What Is Computer Terminology?

Computing is a vast world in its own right, with a wealth of concepts and information that requires its own language. Computer terminology consists of all the words, phrases and abbreviations used in the field.

Hardware Terms

Hardware terms encompass all words relating to a computer or computing device's physical makeup. Some common hardware terms include "RAM," which is an abbreviation for random-access memory, "Mainframe," which is a large, high-powered computer for business and scientific work and "USB," which is short for Universal Serial Bus, a type of port for attaching peripherals such as mice and printers.

Software Terms

Software terms describe the digital operations of a computer. An "application" is a program written for a specific purpose, "C++" is a computer language for software creation and "FAT32" is short for File Allocation Table, the system older versions of Windows use for storing data on a hard drive.

Internet Terms

Internet terms fall within the realm of inter-computer communication. A "sitemap" is a list of links to every page on a website, an "IP address" is a number used to identify a computer on the Internet and "SMTP" is an abbreviation for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, a system used by most email providers to send mail online.

References

• The Tech Terms Computer Dictionary