DPMS=Display Power Management Signaling standard.
      DOS=Disk Operating System.
      DRAM=Dynamic Random Access Memory.
      DRW=Micrografx DRaW image file.
      DVD=Digital Video Disc.
      DVD-ROM=Digital Video Disc Read Only Media.
      DXF=Autodesk picture File.

E

      EBIOS=Extended Basic Input/Output System.
      ECP=Extended Communications Port.
      EDO=
      EGA=Extended Graphics Adapter.
      EIDE=Enhanced IDE.
      EISA=Extended Industry Standard Architecture.
      EMM386=Microsoft 386 Expanded Memory Manager (EMM386.EXE).
      EMS=Expanded Memory Specifications.
      EMM=Expanded Memory Manager.
      EPP=Extended Printer Port.
      EPROM=Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory.
      EPS=Encapsulated PostScript File.
      ESDI=Extended Standard Disk Interface.

F

      FAT=File Allocation Table.
      FCBS=File Control Blocks.
      FIFO=First In First Out.
      FPU=Floating Point Unit (coprocessor).
      FTP=File Transfer Protocol.

G

      GB=GigaByte (1GB = 1024 MegaBytes).
      GEM=Ventura/GEM image file.
      GIF=CompuServe Graphic Image File.
      GPF=General Protection Fault.
      GUI=Graphical User Interface.

H

      HD=Hard Disk.
      HDD=Hard Disk Drive.
      HGL=Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language image file.
      HIMEM=Microsoft Extended Memory Manager (HIMEM.SYS).
      HMA=High Memory Area.
      HTML=Hyper Text Markup Language.
      HTTP=Hyper Text Transfer Protocol.

I

      IBM=International Business Machines corporation.
      IC=Interface Controller.
      IDE=
      IFF=Electronic Arts Image File.
      IMG=GEM Paint image file.
      ISA=Industry Standard Architecture.
      ISP=Internet Service Provider.
      I/O=Input/Output.
      IRQ=Interrupt ReQuest line.

J

      JIF=Joint Photograph Expert Group Image file.
      JPG=Joint Photograph Expert Group Picture file.

K

      KB=KiloByte (1KB = 1024 Bytes).

L

      LAN=Local Area Network.
      LBA=Logical Block Address.
      LBM=DeLuxe Paint BitMap picture file.
      LED=Light Emitting Diode.
      LFN=Long File Names.
      LH=LoadHigh.
      LIM=Lotus/Intel/Microsoft expanded/extended memory specifications.
      LPT=Line PrinTer.

M

      MAC=MACPaint picture file.
      MB=MegaByte (1MB = 1024 KyloBytes).
      MBR=Master Boot Record (partition table).
      MCI=Media Control Interface.
      MIDI=Musical Instrument Digital Interface.
      MIME=
      MIPS=Millions of Instructions per Second.
      MPC=Multimedia Personal Computer.
      MPEG=Motion Picture Expert Group standard.
      MS=MicroSoft.
      MS-DOS=MicroSoft Disk Operating System.
      MSCDEX=MicroSoft Compact Disc EXtensions device driver (MSCDEX.EXE).
      MSD=MicroSoft Diagnostics (MSD.EXE).
      MSP=MicroSoft Paint picture file.

N

      NetRoom=Helix Software 386 Expanded Memory Manager (RM386.EXE).

O

      OEM=Original Equipment Manufacturer.
      OLE=Object Linking and Embedding.
      OS=Operating System.

P

      P5=Intel Pentium processor (586).
      P6=Intel Pentium Pro processor (686).
      PBM=Portable BitMap UNIX picture file.
      PC=Personal Computer.
      PCD=Kodak Photo CD image file.
      PCI=
      PCX=Zsoft PC Paintbrush Picture file.
      PDF=Portable Document Format file.
      PEL=Picture ELement (pixel).
      PGM=Portable GrayMap UNIX picture file.
      PIC=Lotus Development Corp. PICtor/PC Paint picture file.
      PIF=Program Information File.
      PNG=Portable Network Graphics file.
      PnP=Plug and Play standard.
      PPM=Portable PixelMap UNIX picture file.
      PPP=Point to Point Protocol.
      PRN=PRiNter port.
      PSD=RGB/indexed PhotoShop image file.

Q

      QEMM=Quarterdeck Systems 386 Expanded Memory Manager (QEMM386.SYS).

R

      RAM=Random Access Memory.
      RAS=Sun Microsystems picture file.
      RAW=Unencoded pixel data image file.
      RGB=Red Green Blue picture encoding.
      RLE=CompuServe/Microsoft Windows encoded graphic file.
      RM386=Helix Software 386 Expanded Memory Manager (RM386.EXE).
      ROM=Read Only Memory.

S

      SCSI=Small Computers Standard Interface.
      SDRAM=Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory.
      SIMM=Single Inline Memory Module.
      SLIP=
      SMP=SiMetrical Processing standard.
      SRAM=Static Random Access Memory.
      SVGA=Super Video Graphics Array standard.

T

      TCP/IP=Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.
      TIFF=Aldus Corporation Image file.
      TGA=TrueVision Graphic file.
      TSR=Terminate and Stay Resident program/device/driver.
      TTF=True Type Font.

U

      UART=Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmiter.
      UMA=Upper Memory Area.
      UMB=Upper Memory Block.
      UNIX=DOS command line based Operating System.
      URL=Universal Resource Locator.
      USB=Universal Serial Bus.
      UUE=

V

      VBE=VESA BIOS Extensions.
      VCPI=Virtual Control Program Interface.
      VESA=Video Electronics Standards Association.
      VfW=Video for Windows.
      VGA=Video Graphics Array standard.
      VLB=VESA Local Bus.
      VMM=Virtual Memory Manager.
      VR=Virtual Reality.
      VRML=Virtual Reality Modeling Language.
      VXD=Virtual EXtended memory Driver.

W

      WAN=Wide Area Network.
      WfWG=Windows for WorkGroups.
      Win31=Windows 3.1x.
      Win95=Windows 95.
      WMF=microsoft Windows MetaFile.
      WPG=WordPerfect Graphic file.
      WWW=World Wide Web.

X

      XMM=EXtended Memory Manager.
      XMS=EXtended Memory Specifications.
      XT=
      XVGA=EXtended Video Graphics Array.

Y



Z