# Computers glossary - part 5 ## S Sampling - the data speed that audio or video is being captured or played back Sampling depth - the amount of data for each sample from a sampling rate Sampling rate - the frequency that information is gathered in audio or video SATA - serial AT attachment, cables with an L-shaped socket that attach directly to a motherboard Scalable - either the ability for a computer task to be done many, many times without any major slowdown or something that can be made bigger indefinitely Schematic - something designed as a concept, the physical side of "alpha version" Screen - a visual output using an array of pixels, with each pixel representing gradations of 3 lights to form the visual spectrum Screen burn-in - a condition from a CRT display where an image is permanently burned into the glass of the screen after keeping a static image on the screen for a long time Screen memory map - the RAM locations where color values are stored for the screen Script - slang for a comparatively short amount of computer code for accomplishing a straightforward purpose Scrollbar - a GUI feature that allows a screen to be scrolled by the user for more information Search engine - powerful software designed that uses a web crawler to create a searching algorithm for users' convenience Searching algorithm - a very common algorithm that looks through a list to find information Secrets - sensitive data someone would want to keep private, often is a string of computer-generated letters and numbers Sector - a smaller section of a drive that combines to create blocks Seed - to send information over a P2P connection, often refers to seeding a torrent Seedbox - hosted content designed to start torrent streams Self join - a powerful SQL technique of using data with another table generated from that data Semantics - the meaning a programmer wishes to convey, expresses via syntax Semiconductor - a substance that can be altered to control how much electricity can run through it, it's the basis of all electricity-based computing via transistors SEO - search engine optimization, improving [marketability](marketing.md) with various tricks to rank higher on search engine results SEO poisoning - a social engineering exploit that involves using SEO tricks to get people to go to a fraudulent website Sequential logic - where computers perform logic in a sequence, compared to combinational logic Server - a synonym for a supercomputer or a host, context-depending Server rack - a large rack with thumb-screw holes that computers can slide into on drawers, 19 inches wide and usually 42U height (1U is 1.75 inches, U for unit), most smaller computers can fit in 1U, but computers can be as tall as 6U Service - a task or program a computer can run Session - a specified block of time that a computer is sending information Set - a data structure that holds multiple unique values in no particular order or structure Shadow profile - gathering information about a person/organization without their consent, popular with FAANG companies Shaping - curating behavior close to a desired outcome. Shared plan - a pricing plan that combines the resources for various customers' needs together to save money on hardware, opposite of shared plan Shareware - an old software licensing model of giving free-to-distribute software that removes features without a paid license key, largely obsolete now that freemium exists Shim - software that grabs API data and modifies it somehow before outputting as if it were the same data Shipping - management term for finishing a project Sideload - installing software that the operating system wasn't designed originally to accommodate (e.g., an app store in a cell phone) SIM card - subscriber identity module card, an interchangeable means of attributing identification to a cell phone Sim swapping - aka SIM splitting, simjacking or sim hijacking, a hack that involves transferring a phone number's association to another SIM card Simplex - data transmission that's only one way, contrast to duplex Single-board computer - a cheaply made computer made with only one printed circuit board such as the [Raspberry Pi](https://www.raspberrypi.org/) and [Arduino](https://www.arduino.cc/), perfect for simple projects and low-cost solutions SISO - single-input single-output, a relatively slow transceiver configuration compared to SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO Skeleton loader - a design placeholder element, typically with a scrolling indicator, to express the framework of a page *before* it loads completely Skinner box - aka operant conditioning chamber, a confined area with a lab subject who presses a button to get a reward, named after the psychologist B.F. Skinner and his operant conditioning experiments, a core component of many modern games Skybox - a massive textured digital box that represents the far-distant world in a game SLA - service-level agreement, a written document that clarifies what a tech service is doing and what happens when they don't follow through (such as paying the customer if they fail beyond a certain amount of time) SLO - service-level objective, documentation that clarifies what the purpose of a tech service is for, leads to an SLA Slave - aka subsidiary (now that [Leftism](politics-leftism.md) is offended by the term), a subordinate drive or record that has a lesser importance than others, in contrast with master Slot - a location in the case designated for a specific part, usually for long-term storage, not to be confused with ports Smart contract - an agreement between computers (or people) that they're both trustworthy regarding specific transactions, removes the need for a trusted intermediary Snapshot - a copy of a hard drive's memory at a specific timestamp Snapshotting - to take a snapshot of memory, usually for backup Social engineering - an exploit that uses information about someone to get them to trust the hacker Social media - internet-based content designed for generally public consumption Socket - when an IP address is linked to a port Soft skill - a broad [understanding](understanding.md) of something, not particularly useful in itself but widely applicable Software - computer code that programmers entered into a computer, completely written [intellectual property](legal-ip.md) compared to hardware Something-for-something - a social engineering exploit where the hacker gives something (usually for free) in exchange for personal information Source code - computer code that makes applications run, is often elaborate, is often a hybrid of closed-source (not public) or open-source (public for everyone) Snoop - scouring networked computers for potentially useful information, also a famous rapper Sorted list - a list that has been sorted, typically numerically or alphabetically Sound card - dedicated memory, CPU, and rear ports specifically for [sound processing](computers-speakersmic.md), is typically baked into the motherboard but can still be a PCI extension for audio professionals SPA - single page app, a simple website/app that's only 1 page of content Split cache - a hardware architecture where memory is split between programs and data Spoofing - feeding false information into a computer to imply something different from reality, often used for hacking, examples include GPS spoofing (to change perceived geolocation) and cell tower spoofing (to make a cell phone think a computer is a cell tower) Sprite - the foreground and moving elements of a game, contrasts to a static background Spyware - malware that tracks user information, the most malicious form being a keylogger SQL - Structured Query Language, a programming language that manages an RDBMS SSD - solid-state drive, flash memory engineered for more long-term use as a permanent hard drive Stablecoin - a cryptocurrency that attaches its value to a non-cryptocurrency denomination, such as the US dollar Stack - broad term for information placed in some sort of order or organization, can also apply to a stack data structure where most of the information is managing the values at the beginning and end with push and pop Stack memory allocation - memory allocated by the operating system for specific purposes defined by the program, contrasted with heap memory allocation Stack overflow - a risky memory situation where the memory was maxed out, so the computer draws from the bottom-most memory instead (e.g., if memory only goes to 4096, and it's at 4090, then 10 more will make it go to 0003 instead) Staging - setting computer code to be committed, but not yet reviewed for the commit Standard - an industry-defined set of rules and procedures on how to do something, often evolves from a convention State - a conditional situation that a computer-related thing is in Stateful - a broad concept for software that's aware of the state of something, such as whether a file has finished downloading or whether there's a network connection Statement of work - a legally binding document that specifies exactly what someone can do, is obligated to do, and can't do Static - not moving Station keeping - the effort of maintaining a satellite's trajectory Stereo lithography - a 3D printing method of hardening layers of plastic with light Stop - an additional increment of light that hits a camera sensor String - a data type of text information, a combination of characters strung together SU-MIMO - single-user multiple-input multiple-output, a transceiver configuration that allows more bandwidth for a single device to transfer, though doesn't allow multiple bands from multiple users like MU-MIMO Supercomputer - a large computer that's usually a distributed system, usually fits into a rack, and is often a web server, tends to be pricier and reliable than home computers Surge protector - a device meant to prevent against freakish spikes of electricity that would normally destroy a power supply Stepdown transformer - a box on many power cables for lowish-power devices that lowers the household power plug's voltage to something more manageable Stepper - an interface element with a + and - symbol that increments and decrements a value. STP - spanning tree protocol, a Layer 2 network protocol that specifies where data should get forwarded Stripboard - aka Veroboard a construction base for prototyping mid-speed circuits, requires soldering Striping - arranging information across multiple domains, most commonly used to refer to a type of RAID array Style guide - documentation about how the user interface should look, often with many examples Subnet - a subnetwork, necessary for working with large networks, uses a subnet mask, terminates at a gateway Subnet mask - designating an IP range for making a subnet (e.g., 255.255.255.0 in IPv4 would allocate 8 bits of data for a subnet) Supersample - antialiasing that gets a much larger sample of the image to then downgrade to the displayed image Superuser - aka super or root user or root, an account with the highest possible privileges in a computer Surrogate key - a key in a database that has no real-world equivalent, useful for setting a primary key Surround sound - a speaker configuration where the user can hear in front and behind them Swap space - hard drive space converted into temporary RAM Swarm - a situation where many BitTorrent clients are seeding/leeching all at once Switch - a network box that operates as a type of [demultiplexer](computers-alu.md) to direct signals to their destination, in contrast with a hub Sync interval - how frequently a synchronized computer checks for updated information Synchronous logic - a motherboard arrangement where each logic gate advances with each clock cycle, contrasts with asynchronous logic Syntax - the typed text that a computer language understands, conveys the semantics of the programmer Syntax error - an error in computer code syntax, usually caused by typographical errors System call - a call that refers to core system components, often higher-risk and more resource-intensive than most other function calls System usability scale - a questionnaire where people answer 10 1-to-5 questions about how much they like the interface ## T Table - a means of holding data, uses fields for each part of the table Tailgating - physically following someone into a secure area where they can access a computer Tape drive - long-term storage that puts binary information on a long string of magnetic tape, excellent for storing *huge* amounts of information that isn't life-and-death if it gets relatively corrupted Task-based testing - testing by giving people tasks to complete, then measuring how well they do and any hangups in that task TCP - transmission control protocol, the [Transport-level](networks-computer.md) standard for sending high-quality information across a network, in contrast with UDP TCP/IP - a hybrid of TCP and IP, since they work together so frequently Tech stack - the set of languages a developer understands for handling all their front-end and back-end needs Technical debt - quick short-term solutions that create long-term problems, where the debt is paid later in the future Technology - a broad word that can mean a programming language, specific hardware, specific software, protocol, or network configuration, a management way to say "computer things": you can use a technology on a technology to run a technology via a technology to accomplish a technology, once was "high-technology" but has been contracted over time Telemetry - long-distance measurements, often to track users or user behavior Telephony - long-distance computer information transfer Terminal/Console/Command prompt - a text-based input that also gives output text, scary to people unfamiliar with computers but extremely useful for pipelining and APIs Terminator - a network endpoint that absorbs a signal, prevents data from bouncing back at the end of a wire and shutting down an entire bus network Texture - a graphical pattern or image overlaid onto a polygon Time-sharing - using a computer for more than one thing at a time, generally a built-in necessity of parallel processing, especially important in virtual machines Timeout - broad term for the deadline when a computer ends a condition to maintain a status, often pertains to when a session ends before information has successfully transferred Timestamp - a copy-paste recording of the BIOS clock, a frequent aspect of log files and metadata Toast - a small message with a border around it on an interface's overlay meant to quickly communicate small bits of information Token - a relatively small line of code that triggers an event Tooltip - a popup block of text when someone moves their mouse over an element Topology - the construction of something, often refers to network design, can be a physical topology (how it visually looks) or a signaling/logical topology (how it connects) Tor - short for The Onion Router, a protocol/software that runs on a type of parallel overlay network compared to the rest of the internet, often broadly classified (mostly incorrectly) as the "dark web" Torrent - use the BitTorrent protocol, a P2P protocol, often associated with piracy but has many important uses for free content distributors Touch screen - the primary input of most mobile devices by using a digitizer under the glass to capture absolute motion, can often emulate a keyboard on it, tends not to show a cursor if it was designed for touch screens Tracker - a feature of a program that collects and sends user data, often necessary for debugging but can often invade privacy, may also refer to a torrent-based host that distributes magnet links Traffic shaping - configuring the QoS settings to improve the user experience on a network Trailer, an optional bit of code at the end of a packet that contains error-correcting code Transceiver - combo transmitter/receiver, used for sending *and* receiving signals Transducer - a device that receives energy in one form, then expresses it in another form (e.g., a computer speaker) Transistor - an implementation of a semiconductor, usually as an electrical switch, to do all sorts of things like modifying signals, stabilizing voltage, performing logic, and storing information Translation lookaside buffer - a cache in the MMU that tracks the mapping between virtual and physical memory locations Transponder - a satellite radio beacon used for location and routing information, effectively a transceiver but differentiated because it provides information to decode Doppler shifts Tribal knowledge - small undocumented details that are critical to understand something Trigger box - an invisible box in a game world that triggers an action when the user enters or exits it Trilateration - Using multiple data from geolocation-based distances to triangulate a location Trojan horse/Trojan - malware that masquerades as a non-executing document (such as a video) Troll - to antagonize people into an argument, named after the fishing term of throwing bait out the back of a boat Trusted intermediary - a third-party computer that two computers can trust, often involves digital certificates Truthy - a data value that has something in it and therefore expresses to TRUE, opposite of falsy TTL - time to live, how many hops until a network signal drops, avoids a signal bouncing around indefinitely in a system Tunnel - a two-way communication between two resources, typically applies to VPNs but also applies to HTTP communication Tuple - a finite ordered list of elements, indicated by n (e.g., an n-tuple has n elements) TWAIN - the driver standard for scanners, not an acronym but is a reference to "never the twain shall meet" Two's complement - a mathematical means of representing negative numbers by using the binary number from decrementing in binary from 0 Typeahead - an input box that employs a simplified searching algorithm for text Type coercion - changing data types before operating with it, can often make the difference between Boolean statements being true or false Typography - the design and style of text ## U UDP - user datagram protocol, the [Transport-level](networks-computer.md) standard for sending information rapidly across a network, contrast to TCP UEFI - unified extended firmware interface, a BIOS-like system designed for more advanced drivers UI - user interface, the visual design of the elements of an operating system, web page, or software Unbounded color value - color values that aren't constrained to an arbitrary number Unconditional jump - an instruction in code to move to a specific location in the instructions, very useful in creating loops, contrast to conditional jumps Under-provisioning - giving less resources than necessary, often causes slowdown or crashing depending on the use case, opposite of under-provisioning Underclocking - lowering the speed of the computer below the manufacturer specifications, which could make worse benchmarks but may make your computer last longer, opposite of overclocking Unicast address - an address that's designated to 1 network asset, contrast to broadcast address Unicode - aka UTF-32, a character encoding format that uses up to 32 bits of data, technically only uses 18 bits to capture everything Unicorn - a startup that's worth over $1 billion Unix-like - an operating system designed closely to the original Unix system, typically refers to GNU/Linux but can also refer to FreeBSD Unsorted list - a list that hasn't been sorted, or at least hasn't been identified as sorted by a computer Uptime - time that a computer is continuously on, contrast to downtime URI - uniform resource identifier, a given thing on the internet represented by a sequence of characters URL - uniform resource locator, aka web address, an internet location designed to avoid having to remember IP addresses, uses a FQDN USB - universal serial bus, a type of port that most peripherals can use Use case - aka usage case, a scenario a programmer will have to consider caused by external input from a user or another computer, often interchangeable with implementation Userland - the domain of the computer designed for users to interact User-driven - a state where content and assets created by users instead of the creators' efforts User base - the people who already use a particular computer software or hardware product User journey - the intuitive flow that a user makes with an interface UPS - uninterruptible power supply, which is a surge protector mixed with a battery that gives enough time for you to shut the computer down User - can refer to either a person (for UX reasons) or a specific login account in a computer system UUID/GUID - universally unique identifier or globally unique identifier, a specific and unique device ID given to every networked computer device, always has 36 characters UX - user experience, broad term referring to the general feelings the user receives when interacting with the user interface, the newer model compared to HCI that incorporates [marketing principles](marketing.md) into it ## V Validation error - a text field which doesn't provide correct information Variable - a math concept of something that can be changed, refers to specific letters/symbols in math but can be labeled as almost *anything* in programming, opposite of constant Variable-length - a length that isn't fixed, though it may have thresholds, often used in Unicode character encoding Variable lighting - visually referencing a light source, then adding shadows to make a 3D environment feel more realistic VDI - virtual desktop interface, a GUI that looks like an entire OS, often accessible through a web browser Vector graphics - controlling an electron to run horizontally across a screen to give a line, the oldest form of GUI, eventually replaced by raster graphics Venture capitalist - someone willing to risk money to fund someone else's business Version - a specific assembled program, typically has a number to specify what iteration it is Version control - a system of managing changes in computer code VGA - video graphics array, an old pin-based plug for sending video information Video game console - a specialized computer designed to play video games, not to be confused with input consoles/terminals, functionally the same as a PC since the late-2010's Virtualization - aka virtual machine, using a portion of computer assets to create a virtual computer-in-a-computer Virtual memory - hard drive memory that has been converted into a swap space Virus - malware that masquerades as legitimate software Visual language - a visual dynamic shared among an organization VM - virtual machine/virtualization, splitting a computer to make it feel like more than one computer at the same time, allows people to split up one powerful computer instead of using many weaker ones and use multiple operating systems without partitioning hard drives VM escape - using an exploit to break out of a VM into the rest of a computer system VM sprawl - making too many VMs where you can't keep track of them all Volatile/Short-term storage - memory that goes away during a power cycle such as the cache, typically stored in RAM but also sometimes stored on a hard drive, opposite of non-volatile storage Volume - either the intensity of sound data transfer to speakers, or a logical/physical disk partition Von Neumann architecture - a CPU architecture that involves an input, logic processor, memory, and output, pretty much the basis for almost every computer Voxels - volumetric pixels, a 3D grid of pixels as an alternative to polygon-based rendering, didn't last long VPN - virtual private network, a service that uses a VPN tunnel on L2TP to safely transfer private information over long distances VR - virtual reality, a vague concept referring to a computer-generated simulation of reality, often refers to an HMD VST - virtual studio technology, a standardized framework that allows for plugins to interact with a DAW VTON - virtual try-ON, an implementation of VR that involves the user sampling how a product will look in a VR environment ## W WAN - wide area network, larger computer networks (such as the internet), in contrast with LAN WAP - wireless access point, a physical piece of hardware that allows for a wireless connection War dialing - entering all the phone numbers one-at-a-time to scan a phone system Warrant canary - an organization's indicator that a government surveillance unit is non-present, with non-updates of that indicator demonstrating that a government surveillance unit *is* present Warez - software that's typically had its DRM removed Web crawler - to scrape specific keywords off websites, a component of search engines Web browser - software designed for users to casually consume information across the internet Web scraping - copying information off the internet and cleaning it up to make it more useful for users Web server - a computer or distributed system, often with lots of processing power, which is publicly available on the internet White balance - aka color temperature, an image post-processing effect that determines whether the image's output colors lean more red or blue White-hat hacker - aka "white hat", a hacker who honors ethics White noise - the noise generated by quantization White space/negative space - empty space that gives structure to a UI Whitelist - mark a MAC or IP address as safe, opposite of blacklist Wi-Fi - a networking standard for local wireless signals that honors the 802.11 specification Wiki - a public repository of information, typically user-driven, originally named after WikiWikiWeb in 1995 Wildcard - a regular expression component that indicates that anything can be used (e.g., *ing can return "cleaning", "sing", and "commingling"). Wireframe - a line-based form of something, can be a visual guide of how something will look like (the design side of "alpha version") or an earlier stage of 3D polygon graphical design Word - the size of a memory register, typically a base-2 representation (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc.) Worm - malware that self-replicates onto other networked computers WPS - can refer to Wi-Fi positioning system (a method of using Wi-Fi signals for trilateration) or Wi-Fi protected setup (a button-activated authentication system built into most network routers) Write tolerance - the number of times that you can write to a drive before it fails, often measured in ridiculously high numbers because they're usually designed to last a few years of normal use ## X XIP - execute in place, a file system feature where a CPU can load a file from long-term storage instead of loading it to RAM first ## Y Yak shaving - doing many things that are seemingly unrelated to a software design goal to accomplish that goal Yank - to remove distribution of a specific version, often because of hacking or a defect in the code ## Z Z-pattern - a design component where the eye moves left-to-right, then back to the next line's left-to-right, a common feature of reading books but tends to tire out the eyes when using a computer Zero - a philosophical concept of nothingness represented by "0" that came from ancient India, not to be confused with "null" in computers, since it's still a value in memory Zero-based numbering - how computers count, starting at 0 instead of how people intuitively start at 1 (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3 instead of 1, 2, 3, 4) Zero-click attack - a cyberattack that doesn't require the user to do anything to activate it Zero-day exploit - aka "0 Day", an exploit that was just discovered after it could be exploited Zone file - a file on a DNS host that indicates resource records