IBM 865741Y Handbook - Page 254

does inventory control or payroll. (3) A program used to connect and communicate with stations on a network, enabling users to perform application-oriented activities. rate that is synonymous with signal events. The baud rate is usually expressed in bits per second. BBS. Bulletin board system. architecture. See computer architecture. asynchronous transmission. Data transmission in which transmission of a character or a block of characters can begin at any time but in which the bits that represent the character or block have equal time duration. Contrast with synchronous transmission. binary. (1) Pertaining to a selection, choice, or condition that has two possible different values or states. (I) (A) (2) Pertaining to a fixed radix numeration system having a radix of 2. (I) (A) (3) Pertaining to a system of numbers to the base two; the binary digits are 0 and 1. (A) BIOS. Basic Input/Output System. attenuation. A decrease in magnitude of current, voltage, or power of a signal in transmission between points. AWG. American Wire Gauge. B back up. To copy information, usually to diskette or tape, for safekeeping. backup. Pertaining to a system, device, file, or facility that can be used in the event of a malfunction or loss of data. bank. An aggregation of similar devices, such as single inline memory modules, connected to each other and used cooperatively. baud rate. In remote communications, the transmission BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). Code that controls basic hardware operations such as interactions with diskette drives, hard disk drives, and the keyboard. bit. Either of the digits 0 or 1 when used in the binary numeration system. Synonymous with binary digit. (T) bridge. A functional unit that interconnects two local area networks that use the same logical link control protocol but may use different medium access control protocols. buffer. (1) A routine or storage used to compensate for a difference in rate of flow of data, or time of occurrence of events, when transferring data from one device to another. (A) (2) A portion of storage used to hold input or output data temporarily. 236 Netfinity 3500 User's Handbook