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Glossary – Texas Instruments 4000M User Manual

Page 276

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Glossary

backlight — A feature that allows you to control
background brightness for better readability.

backing up — Duplicating a program or file onto a separate
storage medium so that a copy will be preserved against
possible loss or damage to the original.

backup — A duplicate copy of information or programs;
usually stored on a diskette and kept in a separate location
in case the original is lost or damaged.

BASIC — An acronym for Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic
Instruction Code; a programming language widely used
because many of its commands resemble everyday
language.

battery, battery pack — An electrical power storage device
that can be installed in, or affixed to, your computer to
provide electrical power.

baud — A signal element change per second. If a signal
element change has only one bit, baud equals bits per
second.

binary — A system of numbering that uses patterns of only
zero’s and one’s. Each item of information, whether a letter,
graphic symbol, or an instruction, is converted to a binary
number before it is processed by your computer.

BIOS — An acronym for Basic Input-Output System;
instructions stored in read-only memory (

ROM

) at the

factory that check hardware components and load the
computer operating system (

MS-DOS

, for example) into the

computer when you boot it.

bit — A binary digit (0 or 1); the smallest unit of
information used by your computer.

Glossary

2 Glossary