User’s Manual
Glossary-12
Glossary
O
OCR:
Optical Character Recognition (reader). A technique or device that
uses laser or visible light to identify characters and input them into a
storage device.
online state:
A functional state of a peripheral device when it is ready to
receive or transmit data.
operating system:
A group of programs that controls the basic operation
of a computer. Operating system functions include interpreting
programs, creating data files, and controlling the transmission and
receipt (input/output) of data to and from memory and peripheral
devices.
output:
The results of a computer operation. Output commonly indicates
data. 1) printed on paper, 2) displayed at a terminal, 3) sent through
the serial port of internal modem, or 4) stored on some magnetic
media.
P
PAL:
PAL (Phase Alternating Line) is the dominant video and broadcasting
standard in Europe.
parity:
1) The symmetrical relationship between two parameter values
(integers) both of which are either on or off; odd or even; 0 or 1.
2) In serial communications, an error detection bit that is added to a
group of data bits making the sum of the bits even or odd. Parity
can be set to none, odd, or even.
password:
A unique string of characters used to identify a specific user.
The computer provides various levels of password protection such
as user and supervisor.
pel:
The smallest area of the display that can be addressed by software.
Equal in size to a pixel or group of pixels.
See
pixel.
peripheral component interconnect:
An industry standard 32-bit bus.
peripheral device:
An I/O device that is external to the central processor
and/or main memory such as a printer or a mouse.
Péritel:
Péritel is a 21-pin connecting cable/port system that allows images
and high-quality stereo sound (including Dolby
®
Pro-Logic sound
formats) to be sent from one audio-visual device to another. It is
also known as a "SCART connector" or "Euro connector".
pixel:
A picture element. The smallest dot that can be made on a display
or printer. Also called a pel.
plug and play:
A capability with Windows that enables the system to
automatically recognize connections of external devices and make
the necessary configurations in the computer.
