P
ART
III: S
ECTION
C: G
LOSSARY
127
ASCII
American Standard Code for Information
Interchange. A code used to represent letters,
numbers, and special characters such as $, !,
and /.
asynchronous transmission
Data transmission in which the length of time
between transmitted characters may vary.
Because the time lapses between transmitted
characters are not uniform, the receiving
modem must be signaled as to when the data
bits of a character begin and when they end.
The addition of start/stop bits to each
character serves this purpose.
Auto Answer
Sets the modem to pick up the phone line when
it detects a certain number of rings. See S-
register S0 in the “Technical Quick Reference.”
auto dial
A process where your modem dials a call for
you. The dialing process is initiated by sending
an ATDT (dial tone) or ATDP (dial pulse)
command followed by the telephone number to
dial. Auto dial is used to dial voice numbers. See
command Dn.
baud rate
A term used to measure the speed of an analog
transmission from one point to another.
Although not technically accurate, baud rate is
commonly used to mean bit rate.
binary digit
A 0 or 1, reflecting the use of the binary
numbering system. Used because the computer
recognizes either of two states, OFF or ON.
Shortened form of binary digit is bit.
