Key Terms and Concepts

Enterprise architecture (EA): A roadmap created by an organization to describe its current situation and where it should head to achieve its mission, focusing on business strategy and the technology infrastructure required to achieve it.
Computer: is any electronic device that can accept, manipulate, store, and output data, and whose instructions can be programmed.
ASCII code: A code that defines how keyboard characters are encoded into digital strings of ones and zeros
optical scanners: It is a device that captures text or images and convert them to digital format in thousands of settings. They can scan virtually anything into an image, but combined with software or special symbols, they can decipher much more detail.
optical character recognition (OCR): This is a software that can interpret the actual letters and numbers on a page, creating a digital document that can be edited rather than a flat picture.
radio frequency identification (RFID): This are tags that used in supply chains to track shipments, are small chips equipped with a microprocessor, a tiny antenna to receive and transmit data, and sometimes a battery.
central processing unit (CPU): The brain of a computer, which handles information processing, calculations, and control tasks
transistor: A small electrical circuit made from a semiconductor material such as silicon.
Moore’s Law: A principle named for computer executive Gordon Moore, which states that advances in computer technology, such as processing speed or storage capabilities, doubles about every 2 years.
byte: Measurement unit for computer storage capacity; a byte holds eight zeros and ones and represents a single character
random access memory (RAM): A computer’s primary temporary storage area accessed by the CPU to execute instructions.
in-memory computing: Refers to the use of primary storage as the main place information is stored, rather than in secondary storage devices such as hard drives, to vastly increase speed
software: The computer component that contains the instructions that directs computer hardware to carry out tasks.
application software: The type of software used to support a wide range of individual and business activities, such as transaction processing, payroll, word processing, and video editing
system software: The type of software that controls basic computer operations such as file management, disk storage, hardware interfaces, and integration with the application software
operating system (OS): The category of system software that performs a variety of critical basic tasks, such as handling device input and output, maintaining file structures, and allocating memory.
utility software: The category of system software that includes programs to perform specific tasks that help manage, tune, and protect the computer hardware and software
programming language: An artificial language used to write software that provides the instructions for the computer about how to accept information, process it, and provide output.
legacy systems: Older information systems that remain in muse because they still function and are costly to replace.
source code: All the statements that programmers write in a particular programming language to create a functioning software program
object-oriented programming: A type of software programming that focuses on “objects” rather than lists of instructions and routines to manipulate data
commercial off-the-shelf (COTS): Commercially available computer software that is ready to buy, install, and use
software as a service (SaaS): A type of commercially available software that is owned, hosted, and managed by a vendor, and accessed by customers remotely, usually via the Internet.
open source software: A type of software whose licensing terms comply with criteria such as free distribution, so other people can access the source code to improve it, build upon it, or use it in new programs
network: A group of interconnected devices, such as computers, phones, printers, or displays, that can share resources and communicate using standard protocols.
bits per second (bps): The measurement of transmission speed, defined as the number of bits transmitted each second; each bit is a single zero or one, and a string of 8 bits makes up a byte.
bandwidth: The maximum amount of information in bits per second that a particular channel can transmit
twisted pair wires: The most common form of wired media, these wires consist of thin, flexible copper wires used in ordinary phones.
coaxial cables:  Wired medium, initially used for cable TV, consisting of a single inner conductor wire
(typically copper) surrounded by insulation, which is then surrounded by a mesh-like conductor.
optical fiber:  Cables that transmit bits by means of light pulses along a glass or plastic fiber instead of electrical signals over a conductor; ideally suited for long distances.

Wavelength: The distance between one peak of an electromagnetic wave to the next.

hertz (Hz): The number of cycles per second of a wave.

microwave transmission: The technology involving signals in the gigahertz range that are transmitted to relays in the line of sight.
WIFI: Short for wireless fidelity; it refers to a computer network in which connections rely on radio waves at frequencies of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz for transmission.
wireless router: A device connected to a computer network that emits signals from its antenna and enables wireless connectivity to the network.
Bluetooth:  A technology that uses radio waves for connectivity, commonly used for wireless connections over very short distances.
digital subscriber lines (DSL): Technology that supports high speed two way digital communication over twisted pair phone lines.
local area network (LAN): A network that connects devices such as computers, printers, and scanners in a single building or home.
circuit-switched network: A type of network in which the nodes communicate by first establishing a dedicated channel between them.

packet switching: A technology used by networks in which data is broken into segments, called packets, for
transmission. The packets contain information about their destination and position in the whole message, and they are reassembled at the receiving end

Voice over IP (VoIP): The technologies that make voice communications across networks using packet switching feasible, including those used over the Internet.

client-server network:  A type of network in which the workload for running applications is shared between the server and the client devices, such as desktop computers, laptops, or smartphones

n-tier
Type of network architecture in which several servers, specialized for particular tasks, may be accessed by a client computer to perform some activity, such as retrieving a bank balance.
peer-to-peer network: A type of network in which there is no central server and computers can share files, printers, and an Internet connection with one another.
Ethernet
A communication protocol widely used for local area networks.
TCP/IP:  Abbreviation for Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol; used for Internet communications.
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6): The next generation protocol for the Internet, which will support far more IP addresses compared to the current scheme
WiMax: Technology that relies on microwave transmissions to blanket large metropolitan areas from microwave towers, usually on buildings.
virtualization:  Cost-cutting approach to servers in which multiple operating systems run concurrently on a single physical PC server.
private branch exchange (PBX): Technology that manages all the office phone lines, voice mail, internal billing, call transfers, forwarding, conferencing, and other voice services.
cloud computing: ICT architecture in which users access software applications and information systems remotely over the Internet, rather than locally on an individual PC or from servers in the organization’s data center.