batch system
BBS Bulletin Board System.A computerized version of the bulletin boards found in stores and other public places, where people can leave messages and advertise things they want to buy or sell.BBSs are often run by local computer user groups, and offer downloads of shareware and freeware plus online information and services.There are special interest bulletin boards, including those run by computer companies to provide information on their products.Many BBSs now have web pages. 2. In chat, Be Back Soon.
BCC: Blind carbon copy.Sending a copy of a letter to another person in addition to the addressee, without showing on the original letter that a copy was sent to someone else.
beep A sound emitted by the computer to indicate that something requires the user's attention.
bell character The control code (ASCII character 7) which causes an alert bell or tone to sound on the computer.
BeOS The operating system of the BeBox personal computer, designed by Be Inc.It has a graphical user interface, and supports multitasking and real-time operation. It can be downloaded for free for personal use from Be Inc's homepage, and installed under Windows 95 or 98. Once installed, the OS can be run by simply double-clicking on its Windows icon. Thereafter, the OS exits windows and reboots the system from a large file in the FAT file system. See also BeIA.
beta 1.A new or revised software version released for beta testing.Typically the beta version will have most if not all of the features the finished product is scheduled to include.2.The Sony VCR format, later replaced by VHS as the standard for home and industry.
BFF Binary File Format (IBM).
BGP Border Gateway Protocol.An Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP) for routing within autonomous systems, defined in RFC 1267 and RFC 1268.
BHTML Broadcast Hypertext Markup Language.A markup language based on XML, designed for synchronization of digital television, data, and Internet technologies Big Blue The nickname for IBM, based on the color of its logo.
billion 10^9 (U.S.and Canada); 10^12 (Europe).
binary A system of numbers having 2 as its base and using 0s and 1s for its notation.Binary code is used by computers because it works well with digital electronics and Boolean algebra.
binary file A file that contains codes that are not ASCII characters.A binary file could be a file with executable machine language code.Binary files must be encoded in order to transmit them over a network, and decoded on the receiving end.BinHex and uuencode are two programs which can be used to encode binary files.
Binary Large Object (BLOB).A database field that can hold images, audio, video, long text blocks, or any digitized information.
binary number A number represented in binary form; for example, the number 101 in binary notation is the same as 5 in decimal notation.
binary-coded decimal (BCD).A binary-coded notation in which each of the decimal digits is expressed as a binary numeral; for example, in binary-coded decimal notation 12 is 0001 0010, as opposed to 1100 in pure binary.
BIND Berkeley Internet Name Domain..
BinHex A format in which Macintosh binary files are temporarily encoded as ASCII files for transmission over the Internet.The Internet was originally designed for transferring text messages (7-bit files) from one computer to another.Binary files are 8 bits wide.An 8-bit file transmitted over the Internet can lose one-eighth of its data.BinHex encoding puts the 8-bit wide file into a 7-bit text format.
Also, Macintosh files have a resource fork and a data fork; the resource fork is normally lost when a file is converted to a 7-bit format.BinHex preserves the resource fork, as well as the data fork, in Macintosh files.The BinHex format is not a compression format; it makes the file larger, and a file encoded in BinHex format will take longer to transmit.BinHex also converts the file back into its original format after transmission.The filename extension for BinHex files is .hqx.
biometric security A way of authenticating the identity of an individual by using fingerprints, palm prints, retinal scans, or other biological signatures.
bionet Top-level newsgroup category for a biology newsgroup.
BIOS Basic Input/Output System.A set of instructions stored on a ROM chip inside IBM PCs and PC-compatibles, which handles all input-output functions.
BIPS 1.Billion Instructions Per Second. 2.Bank Internet Payment System.A protocol for securely sending payment instructions to banks over the Internet and for processing the payment instructions.BIPS instructions conform to the Extensible Markup Language (XML) standard.
The Bank Internet Payment System is a project of The Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC).
BISDN Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network.A high-speed telecommunications service which can transmit multimedia over the phone line.It uses fiber-optic cable and synchronous transfer mode, and is faster than narrowband ISDN.BISDN can be used for voice, data, fax, e-mail, full motion video, and video conferencing.
bit 1.(b).Short for binary digit.The smallest unit of information a computer can hold.The value of a bit is 1 or 0. 2.Top-level newsgroup category for a BITNET mailing list newsgroup.
bit depth In bitmap graphics, the number of bits per pixel; the idea of bit depth can also be applied in storing other kinds of information.The number of bits per pixel determines the number of shades of gray or variations of color that can be displayed by a computer monitor.For example, a monitor with a bit depth of 1 can display only black and white; a monitor with a bit depth of 16 can display 65,536 different colors; a monitor with a bit depth of 24 can display 16,777,216 colors.
See 4-bit color, 8-bit color, 15-bit color, 16-bit color, 24-bit color, 32-bit color.
Bit Error Rate (BER).In fiber optics, the ratio of the number of bits received incorrectly to the number of bits transmitted.
bit level device A device whose input and output are in the form of data bits.Contrast pulse level device.
bit manipulation Low-level programming that works with individual bits.
bit rate The speed at which bits are transmitted, in bits per second.Also called data rate.
bit-oriented protocol A communications protocol in which the control codes are individual bits rather than bytes.
bitmap An image or other collection of data represented as an array of bits.In bitmap graphics, an image is displayed on the screen as a collection of tiny squares called pixels, which together form a pattern.Each pixel in the image corresponds with one or more bits; the number of bits per pixel determines how many shades of gray or colors can be displayed."Bitmap" is used to refer to both the image itself and the file that holds the data for the image.
See bitmapped font, bitmap display, bitmap graphics, bit depth.
bitmap display A computer display in which each pixel onscreen is mapped to one or more bits in memory.Images are generated on the screen as the bit pattern to be displayed is written into video memory.Most current personal computers have bitmap displays, which allow the fast updating of images necessary for graphical user interfaces.
bitmap graphics or bit-map graphics A way of displaying images on a computer screen in which each picture is represented as an array of little squares called pixels.Each pixel is stored in a specific location in memory, and corresponds to one or more bits.The number of bits per pixel determines the number of colors or shades of gray that can be displayed.Bitmap graphics can be created and edited in paint programs or photo editing programs, and can be stored in a number of file formats.
Depending on file format, bitmap graphics can sometimes be imported into word processing, page layout, or spreadsheet programs, or incorporated in World Wide Web pages.Same as raster graphics; contrast vector graphics.
bitmapped font A font in which each character is formed from pixels arranged to make the shape of the character.Such an arrangement of pixels is called a bitmap.
bitmapped graphics A way of displaying images on a computer screen in which each picture is represented as an array of little squares called pixels.Each pixel is stored in a specific location in memory, and corresponds to one or more bits.The number of bits per pixel determines the number of colors or shades of gray that can be displayed.Bitmapped graphics can be created and edited in paint programs or photo editing programs, and can be stored in a number of file formats.
Depending on file format, bitmapped graphics can sometimes be imported into word processing, page layout, or spreadsheet programs, or incorporated in World Wide Web pages.Same as raster graphics; contrast vector graphics.