Basic Computer Terminology - D
D
Daisy chaining: The act of stringing devices together in a series (such as SCSI).
Database: An electronic list of information that can be sorted and/or searched.
Data: Information processed by a computer. (The plural of datum)
Defragment (optimize): to concatenate fragments of data into contiguous blocks in memory or on a hard drive.
Desktop file: An invisible file in which the Finder stores a database of
information about files and icons.
Dialog box: An on-screen message box that appears when the Mac requires additional information before completing a command.
Digitize: To convert linear, or analog, data into digital data which can be used by the computer.
Disk: A spinning platter made of magnetic or optically etched material on which data can be stored.
Disk drive: The machinery that writes the data from a disk and/or writes data to a disk.
Disk window: The window that displays the contents or directory of a disk.
Document: A file you create, as opposed to the application which created it.
DOS: Acronym for Disk Operating System - used in IBM PCs.
Delete: To remove an item of data from a file or to remove a file from the disk.
Desktop: An on-screen representation of a desktop such as used in the Macintosh and Windows operating systems.
Dialog Boxes: Takes over your screen and allows you to "dialog" with the
computer.
Directory: (AKA Folder, sub-directory) Allows you to organize files and other folders.
Disk Space: This is the place where your files live. The greater the disk space the more files you can keep. (See also Megabytes) More disk space is always better than less. You can never have much disk space.
Double Click: To press the mouse button twice in rapid succession without moving the mouse between clicks.
Drag: To move an object on screen in which its complete movement is visible from starting location to destination.
DPI: Acronym for Dots Per Inch - a gauge of visual clarity on the printed page or on the computer screen.
Download: To transfer data from one computer to another. (If you are on the receiving end, you are downloading. If you are on the sending end, you are uploading).
Drag: To move the mouse while its button is being depressed.
Drag and Drop: A feature on the Mac which allows one to drag the icon for a document on top of the icon for an application, thereby launching the application and opening the document.
Driver: A file on a computer which tells it how to communicate with an add-on piece of equipment (like a printer).
D: A programming language Walter Bright designed as an improved C, avoiding many of the design problems of C (e.g., extensive pointer manipulation, unenforced array boundaries…etc).
Daemon: A process in an operating system that runs in the background.
Debian: A Linux distribution, a portmanteau of the names Ian Murdock, the Debian Project creator, and Debra Lynn, Ian's then girlfriend and future wife.
Desktop Publishing: Using features of word processing to format and produce more sophisticated documents with graphics and text, such as flyer, brochures, or newsletters.
