CIS 105
Survey of Computer Information Systems
Essential Concepts and Terminology
Study Unit Three
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

File.
A named collection of data (such as a computer program, document, or graphic) that exists on a storage medium such as a hard disk, floppy disk, or CD-ROM.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Directory.
A list of files contained on a computer storage device.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Folders.
PC. The subdirectories that can contain files or other folders.
Macintosh. Same as directories on a PC.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Memory.
The computer circuitry that holds data waiting to be processed.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Storage.
The area in a computer where data is retained to be used again later.
Storage devices retain information after the device is turned off.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Volatile Memory.
Memory contents that are erased when a computer is shut off.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Saving.
Transfer of data to a storage device.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Read-Write Media.
Storage disks that allow a computer to both read and store
(write) data. Examples are CD-RW and floppy disks.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Sequential Access.
A form of data storage (such as a computer tape) that requires a device to read or write data one record after another starting at the beginning of the medium.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Random-Access.
The ability of a storage device to go directly to a specific location rather than searching sequentially from a beginning location.
Magnetic disks are random-access storage media.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Pits.
Microscopic indentations on optical storage media used by laser beams to read patterns of data on the surface of disks. The lightsensing reading device receives no light from a pit and returns a "0" signal.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Land.
Flat, reflective areas on optical storage media the bounces laser light, returning a "1" signal.
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Online Storage.
Immediately available storage which does not require a user action, such as inserting media.
Typically, a hard disk is a personal computer's online storage device.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Near-Online Storage.
Secondary storage that requires insertion of media. Storage readily made available by user action.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Access Time.
The estimated time for a storage device to begin reading data on a disk, usually measured in milliseconds for disks and nanoseconds for RAM.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Nanosecond.
One-billionth of a second.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Solid State Disk.
A high-capacity storage device with rapid access time, comparable to hard disks. The device stores up to 8 GBs of data and uses batteries to provide data involatility.
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Double-Density (DD)
Floppy Disk.
A type of disk with a higher storage capacity (800 K) due to increased disk density.
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High-Density (HD) Floppy
Disk.
A disk that stores more data than a double-density disk, up to 1.44
MB.
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Write-Protect Tab.
A sliding notch on floppy disks that, when open, protect disks from being overwritten or deleted.
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Tracks.
Concentric or spiral storage areas created in series during formatting on storage medium.
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Sectors.
Pie-shaped subdivisions of tracks on storage media.
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Clusters.
Groups of sectors on a storage medium that, when accessed as a group, speed up data access.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

File Allocation Table (FAT).
A table of information recording the physical location of files on storage medium.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Fragmentation.
Storage of a data file in noncontiguous clusters.
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Activity Light.
An indicator that illuminates while the head is reading or writing data on a disk, indicating not to press the eject button.
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Formatting.
The process of preparing a magnetic disk to store information.
The process of a disk drive's head laying down the magnetic pattern of tracks and sectors.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Hard Disk.
One or more magnetic disk platters providing high-capacity, high-speed online storage.
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Platters.
Fixed, rapidly-rotating magnetic storage component disks of a hard disk.
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Head Crash.
A collision between the read-write head and the surface of a hard disk platter, resulting in disk damage.
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Partition.
A section of a disk established to operate as if it were a separate disk.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Positioning Performance.
The speed at which a drive can position the read/write head to begin transferring data.
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Transfer Performance.
The speed at which a drive can transfer data.
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Spindle Speed.
The number of revolutions per second at which hard disk platters rotate.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Hard Disk Controller.
A circuit board on the mother board, on an expansion card, or in a hard drive that acts as an interface between the CPU and the hard disk.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Small Computer System
Interface (SCSI).
An interface standard used for attaching peripheral devices such as drives, scanners, and other peripherals. Pronounced "scuzzy."
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Disk Cache.
A type of RAM used to temporarily store information read from a disk, dramatically improving up hard disk performance.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

Archiving.
The process of moving data off a primary storage device to a longterm storage medium such as a
CD-ROM or removable magnetic medium.
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Backup.
A duplicate copy of data.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

CD-ROM.
A read-only, optical disk storage medium that uses laser technology to read data. An acronym for compact disc read-only memory.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

CD-ROM drive.
A device that uses laser technology to read data from a
CD-ROM. CD-ROM drive speed is stated in multiples of 150,000 bits per second, such as 2x or 4x.
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Multisession CDs.
A CD that allows a device to write
(burn) data during more than one session.
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CD-R.
An optical disk technology used to create CD-ROMs and audio CDs.
An acronym for compact discrecordable.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

CD-RW.
An optical disk technology that allows data to be written onto a
CD, then changed much like on a floppy or hard disk. An acronym for compact disc-rewritable.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

DVD.
An optical storage medium similar to CD-ROM, except with higher storage capacity (up to 17 GB).
The acronym for "digital video disc" or "digital versatile disc.”
DVD-ROM drives are downwardly compatible with CD-ROM.
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PC Card (PCMCIA Card).
A credit-card-sized circuit board, typically used to connect a modem, memory, network card, or storage devices to a notebook computer.
CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3

End of Study Unit 3.
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CIS 105 Concepts and Terminology Unit 3 Created by James Q. Jacobs