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New IT Glossary
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YOU may come across these terms again and again in the New Computer Users Forum. Here are quick definitions to help you walk the walk and talk the talk.
ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII character set is also the most universal character-coding set.
ASCII text file: a file that contains nothing but ASCII characters without special formatting. ASCII text files are sometimes used in file transfers.
Backup: Backup is the process of preserving copies of files on a different drive, directory, or media (often floppy disks or tape) to protect against the destruction or loss of the original files in the event of hardware or system failure. It's often said that you should have two backups: one onsite and another offsite.
Baud Rate: speed at which information is transferred. Generally referred to as bits per second, or bps, now.
Batch file/program: An ASCII text file that contains a list of DOS commands and program names. When the batch file is run, the commands and programs are run in sequence just as if you had typed them at the MS-DOS prompt. Batch files are distinguished by a .bat suffix, or extension.
Binary file: a file containing information that is in computer-readable form; it can be read only by an application. "Binary-file" usually refers to a file that uses all eight bits of each byte for information. Text files usually use only seven bits, leaving the eighth bit as 0.
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