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Welcome to the interactive glossay at Inside Computers. This glossary allows members of Inside Computers to post new definitions, allowing for collective information sharing. If there is some acronym that most people might not know, or a special computer term which others would most likely want to know, go ahead and add it. Because this is a "real time" interaction, Inside Computers can't monitor the boards 24 hours a day, but we will do our best to keep this information both correct and edit it for content that could be offensive to others. If you are so inclined, every member is allowed to edit every user added post, so if you think you can improve on a definition, if you want to correct a mistake others may have made, go ahead!

P

P6 : The CPU architecture family which started with the Pentium Pro, and continues to be used in all Intel chips. All processors in the P6 family have the same basic core, with minor optimizations to features like L2 cache, SIMD instructions, and fabrication sizes. Packet : A small pachage of binary data which is transmitted over a network. Packets include a header, which stores the destantion, and the data, which stores the data. Palette : When used colours are first recorded in a table called a palette, and then referenced by their positional number in the table. The number of colours in the palette determine the colour depth. Parallel : When signals are send as a group. This feature is limited in frequency because of different wire timings that can cause signal corruption. Different wires in the same connector can have small imperfections that will make the electrical currents slower than they should be. This can cause the signal on that wire to be mistimed with the rest of the wires if the frequency timing is small enough. Contrast to serial. Parameter : A programming term for a value which is sent to a function. It is also when extra information is sent to a program via the command line. Parity Check :     A form of error checking. An extra bit is added to each byte of code. The bit will be added to make the number of "ON" bits even with even parity checking or odd if odd parity checking is used. If the number of "ON" bits in the byte is odd and even parity checking is used, the data has become corrupted. Parity : A method of detecting single bit errors in binary data. Parity is classified as either odd or even, and both methods add a single bit to each piece of that data. With odd parity, the extra bit is chosen to give the overall out on 1's in the data an odd number. Even parity bits give the data an even number of 1's. Parity can only detect if one bit is changed, if an even number of bits of the data are corrupt then parity checking will fail. Parity checking can only detect if an odd number of bits of the data are wrong, and has no way to discover which ones it is, or to correct the data. This is why ECC is most often used instead of parity. Particle Effects : The use of vector based graphics or very small objects to produce 3D effects such as sparks, smoke, fire, and explosions. Partition : The division of a hard drive into one or more separate areas, each capable of containing a different file structure. All hard drives have at least one partition. All partition information is stored in the partition table, which is stored in the MBR at the beginning of the drive. Passive Cooling : Any cooling which is done naturally through dissipating heat through the surrounding air. This may or may not use a heatsink. PC66, PC100, PC133, PC800, PC1600, PC2100 : These are all standards at which DRAM is manufactured. PC66, PC100, and PC133 SDRAM operate at 66MHz, 100MHz, and 133MHz, and transfer at 528MB/sec, 800MB/sec, and 1064MB/sec respectivily. PC800 is a form of RDRAM which uses Rambus technology to operate at 400MHz DDR and transfer at 1600MB/sec. PC1600 and PC2100 are forms of DDR SDRAM which operate at 100MHz DDR and 133MHz DDR, and transfer at 1600MB/sec and 2128MB/sec respectively. All DRAM used is able to operate at the frequency specified to be labled as such. Peer-To-Peer : A term used with interfaces that allow devices to communicate with other devices on the same bus without the need for a dedicated controller or computer to relay their signals. Currently, the most popular peer-to-peer connections are SCSI and FireWire. Performance Hit : When something causes performance to decrease. Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) : The standard expansion slot used in PC's to add new components. It can be 32-bit or 64-bit, and run at either 33MHz or 66MHz. Most computers have at least 4 PCI slots which operate as a 32-bit 33MHz connection. All PCI slots share the same bandwidth and the PCI bus is directly connected to the chipset's northbridge. Personal Computer (PC) : The term given to all x86 home computers. Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) : A credit card sized interface used in notebooks. Perspective Correction : Textures are adjusted so that they correctly map polygons along the depth axis. Because object's will get smaller the further away from the view they are, the texture's dimensions also have to be changed. Photolithography : The process of making a processor by having light etch the transistors into a base material. A photomask is used to block the light where it isn't suppose to go. The light that hits the material will react with the materials light sensitive coating creating a hardened coating. The material is then exposed to an acid which will etch the base material which was not reacted with the light. Pin-Out : The organization of the pins which are used to connect a IC chip to a PCB or interface. Ping : The latency of a network connection. Specifically referring to the in game latency for online gaming. Pipelining : The ability to divide on task into smaller independent tasks. This is a quicker and more effective way to do things because one task can be starting on the next request, while another task is still finishing the previous one. Pixel : The basic element for display. In imaging, picture size is based on the number of pixels it contains. The number of pixels being drawn onto the monitor screen dictate the resolution and definition of the pixel. Each pixel has a colour value, which is expressed in RGB format. Platform : The combination of OS and microprocessor architecture that determines what software can be run on the computer. Software usually can only operate on the specific platform which is was designed for because of the operating characteristics and methods that the platform uses. Software is made to run on different platforms through software ports or emulators. Polygon : The basic unit for a 3D object. Most polygons are defined by 3 edges and are triangular in shape. Objects can be defined by any number of polygons, the more polygons which are used, the more detailed the object is. Port : The connection interface which is used to attach peripheral devices or to establish network connections. Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) : A standard for sending and receiving email over the Internet. Power Management : Features build into a computer to save electricity during times of limited use. Features include downclocking the processor, and cutting power to specific areas in the processor or specific device. Printed Circuit Board (PCB) : The material that almost all electronic equipment is made of. A motherboard consists of a sheet of PCB, usually green, which chips soldiered to it. The same is likewise for video cards, sound cards, modems, NICs and almost any other electrical equipment. Procedural Texture : A vector based graphic which is used for texturing in a game. It can be used to create simple colour shift animations or simulate explosions. Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) : The standard for sound encoding to digital format used on CDs and professional digital recorders. PCM results in a lossless audio signal encoding. :