Questions tagged [terminology]
For questions about words, phrases and definitions that are specific to classic computers and gaming systems.
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Intel "Kernel processor" or "OS Kernel"
I used to have an Intel data book from 1981. I gave it away to a friend, and he probably also lost it along the way.
In this book there was a data sheet for a component called "OS Kernel" or ...
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Origin of "string"
When did people start referring to an ordered group of characters as a "string"? Did this name come from before / outside of the computing field, or is it special to computing?
The metaphor ...
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When was the term ‘directory’ replaced by ‘folder’?
I started using computers with MS-DOS and as far as I can remember the data structure holding files was called a directory (it held other directories as well), DIR is still used to list the content of ...
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Why was the "Space-cadet keyboard" called that?
Many of us have heard of the so-called "Space-cadet keyboard" from 1978 (famous for including a mind-boggling number of modifier keys including control, meta, hyper, super, shift, top, front,...
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Why are assemblers called assemblers?
We tend use the term assembler as if there is a fundamental implication of being different from a compiler. This disparity is usually taken as a fact, no matter how sophisticated or primitive either ...
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Is there an established name for this group of CPUs?
There is a group of 8-bit CPUs, starting with the Datapoint 2200, which includes the Intel 8080 and 8085, the Z80, the LR35902, the KR580VM1, the Rabbit 2000, and others. It seems like an obvious ...
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What was the first operating system to be called an "operating system"?
According to Wikipedia, the first operating system was GM-NAA I/O, produced in 1956 by General Motors' Research division for its IBM 704.
According to Merriam-Webster and Etymonline, the term "...
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What's the story behind IBM's SKU numbers?
Big Blue IBM seemingly since forever is using a fixed numbering scheme for all their parts, where every little thing, dingus and gizmo is labeled with the so-called IBM SKU#. It's always in the form:
...
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What is a "sympathetic bit"?
I am reading about BIOS in Phil Storrs PC Hardware book: What happens when we turn on a PC ?
Next comes the incremental check of all the RAM memory. The RAM memory is written to, and read from, with ...
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Correct pronunciation of `vi` (Unix editor)?
According to this video with Brian Kernighan, the correct pronunciation of the classical Unix editor ed is "Eee. Dee." — not "Edd".
So that made me wonder — what about the other ...
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Why is slash so commonly used in old systems' abbreviations?
Many things around the '80s or earlier use ‘/’ in their abbreviations and sometimes even in their names, for example
IBM PS/2, OS/2 and PS/2 port
CP/M - MP/M - PL/M - PL/I - PL/S - PL/8 along with CP/...
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Where did the term ‘blue screen of death’ come from?
Did somebody famous coin the term? Where does it originate from? I have it heard many times over the years. I wonder if there is a neat bit of trivia associated with the term?
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What is a Dumb Terminal?
There seems to be some confusion what a 'Dumb' terminal is as visible in answers and comments to this question about portable dumb terminals. So:
What is a Dumb Terminal?
Points that would help to ...
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What are the "virtual machines" that were running on 80386 and later x86 CPUs before full hardware virtualization?
When reading techy articles about older Windows versions I often come across the term "Virtual machine". Apparently even Windows 3.11 had some sort of virtual-machine-thing going on in it, ...
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Did Intel syntax for x86 assembly come from an Intel assembler?
I'm wondering where the so-called Intel syntax for x86 assembly came from. Did Intel release their own assembler for chips like the 8086 or do we just mean the syntax they used in the manuals?
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Is "component video" synonymous with "RGB"?
Before asking this, I read the Wikipedia article. I've been confused about this for many, many years. I'd like to finally get it straightened out.
What exactly is the difference between "RGB"...
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Was the term "master" in source code management systems first used with the sense of master/replica or master/slave?
In recent years there has been a push by some to move away from using the term "master" in source code management systems, often by renaming the "master" branch to a "main&...
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In what year did term "program" first appear in the meaning of "series of coded instructions"?
I'm trying to figure out year when the term "program" was firstly used is the meaning ‘a series of coded instructions which directs a computer in carrying out a specific task’.
Additionally ...
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Who called it "microchip" first?
We all know how Kilby at TI and Noyce at Fairchild invented the integrated circuit. But who called it microchip? Chip?
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What does it mean to byte swap or split a ROM image?
I'd like to understand: What does it mean to "byte swap" when burning kickstart or extended ROMs? Is it the same as "splitting" the ROM? How is it done and why?
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What's a good term for "instruction cycle count-accurate" emulation / simulation?
Emulation is called cycle-accurate if the original system's cycle-synchronous behaviour is fully captured; for example, a cycle-accurate emulation of a CPU, executing an instruction, would first ...
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Origin of "arithmetic" and "logical" for signed and unsigned shifts
The assembly language for many processors use the phrase "arithmetic shift" to represent the bitwise shift of a signed value, and "logical shift" for an unsigned value. The two ...
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Why is EEPROM called ROM if it can be written to?
Is there a historical reason? Since it is rewritable it isn't read only by definition, so why call it so?
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When was the phrase "sufficiently smart compiler" first used?
In discussions and arguments about programming language design, one often hears comments about "sufficiently smart" compilers, as in "X needn't be inefficient, since a sufficiently ...
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What was the earliest use of |> pipe in programming?
I am trying to find which language used the |> operator first.
It's being discussed for use in R, and it's been in OCaml for some years.
Did it originate in OCaml? If not, what are its earliest ...
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Why are paddles called paddles?
A paddle is a sort of input device, common on early video game consoles and home computers, consisting of a handheld wheel with one or more fire buttons. Unlike dial boxes, which spin freely, paddles ...
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Distinction between scientific and business computing
Wikipedia's page on the IBM System/360 family claims that a distinction once existed between business and scientific computers. The model 44 in particular was designed for scientific work and was set ...
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What does "ByteSwapped" and "BigEndian" refer to in the context of video game ROMs?
I have found two different sets of Nintendo 64 ROMs with the same games (which, of course, I physically own). One is labeled "ByteSwapped" and the other "BigEndian". What exactly ...
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What is a 4002's "RAM Status Character"?
I was looking at this emulator of a Intel 4004, and I noticed something with the RAM. It had something called "Status Chars". There were 4 of them per memory line and all were 4-bit numbers ...
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Where did the the term "chrome," referring to onscreen decorations, originate?
To most people today "chrome" probably sounds like a reference to the web browser; but at least in Microsoft contexts I've read "chrome" to refer to window decorations - like the ...
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When was the term Multics (operating system) coined and by whom?
From the history of Multics, I found that Project MAC was established on July 1, 1963 by MIT for the development of the Multics operating system and later GE (General Electric) and AT&T's Bell ...
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When was term "word" first used as reference to CPU max register size
I've tried to find information when term 'word' was firstly used. And it seems that even ENIAC used this term.
Is it safe to say that term 'word' was invented with ENIAC?
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Why were computer customers called "Users"?
The term User for computer hardware and software customers has been universal for as long as I can remember. It has always applied to both hardware and software customers - There were "Lotus Users" ...
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What are D64, T64, D71 and D81 files?
The docs for the Ultimate-II+ expansion cartridge for the Commodore 64 state:
It is able to read D64 files, as well as D71 and D81 files (no partitions), T64 files.
So what are D64, T64, D71 and D81 ...
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In TRS-80 parlance when talking about disks, what are "granules" and "lumps"?
In my reading to try to learn about the disk layout, directory, and boot process of TRS-80 Model I and Model III, I see some unusual words come up again and again.
Along with the common terms "track" ...
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What was a "Windows protection error"?
Back in the day, I had a Windows 98 machine (don't recall the hardware right now) and sometimes it would crash with the "Windows protection error. You need to restart your computer" error.
So, what ...
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What did "double track" mean in relation to floppy disks?
I mostly used 3½″ floppies back in the day but I also used 5¼″ floppies to some extent on Apple II's and TRS-80's. I was never exposed to 3″ floppy disks as used mainly on Amstrad microcomputers and ...
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Is it a Directory, a List, or a Catalogue?
There are three common CLI commands on microcomputers that all mean the same thing: "Show me the contents of a volume, disk, or sub-directory". I will mention that the noun "Catalogue", and the ...
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Why is the processor instruction called "move", not "copy"?
Many processors have an instruction called "move" (sometimes spelled MOV) which copies data from one location (the "source") to another (the "destination") in registers and/or memory. It does not do ...
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What was the first operating system called DOS?
MS-DOS a.k.a. PC-DOS nee QDOS, was commonly just referred to as DOS. But 'disk operating system' is a very obvious acronym; there must have been previous operating systems so called.
What was the ...
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ZX Spectrum: What is the "T" state value, with reference to sound?
I have that awesome book - Zx Spectrum ROM Disassembled (correct the title if I got it wrong), where the author wrote about the audio code in the ROM and referring to "T" state, "... T200... T5000, ...
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What is a dropfile?
After reading Charles Duffy's comment on Was there a clearly identifiable "first computer" to use or demonstrate the use of virtual memory?:
I had a computer science professor around 1999 ...
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What's the first use of the term, "1977 Trinity"?
The term "1977 trinity" has been used, here on Retrocomputing
SE and elsewhere, to refer to a set of three computers that
started shipping in mid- to late-1977: the Apple II, the TRS-80 ...
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First use of "destructuring" in computing?
Which programming system first introduced "destructuring" denoting accessing various parts of an object using some sort of pattern, and binding those parts to variables, like Common Lisp's ...
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Term “console” in game consoles
Not sure if this exactly fits here, but I’m interested in the history of word “console” in game consoles and in computing in general.
I can see at least two usages for the term, which at least ...
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On DOS computers, what would the PARK command do?
In 1994 or so, we had an old computer at my primary school. I remember finding out that it had a park command. From reading its documentation, it said that this command should be executed prior to ...
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Why was the Sega Genesis marketed as a 16-bit console?
The Sega Genesis / Mega Drive's main CPU, the Motorola 68000, was a 32-bit processor. Couldn't Sega have marketed the console as a 32-bit device? Or is there a technical distinction about how the ...
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What is a subpixel in Super Mario Bros, and how does it relate to wall clipping?
What are "subpixels" in Super Mario Bros on the NES? How does it relate to wall clipping?
At 4:42 in the following video, the notion is mentioned in the context of how it relates to "wall clipping":
...
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Why do we use caret (^) as the symbol for ctrl/control?
From my understanding, the caret character (^) has been used to indicate Ctrl-key combinations since the early UNIX days, if not earlier. Why was this character used to indicate this? Was it simply ...
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What does the "x" in "x86" represent?
I have read the following in the x86 Wikipedia page:
The term "x86" came into being because the names of several successors to Intel's 8086 processor end in "86", including the 80186, 80286, 80386 ...
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