National Teaching and Learning Change ProgrammeInformation and Communication Technology:
Dictionary

• Home
• Data representation
• General
• Hardware
• Internet/web
• Managing data
• Multimedia
• Networks and communications technology
• Programming
• Security
• Software
• Systems design
• My downloads

Search results

• detect a virus
  To find a virus on a computer using anti-virus software.
• 
• developer
  The person responsible for developing a system, e.g. a program, a website, etc.
• 
• dial-up
  Using an ordinary telephone line (and a modem or terminal adapter) to connect a local computer, or terminal, to a remote computer service such as the internet. In most cases the facility to dial into the computer system is provided by a service provider who runs the dial-up service.
• 
• dialogue box
  A window which appears when information about a choice is needed, or when options have to be selected. For example, choosing 'Print' from a 'File' menu may cause a dialogue box to appear, requiring answers to such questions as which pages to print, number of copies, etc.
• 
• differential backup
  A differential backup only copies data files that have been changed since the last full backup.
• 
• digest
  In a mailing list, users can choose to receive all the postings in one large email, rather than getting them one at a time.
• 
• digit
  The numbers 0 - 9, e.g. 6 is one digit, 422 is three digits.
• 
• digital
  Where data is encoded into a series of pulses represented by the binary digits 0 and 1, as opposed to a continuously varying analogue signal.
• 
• digital audio tape (DAT)
  Magnetic tape originally developed to record audio, but now also used for computer backups.
• 
• digital camera
  A camera that captures images electronically and stores them on disk as digital files, rather than on film. These can then be downloaded onto a computer for viewing, editing and printing.
• 
• digital image
  Images stored digitally, so that they can be edited, etc., on a computer. This is the type of image taken by a digital camera.
• 
• digital subscriber line (DSL)
  A method of using ordinary telephone lines to transmit data to and from computers at a high speed. Commonly known as broadband, and increasingly common in homes and business.
• 
• Digital Versatile Disk (DVD)
  Formerly Digital Video Disk, but now Digital Versatile Disk, it is essentially a larger capacity CD with a faster data transfer rate. This allows compressed moving video to be replayed, for example, a movie. The DVD can also be used for data storage.
• 
• digital video (DV)
  Widely accepted standard for digital video tape recording.
• 
• dimension (1)
  In programming, used to refer to the structure of an array. A one-dimensional array can be seen as a simple list; a two-dimensional array can be thought of as a table in rows and columns; etc. The elements of an array are referenced by subscripts, one for each dimension of the array.
• 
• dimension (2)
  The structure of an array, such as, a one-dimensional array can be seen as a simple list.
• 
• direct access
  Direct access is where any item can be retrieved immediately, provided its position in the file is known. This often means that items must have a known length, so that software can calculate where in the file the required item is located. Direct access files are commonly called random access files because they are usually held in storage, such as a disk, that permits random access.
• 
• directory
  The name given to a collection of files, for organisational purposes. By keeping related files in the same directory the user can select from the files he or she is working on, without being distracted by files to do with other work. Also known as a folder.
• 
• disable
  To disable something is to stop it working.
• 
• disinfect
  The process of removing viruses from a computer.