Author Description

Thoroughly revised and updated to keep pace with the latest developments, the Dictionary of Computing, Second Edition, remains an exceptionally authoritative concise reference work in a fast-moving field. For the new edition, existing entries have been rewritten to provide broader coverage of communications, networking, electronics, input-output, microcomputing, and digital logic, and many new entries (including "spreadsheet," "turtle graphics," and "user-friendly") have been added, bringing the total number to over 4000. Many of the very useful drawings and tables have been revised, and several new ones added. More than just a basic dictionary, this volume contains expository articles, many of them quite detailed, written by specialists under the supervision of two expert consultants, Dr. Edward Glazer, formerly of M.I.T., and Dr. Ian Pyle, of the University of York. Among the areas covered are: programming languages and concepts--algorithms and their properties--operating systems and concepts--data structures and file structures--formal languages, grammars, and automata--computer organization and architecture, past and present--hardware, including processors, memory devices, and I/O devices--computer communications--information technology--computer applications and techniques--major computer manufacturers--legal aspects of computing.This thoroughness and breadth of coverage make the Dictionary of Computing an invalubale tool not only for computer specialists but also for any scientist who uses a computer even occasionally. Amateurs, too, will find much of interest here.