Glossary 219SCC5ig1200kn

Glossary

Aa

ASCIIAcronym for the AmericanStandard Code for InformationInterchange. Pronounced ask-ee,ASCII is a code for representingEnglish characters as numbers, witheach letter assigned a number from0 to 127. For example, the ASCIIcode for uppercase M is 77.

Cc

CD keyA code that you enter duringinstallation. The code indicates tothe installation program whatprogram and program componentsyou have purchased. The CD keyfor Spectrum CIRC/CAT is locatedon the case of your Spectrum CD.

clientA workstation computer connectedto the server on a network.Spectrum CIRC/CAT can haveclients that are librarian computersor patron lookup computers. Theactual data resides on the server, butyou access it from the client.

configuration fileA file that contains programsettings. These files have a CFG

extension and can be edited in a texteditor.

Dd

DHCP(Dynamic Host ConfigurationProtocol) A system for distributingIP addresses.

DiacriticA mark added to a letter to changethat letter's phonetic value. Forexample, the ~ mark which appearsabove the letter n in Spanish wordsis a diacritic.

DNS(Domain Name System) Ahierarchical naming system thatidentifies computers on a network.DNS uses a combination of textnames separated by periods tocreate a unique name. For example,if Abraham Lincoln could havebeen connected to the Internet, hisidentification (address) might havebeen “alincoln.whitehouse.gov”.

Hh

Hosts fileText file that contains the matchedIP addresses and host names(machine names).

Host nameServes as identification for acomputer on a network (also calledMachine name). The Hosts file liststhe Host’s name next to the IPaddress.

Ii

IP (Internet Protocol) addressTells the other computers on thenetwork a computer’s location forcommunication purposes. An IPaddress consists of four sets ofnumbers, from 0 to 255, separatedby periods.

IPX/SPX(Internetwork PacketExchange/Sequential PacketExchange.)A protocol developed byNovell for transmission ofinformation on NetWare networks.

Mm

machine nameServes as identification for acomputer on a network (also calledHost name). The Hosts file lists theMachine name next to the IPaddress.

Nn

networkTwo or more computers that arephysically connected and shareresources.

Pp

protocolThe language that computers in anetwork use to communicate.Several protocols exist, but manyare not compatible with manysystems.

220 Spectrum CIRC/CAT Installations GuideSCC5ig1200kn

Ss

serial portA connection by which a computercan transmit data to another device,such as a printer, using serialtransmission; that is, one bit at atime. IBM PC-compatiblecomputers typically have two serialports labeled COM1 and COM2.

subnet maskIdentifies what class network you’reconnected to.

serverThe computer that has softwareinstalled to run the network andprovides shared resources, such asdirectories, to the other computers(clients) connected to the network.

Tt

TCP/IP(Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol) A set ofnetworking protocols used with a largevariety of systems. TCP/IP serves asthe networking protocol currently usedfor communications on the Internet.

Uu

USB(Universal Serial Bus) A connectionused to attach computers to theirkeyboards, printers, and otherperipherals.