Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Michael Henson's

Glossary of Computer Science Terms

Index | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


B

baud rate: generally, the number of bits transfered per second (bps); more accurately, the number of signal changes per second
big-O notation: a notation for indicating algorithm efficiency by only considering the dominant factor; the big O stands for "on the Order of"
binary: base 2 number system; a number system consisting of two digits:
0 1
binder: a service that maintains a table of mappings from service names to server ports
binding: specifying a mapping from a name to a particular object
bits: binary digits; 0s and 1s
blocking: a situation in which the sending process is blocked until the corresponding Receive is issued
boolean: a variable or expression whose value is either true or false
broadcast communication: communication in which each packet is transmitted to all of the computers in the network and each computer is responsible for identifying and receiving the packets addressed to it
buffer gate: a logic gate that does not change the logic level of the input, but isolates or amplifies the signal
bug: a logical error in the execution of software
byte: 1. eight bits
2. in Java, an 8-bit signed integer value
bytecode: platform-independent instructions created by the Java compiler for the JVM