Glossary Of Terms

RAM

Random access memory

Also known as “RAM” is used to temporarily store data that needs to be processed in order to carry out an action and run a program such as a game, if you play a game that you know is rather demanding you will definitely need a high GB of RAM, for most high end games today, to run at a high standard you would need at least 8GB of RAM, obviously you will need a high end processor and graphics card. There are two main types of RAM, DDR3 and DDR5, DDR5 is the fastest and is used in the PS4 and DDR3 is used in the Xbox One.

CPU

Central processing unit

The central processing unit is the main unit within the PC hat is responsible for all the processing on the computer, this is key to run anything on your computer. Processors come in differnt cores, such as dual core, quad core and six core, each haver differing speeds. The more cores, the faster the processing speed. The speed of a CPU is measured in MHZ, this number represenst the number of procceses done per second. There are many different Processors made by companies like AMD and Intel.

Graphics Processor

The graphics processing unit in a computer is the processor responsible for displaying images, without this, you would not see anything on your screen. There are different GPU's varying in qulity made by companies such as NvIdea. The Asus Nvidia GeForce GTX650 1 GB GDDR5 1058MHz Graphics Card and the ATI Radeon 8500 are examples of fairly new graphics card that is used in high end PC's to run the latest games. The better the quality of a graphics card, the higher the quality of models you see in game are displayed.

Video Display/Output ( LCD, Monochrome, Colour)

There are different ways that images are displayed, LCD, Monochrome and colour display are the most commonly used.

LCD – A flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals. You would typically see this term when buying a TV.

Monochrome – A monochrome monitor is a type of computer display which was very common in the early days of computing, before colour monitors became popular.

Colour display – Colour display is simply a when a monitor displays colour, this is used in all monitors and televisions today and is a necessity.

Sound/Audio

Sound (Audio) Is what allows you to hear things from your computer or an other device, such as music, if there is no sound device, then you will not hear sound on your device.

Storage Media

The storage media is internal and external storage devices that can hold data either in your computer or to be transferred to another device. An internal hard drive in a computer would be screwed in place and is nesessary for a computer to work. An external hard drive is less of a necessity and is used for extra storage if you PC is full or to transfer data between systems.

Power Supply

The power supply is what keeps a computer switched on and provides power to all the components of a computer allowing it to run whatever you wish. As with storage media, power supplys are both internal and external. The PS4 has an internal power supply, which has been modified to stop the console overheating and the Xbox One has an external power brick, allowing more space in the console and stops any chance of the console overheating.

Software Kernel (operating system)

The operating system is what is featured on your computer allowing you to navigate through your system to access the data you need. One of the most common OS's today is Windows 8, it's usually built in with any Laptop or home computer you buy.

HCI

Human–computer interaction – This is the term used to describe the interaction between a user and a computer. This could be using the mouse to navigate through the features on a computer using the display on your screen or devices such as Kinect for Xbox that allow you to navigate through the consoles features using hand gestures and voice commands.

LAN

Local area network - LAN is a computer network that interconnects users computers in a limited area such as at home. This method of connection isn't typically used today, as it is outdated, but some people and small business's still use it. Some gamers use it to run old games over a netowrk so they can play together.

GPRS

General Packet Radio Service - GPRS is a packet oriented mobile data service on the 2G and 3G mobile communication system's for mobile communications. This allows people to connect over their phones with each other and connect to the internet. You will usually find the GPRS function on your smartphone.

WAP

Wireless Application Protocol - WAP is a technical term for accessing information over a mobile wireless network that allows you to connect to the internet using devices such as a laptop or console to connect wirelessly.

Cache

The cache is used to store data that needs to constantly be accessed as it is key to running certain programs or even keeping the computer switched on, if you OS (operating system) suddenly stopped being assessed and processed then your computer would not be able to run.

MCP

Media Communications Processor – The MCP is designed to create and distribute digital media. It processes audio, video, graphics, fax and modem procedures using a multimedia subsystem.

2D v 3D graphics processing

2D graphics processing is the processing of 2D images, this is a much older method of pressing, though still used, 3D processing is much more modern and is necessary for running anything 3D.

Subscription TV

Subscription TV is when you subscribe to view different channels and stream content such as movies. Netflix and LoveFilm are examples of subsciption TV that allow you to stream content through multiple devices, such as your home console and Smart TV.

ETV

Enhanced Television – Enhanced TV is an example of interactive TV, referring to the connection between a TV and a computer. This could refer to streaming films on your Computer and your TV at the same time.

API (Graphical and Sound)

Graphically API is the software that renders what you see on your screen, DirectX 9 is a graphics API.

In sound, API is the software that processes the sound that you hear, Java is an example of a sound API.

Interpreted programming languages for games

An interpreted language is a programming language that executes instructions directly, without previously compiling a program into machine-language instructions, some examples are Jave and Python.

Compiled programming languages for games

A compiled language is a programming language whose implementations are typically compilers and not interpreters.

Object-oriented programming

OOP is a programme that represents concepts as objects that have data fields and associated procedures known as methods. 

Scripting languages for games

Scripting languages are Programme languages that add functionality to a web page. Examples are: JavaScript, PHP, Perl and C++.