English for IT: Essential Vocabulary for Units 1 & 2
Unit #1: Welcome to English 4 IT
Below is a list of the vocabulary needed to pass this unit with a good score.
Key Vocabulary
- Application: A software program which allows a user to perform specific tasks such as word processing, email, accounting, or database management. Examples of popular applications include Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, and Mozilla Firefox.
- Component: Any device internal to the computer, such as a primary hard disk drive or motherboard. A hardware geek is constantly upgrading components in his computer to achieve more performance.
- Computer: An electronic, digital device that stores and processes information. A computer needs to be replaced or upgraded regularly, or it will become obsolete.
- Data: Literally meaning ‘that which is given,’ this term refers to raw information of any kind. The network administrator was fired when he lost all the company data by accidentally formatting the wrong hard disk drive array.
- Database: An organized, electronic collection of information optimized for fast access and typically consisting of rows, columns, indexes, and keys. The international company stored their customer information in a central database in Brussels.
- Hardware: Physical things that make up a computer, such as a component or a peripheral. Hardware today has become such a commodity that it’s often more expensive to repair it than to replace it.
- Internet: The largest known public network in the world, connecting millions of computers around the world. Some people refer to the Internet as an information superhighway.
- Network: A group of connected computers which share resources. The company network consisted of 3 servers, 95 workstations, and 10 printers.
- Peripheral: An external computer add-on, such as a printer or a scanner; also known as an ‘accessory.’ The woman hated the look of all the tangled wires behind her desk, which were caused by so many peripherals.
- Software: Any program designed to run on a computer. The geek purchased new software for his computer almost every weekend.
Unit #2: Introduction to Software
Below is a list of the vocabulary needed to pass this unit with a good score.
Key Vocabulary
- Abort: To end a program or a process before its completion. When the word processor application crashed, the user had to abort the program and lose all his unsaved changes.
- Bug: An error in a computer program. An average developer will create one bug for every 10 lines of code written.
- Closed Source: Software in which the license stipulates that the user cannot see, edit, or manipulate the source code of a software program. I wanted to develop a new feature for the program, but I couldn’t because it was closed source.
- Compatible: Capable of being used without modification. The IBM 360 was the first commercially successful computer family with a wide range of compatible parts.
- Crash: A computer failure due to faulty hardware or a serious software bug. The user was advised to reboot the computer after a serious crash in which the computer no longer responded.
- End User: A person who uses a product or service on a computer. Developers must maintain a close relationship with end users if they want to have a successful career.
- Error: An incorrect action attributable to poor judgment, ignorance, or inattention. The computer reported a “division by zero” error and automatically aborted the program.
- Execute: To start a program on a computer. The program was set to execute every night at midnight.
- Feature: Something a computer program is “supposed” to do; these are often reasons to use a particular program or upgrade to a more recent version. The man upgraded his copy of Word because of a new feature that allowed him to spell-check documents in Spanish.
- Open Source: A program in which the code is distributed allowing programmers to alter and change the original software as much as they like. The article stated that many programmers prefer open source solutions because they can modify features and fix bugs without waiting for an upgrade or patch from the manufacturer.
- Programmer: A person who writes or modifies computer programs or applications. The software company needed to hire three new programmers to help debug their flagship application.
- Proprietary: Privately developed and owned technology. Because of proprietary code, you may not modify or redistribute the source code of Windows or Macintosh operating systems.