Table of Contents, 
 Show Frames, 
 No Frames 
                                          
                  

	- Argument
-  Functions and routines are passed arguments to process.
	
- ARP
-  Address Resolution Protocol.  Used to translate IP addresses into
		physical hardware addresses.
	
- Ascii
-  American Standard Code for Information Interchange.  Each letter
		of the alphabet is represented by an 8 bit code.  Ascii is most often
 		used to store written characters.
	
- Bit
-  A single bit of data that represents either 1 or 0 (on or off).
	
- Bottom Half Handler
-  Handlers for work queued within the kernel.
	
- Byte
-  8 bits of data,
	
- C
-  A high level programming language.  Most of the Linux kernel is written
		in C.
	
- CISC
-  Complex Instruction Set Computer.  The opposite of RISC, a processor
		which supports a large number of often complex assembly instructions.  The X86
		architecture is a CISC architecture.
	
- CPU
-  Central Processing Unit.  The main engine of the computer, see also
		microprocessor and processor.
	
- Data Structure
-  This is a set of data in memory comprised of fields,
	
- Device Driver
-  The software controlling a particular device, for example the
		NCR 810 device driver controls the NCR 810 SCSI device.
	
- DMA
-  Direct Memory Access.
	
- ELF
-  Executable and Linkable Format.  This object file format designed
		by the Unix System Laboratories is now firmly established as the most
		commonly used format in Linux.	
	
- EIDE
-  Extended IDE.
	
- Executable image
-  A structured file containing machine instructions and data.
		This file can be loaded into a process's virtual memory and executed.
		See also program.
	
- Function
-  A piece of software that performs an action.  For example, returning
		the bigger of two numbers.
	
- IDE
-  Integrated Disk Electronics.
	
- Image
-  See executable image.
	
- IP
-  Internet Protocol.
	
- IPC
-  Interprocess Communiction.
	
- Interface
-  A standard way of calling routines and passing data structures.
		For example, the interface between two layers of code might be expressed
		in terms of routines that pass and return a particular data structure.
		Linux's VFS is a good example of an interface.
	
- IRQ
-  Interrupt Request Queue.
	
- ISA
-  Industry Standard Architecture.  This is a standard, although now rather
		dated, data bus interface for system components such as floppy disk
		drivers.
	
- Kernel Module
-  A dynamically loaded kernel function such as a filesystem or a 
		device driver.
	
- Kilobyte
-  A thousand bytes of data, often written as  Kbyte,
	
- Megabyte
-  A million bytes of data, often written as  Mbyte,
	
- Microprocessor
-  A very integrated CPU.  
		Most modern CPUs are Microprocessors.
	
- Module
-  A file containing CPU instructions in the form of either assembly
		language instructions or a high level language like C.
	
- Object file
-  A file containing machine code and data that has not yet been linked
		with other object files or libraries to become an executable image.
	
- Page
-  Physical memory is divided up into equal sized pages.
	
- Pointer
-  A location in memory that contains the address of another location
		in memory,
	
- Process
-  This is an entity which can execute programs.  A process could
		be thought of as a program in action.
	
- Processor
-  Short for Microprocessor, equivalent to CPU.
	
- PCI
-  Peripheral Component Interconnect.  A standard describing how the peripheral
		components of a computer system may be connected together.
	
- Peripheral
-  An intelligent processor that does work on behalf of the system's
		CPU.  For example, an IDE controller chip,
	
- Program
-  A coherent set of CPU instructions that performs a task, such as
		printing ``hello world''.  See also executable image.
	
- Protocol
-  A protocol is a networking language used to transfer application data
		between two cooperating processes or network layers.
	
- Register
-  A location within a chip, used to store information or instructions.
	
- Register File
-  The set of registers in a processor.
	
- RISC
-  Reduced Instruction Set Computer.  The opposite of CISC, that is a processor
		with a small number of assembly instructions, each of which performs simple operations.
		The ARM and Alpha processors are both RISC architectures.
	
- Routine
-  Similar to a function except that, strictly speaking, routines do not
		return values.
	
- SCSI
-  Small Computer Systems Interface.
	
- Shell
-  This is a program which acts as an interface between the operating system and
		a human user.   Also called a command shell, the most commonly used shell in
		Linux is the bash shell.
	
- SMP
-  Symmetrical multiprocessing.  Systems with more than one processor which fairly
		share the work amongst those processors.
	
- Socket
-  A socket represents one end of a network connection, Linux supports the
			BSD Socket interface.
	
- Software
-  CPU instructions (both assembler and high level languages like C)
		and data.  Mostly interchangable with Program.
	
- System V
-  A variant of Unix TM produced in 1983, which included, amongst other things,
		System V IPC mechanisms.
	
- TCP
-  Transmission Control Protocol.
	
- Task Queue
-  A mechanism for deferring work in the Linux kernel.
	
- UDP
-  User Datagram Protocol.
	
- Virtual memory
-  A hardware and software mechanism for making the physical
		memory in a system appear larger than it actually is.
File translated from TEX by TTH, version 1.0.
 Top of Chapter, 
 Table of Contents, 
 Show Frames, 
 No Frames
 
© 1996-1999 David A Rusling copyright notice.