KASNEB DICT flashcards
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32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Mail merge
- A word-processing feature that combines one main document with a data source of records to produce many personalised copies, such as letters addressed to different recipients.
- Absolute cell reference
- A spreadsheet address written with dollar signs, as in $A$1, that stays fixed on the same cell when the formula is copied to other cells.
- Data versus information
- Data are raw, unprocessed facts and figures, whereas information is data that has been processed, organised and presented so that it is meaningful for decision making.
- Arithmetic Logic Unit
- The part of the central processing unit that performs all arithmetic operations such as addition and subtraction, and all logical comparisons such as AND, OR and greater-than.
- Volatile memory
- Memory such as RAM whose stored contents are lost when the computer is switched off; it holds the programs and data currently being processed.
- Cache memory
- A small, very fast memory located close to or inside the CPU that stores frequently used instructions and data to reduce average access time to main memory.
- Virtual memory
- A technique in which the operating system uses part of secondary storage as an extension of RAM, allowing programs larger than physical memory to run.
- Thrashing
- A condition where the operating system spends more time swapping pages between RAM and disk than executing processes, causing a sharp fall in system throughput.
- Round-robin scheduling
- A pre-emptive CPU scheduling algorithm that gives each ready process a fixed time slice in turn, cycling through the queue so that no process starves.
- OSI reference model
- A seven-layer conceptual framework for network communication: physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation and application, used to standardise how systems interconnect.
- Subnet mask
- A 32-bit number that identifies which portion of an IP address refers to the network and which part identifies the host on that network.
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
- A protocol that automatically assigns IP addresses, subnet masks, default gateways and DNS server addresses to devices joining a network, removing the need for manual configuration.
- Default gateway
- The router interface on the local network to which a host sends packets whose destination IP address lies outside its own subnet.
- Compiler
- A translator that converts an entire high-level language source program into machine code in one go, producing an executable file before the program is run.
- Pseudocode
- A structured, English-like description of an algorithm that uses programming constructs such as IF and WHILE without the strict syntax of a particular language.
- Black-box testing
- Testing that ignores the internal structure of a program and checks only whether outputs are correct for given inputs, based on the specification.
- Foreign key
- An attribute in one table that is the primary key of another table, used to link the two relations and to enforce referential integrity.
- Third normal form
- A relation is in 3NF when it is in 2NF and contains no transitive dependency, meaning every non-key attribute depends only on the primary key.
- ACID properties
- The four transaction properties of atomicity, consistency, isolation and durability, which together guarantee reliable processing of database transactions.
- Feasibility study
- An assessment of whether a proposed system is viable, covering technical, economic, operational, legal and schedule factors before development is approved.
- Context diagram
- The top-level data flow diagram showing the whole system as a single process together with the external entities that exchange data with it.
- Parallel conversion
- A changeover strategy in which the old and new systems run simultaneously until the new one is proven, giving the highest safety at the highest cost.
- Phishing
- A social-engineering attack in which fraudulent emails or websites impersonate a trusted party to trick users into revealing passwords or financial details.
- Symmetric encryption
- An encryption method that uses the same secret key for both encryption and decryption, so the key must be shared securely, as with AES and DES.
- Segregation of duties
- An internal control principle that divides incompatible tasks among different people, such as authorising, recording and custody of assets, to reduce the risk of fraud.
- Incremental backup
- A backup that copies only data changed since the last backup of any type, making it fast but requiring the last full backup plus all increments to restore.
- Cascading Style Sheets
- A stylesheet language used to control the presentation, layout, colours and fonts of HTML documents, keeping visual design separate from content.
- Vector graphics
- Images stored as mathematical descriptions of lines, curves and shapes, so they can be scaled to any size without loss of quality, unlike bitmap images.
- Client-side scripting
- Code such as JavaScript that is downloaded from a web server and executed in the user's browser, enabling interactivity without a round trip to the server.
- Triple constraint
- The project management balance between scope, time and cost, where a change to any one of the three normally affects the other two.
- Gantt chart
- A horizontal bar chart that shows project tasks against a calendar, displaying start dates, durations, dependencies and progress of each activity.
- Critical path
- The longest sequence of dependent activities through a project network, which determines the shortest possible project duration; any delay here delays the whole project.