The Computer Folks Glossary

FAT (file allocation table)	The file structure used by DOS to store information on disks.
FDDI (fiber distributed data interface)	A type of network configuration, based on standard from the American National Standards Institute, designed for high-speed fiber-optic networks.
Feed	A component attached to a satellite dish, containing a microwave antenna in the form of a small metal probe.
Fiber-optic cable	A bundle of thin tubes of glass used to transmit data as pulses of light.
Field	The smallest meaningful unit of information contained in a data file.
Field name	A name that identifies the contents of a field.
File	A named collection of program instructions that exists on a storage medium such as a hard disk, floppy disk, or CD-ROM.
File compression	A type of data compression that shrinks one or more files into a single file that occupies less storage space than the files did separately.
File format	The method of organization used to encode and store data in a computer.
File management software	Computer programs that help the user organize records, fine records that match specific criteria, and print lists based on the information contained in records.
File specification	A combination of the drive letter, subdirectory, and filename and extensions that identifies a file.
File structure	A description of the way in which data is stored in a file.
Filename	A unique set of letter and numbers that identifies a file.
Filename extension	A set of three letters and/or numbers added to the end of a filename, to assist in identifying the nature of the file.
Filenaming conventions	Specific rules followed in establishing a filename.
Fixed-length field	A field in a data file that has a predetermined number of characters.
Flat file	A meaans of storing information in which each file contains records of a single type, and there is no underlying structure that relates records to one another.
Floppy disk	A portable magnetic storage medium.
Floppy disk drive	A storage device that writes data on, and reads data from, floppy disks.
Flow chart	In software engineering, a graphical representation of the way a computer should progress from one instruction to the next when it performs a task.
FM synthesis	The MIDI standard that provides instructions for the computer to synthesize sounds by simulating real musical instrumaents.
Folder	A subdirectory.
Font	A typeface or style of lettering.
Footer	Text that appears in the bottom margin of each page of a document.
Footnotes	Citations for works mentioned in the text.
Formula	In spreadsheet terminology, a combination of numbers and symbols that tells the computer how to use the contents of cells in calculations.
FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslator)	Developed in 1954, the oldest high-level computer language still in use. It is used primarily for scientific, mathematical, and engineering programs on mainframes and minicomputer.
4GL (fourth-generation language)	A programming language that contains built-in commands for complex task such as sorting data or creating columnar reports.
Fragmented	When data in a file is stored in noncontiguous cluster.
Frame	In computer graphics, an outline or boundary, frequently defining a box; a predefined area into which text or graphics may be placed.
Free-form database	A loosely structured collection of information, usually stored as documents rather than as records.
Frequency	The number of times per second the wace cycle of an electromagnetic wave repeats.
FTP ((File Transfer Protocol)	A computer that maintains a collection of data that can be transferred over the Internet to a user's computer.
FTP client software	Special software that allows a user to upload files.
Full backup	A copy of all the files on a disk.
Function keys	The keys numbered F1 through F2, located at the top of the computer keyboard, that activate program-specific commands.
Functions	Section of code that manipulate data but are not included in the main sequential execution path of a program.
Fuzzy logic	A technique used by an expert system to deal with imprecise data by incorporating the probability that the input information is correct.