Computing Glossary

Browse 12 computing terms defined in plain English, from the cultural dictionary of computing.

12 Computing Terms

batch processing
A method of running programs where jobs are collected into groups (batches) and executed sequentially without user interaction. Dominant in the mainframe era...
Clipboard
The temporary holding area where copied or cut data is stored before it is pasted somewhere else. In everyday tech use, the clipboard is so familiar that...
Computer History
The history of computers, software, networks, and the people and institutions that shaped them. In tech culture, studying computer history helps teams...
Computer Museum
A museum or collection devoted to preserving and displaying computers, software artifacts, peripherals, and computing history. In tech culture computer museums...
Computer Science
The academic and technical field concerned with computation, algorithms, systems, data, logic, and related theory and practice. In culture discussions it is...
ENIAC
ENIAC, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, was the first general-purpose electronic digital computer, completed in 1945 at the University of...
Ghost in the Machine
Originally a philosophical phrase, now often used to describe behavior in a machine or system that feels strangely human, mysterious, or hard to explain. In...
Green Computing
Computing practices aimed at reducing environmental impact through energy efficiency, longer hardware life, better utilization, and more sustainable system...
Hacker Ethic
A set of values associated with early hacker culture, including curiosity, hands-on learning, openness, and skepticism of centralized control.
minicomputer
A class of mid-range computers that emerged in the 1960s, smaller and cheaper than mainframes but more powerful than microcomputers. The DEC PDP-11 and VAX...
time-sharing
An operating system technique that allows multiple users to interact with a computer simultaneously by rapidly switching the processor between tasks, giving...
von Neumann architecture
The computer architecture in which a single memory store holds both program instructions and data, with a central processing unit that fetches, decodes, and...

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