Computer/System Terms
Acronyms - A
- AAA - authentication, authorization, and accounting
- ABC - Atanasoff-Berry Computer
- AC - Access Control
- AC - alternating current
- ACC - Advanced Clock Calibration
- ACE - Access Control Engine
- ACID test - Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability (or Atomic, Consistent, Isolated, and Durable)
- ACK - acknowledgment
- ACM - Adaptive Contrast Management
- ACM - Association for Computing Machinery
- ACPI - Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
- AD - active directory
- AD - architecture description
- ADC - analog-to-digital converter
- ADPCM - Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation
- ADS - Alternate Data Stream
- ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
- AFC - antiferromagnetically coupled media
- AGC - automatic gain control
- AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
- AH - Authentication Header
- AHA - accelerated hub architecture
- AHCI - Advanced Host Controller Interface
- AI - artificial intelligence
- AiO - All-in-One system
- ALSA - advanced Linux sound architecture
- ALU - arithmetic logic unit
- AMF - Action Message Format
- AMPS - Advanced Mobile Phone System
- AMR - anisotropic magneto-resistant head (or magneto-resistive head)
- AMR - Audio Modem Riser
- ANN - artificial neural network
- ANSI - American National Standards Institute
- AOD - Advanced Optical Disc (also known as HD-DVD)
- AOT - ahead of time compilation
- AP - access point (wireless access point)
- API - application programming interface
- APIC - Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller
- APM - Advanced Power Management
- app/apps - application program
- Appinfo - Application Information
- APU - accelerated processing unit
- ARLL - advanced run length limited encoding
- ARP - Address Resolution Protocol
- AS - Autonomous System
- ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange
- ASID - address space identification
- ASIO - audio stream input/output
- ASLR - address space layout randomization (memory addressing)
- ASN - Autonomous System Number
- ASP - Active Server Pages
- ASP - application service provider
- ASP - application server provider
- AT - advanced technology
- ATA - Advanced Technology Attachment
- ATAPI - Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface
- ATIP - absolute time in pre-groove (writable compact discs)
- ATM - Asynchronous Transfer Mode
- ATM - Automated Teller Machine
- AT&T - American Telephone and Telegraph company
- ATX - Advance Technology eXtended
- AUI - attachment unit interface
- AV - Asset Value
- AVCHD - Advanced Video Coding High Definition
- AVX - advanced vector extensions (processors)
- AWS - Amazon Web Services
Acronyms - B
- BaaS - Backup-as-a-Service
- BASIC - Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
- BAT file - batch file
- BBUL - bumpless build-up layer
- BCD - binary-coded decimal
- BCD - boot configuration data/database
- BD - Blu-ray disc
- BD-R - Blu-ray disc - Recordable
- BD-R DL- Blu-ray disc - Recordable Dual Layer
- BD-RE - Blu-ray disc - Rewritable
- BEDO - burst extended data out
- BEDO DRAM - burst extended data out dynamic random access memory
- BGP - Border Gateway Protocol
- BHO - Browser Helper Object
- BIOS - basic input/output system
- BISDN - Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network
- BIST - built-in self test
- bit - binary digit (0 and 1)
- bitblt - bit-block transfer
- BIU - bus interface unit
- BLER - block error rate
- BOOTP - Bootstrap Protocol
- bot - short term for "robot"
- botnet - robotically-controlled network
- Bps - bytes per second
- bps - bits per second
- BRI - Basic Rate Interface
- BSS - Basic Service Set
- BSS - Basic Service Set
- BSSID - Basic Service Set Identifier
- BTB - branch target buffer
- BTS - Base Transceiver Station
- BTX - Balanced Technology eXtended
- BYOC - bring your own cloud
- BYOD - bring your own device
- byte - (memory space needed to store one character)
Acronyms - C
- CAC - common access card
- CAD - Computer-Aided Design
- CAG - Chassis Air Guide design guide
- CAI - computer-aided instruction
- CAM - centralized application management
- CAM - Common Access Method
- CAM - Computer Aided Manufacturing
- CAM ATA - Common Access Method Advanced Technology Attachment
- CAN bus - Controller Area Network bus
- CAP - Carrierless Amplitude/Phase
- CAPTCHA - Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart
- CAS - column address strobe latency
- CASE - computer-aided software engineering
- CATV - cable television
- CATV - coaxial cable television
- CAV - Constant Angular Velocity (CD drive speed)
- CBR - constant bit rate
- CBT - Computer-Based Training
- C & C - Command and Control
- CCD - charge(d)-coupled device
- CCFL - Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp
- CCTV - Closed-Circuit Television system
- CD - compact disc
- CD-DA - compact disc - digital audio format
- CD-R - compact disc - recordable
- CD-ROM - compact disc - read-only memory
- CD-ROM XA- compact disc - read-only memory eXtended architecture
- CD-RW - compact disc - rewritable
- CDDI - Copper Distributed Data Interface
- CDFS - Compact Disc File System
- CDI - constrained data items
- CDMA - code division multiple access
- CDN - content distribution network
- CDR - call-detail recording
- CF - CompactFlash (Flash memory)
- CGI - Common Gateway Interface
- CGI - computer-generated image
- CGM - Computer Graphics Metafile
- CHAP - Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol
- CHS - cylinder head sector
- CIDR - classless interdomain routing (Internet Protocol addressing)
- CIFS - Common Internet File System
- CIR - committed information rate
- CIRC - cross-interleave Reed-Solomon code (disk errors)
- CIS - computer information system
- CISC - complex instruction set computer (chip)
- CL - column address strobe latency
- CLDAP - Connectionless Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
- CLF - Common Log Format
- CLV - constant linear velocity
- CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
- CMS - Central Management System
- CMS - Configuration Management System (Also known as a Content Management System)
- CMYK - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black (colors)
- CN - Correspondent Node (mobile)
- CNAME - Canonical Name Records
- CNR - Communications and Networking Riser
- COA - Care of Address (mobile)
- COBOL - Common Business-Oriented Language (programming language)
- COC - chip on ceramic
- codec - coder-decoder
- codec - compressor-decompressor
- COM - Component Object Model
- CORBA - Common Object Request Broker Architecture
- COTS - commercial off-the-shelf (software)
- CP/M - control program for microprocessors
- CP/M - Control Program for Microcomputers
- CPP-GMR - current perpendicular-to-the-plane giant magneto-resistive heads
- CPU - central processing unit
- CRC - cyclic redundancy checking
- CRLF - carriage return, line feed
- CRT - cathode ray tube
- CS - cable select (pin)
- CS - central switch
- CSP - cloud service provider
- CSEL - cable select signal
- CSMA - carrier sense multiple access (transmission protocol)
- CSMA/CA - carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (transmission protocol)
- CSMA/CD - carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (transmission protocol)
- CSS - Cascading Style Sheets
- CSS - contact start stop (drive design)
- CSS - Content Scramble/Scrambling System
- CSU/DSU - channel service unit/data service unit