National Teaching and Learning Change ProgrammeInformation and Communication Technology:
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• subprogram
  A set of program instructions performing a specific task, but which is not a complete program. It must be incorporated into a program in order to be used.
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• subscribe
  Joining a mailing list or newsgroup.
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• subscribe
  Some online forums will let you subscribe to particular parts of them, so that when a new message is posted, you are automatically notified by email.
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• subscript
  A character or symbol printed partly below the base line of the text.
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• sum
  The result of adding together a list of numbers. In a spreadsheet, SUM is a function.
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• super-computer
  A very large computer which works extremely fast. It is likely to have many processors working in parallel to achieve this. Data is processed simultaneously (in the parallel processors) as well as sequentially to complete tasks very quickly. Examples include computers used for weather forecasting and testing aircraft design.
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• support
  People involved in the day-to-day running of an organisation's computer installation and who respond to queries from users.
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• surf
  To surf the web is to browse different websites.
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• switch
  A mechanical or electronic device used to share a peripheral, e.g. a printer, between two or more computers.
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• symbol table
  The table created and maintained by a compiler or assembler relating programmer-defined names to machine addresses. It may also hold information about properties of data, such as data types. When translating a program the compiler or assembler works through the program for the first time replacing some parts with tokens and building the symbol table which contains the actual address in memory of each variable, label or subroutine. The program is then processed a second time when each identifier can be replaced with its actual address in memory.
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• synchronous
  A term used for technologies where users must be online at the same time in order to interact. This may include real-time chat, live conferencing or a scheduled online discussion.
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• syntax
  A computer program must be written in a very precise way, in a programming language. Programming languages have a vocabulary of only a limited number of words with precise rules describing how they may be combined. These rules are the program syntax.
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• syntax error
  Where the rules of the programming language are broken.
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• sysop
  Short for systems operator. Usually, a person who is managing an online bulletin board or similar application. It can also be used more generally, to mean a person who manages a computer system or network.
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• system
  Generally, a system is a collection of components (e.g. hardware, software, filing systems, etc.) which are put together in a logical way to achieve a purpose.
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• system crash
  A major failure of a computer.
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• system flowchart
  A diagram used to describe a complete data processing system. The flow of data through the operations is diagrammatically described, down to the level of the individual programs needed to achieve the system requirements. The details of programs are not included, since these are covered in the program documentation.
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• system flowchart symbol
  A symbol used in a system flowchart diagram. Different shapes indicate the various kinds of activity described by the diagram. Sometimes highly formalised shapes are used, each having a specific meaning; in other situations very simple boxes with words are used. Provided the meaning is clear, either method is an equally acceptable way of representing a process or system.
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• system prompt
  A character or message displayed on a screen by the operating system to indicate that the user is expected to do something, usually to input data into the system. Typically, the system prompt displays after boot up in textual user interfaces, and shows the current drive and directory.
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• systems analysis
  The process of analysing a system to assess its suitability both for computerisation and for any changes or upgrades to existing systems.