ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
A code that represents characters as a series of 1s and 0s. Most computers use ASCII code to represent text, making it possible to transfer data between computers. d
ASCII text
Text files that contain no embedded formatting codes. d
Binary
The representation of data using two states, such as off-on or 1-0.
Binary number system
A method for representing numbers using only two digits: 0 and 1. Contrast to the decimal number system, which uses ten digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
Bit
The smallest unit of information handled by a computer. A bit is one of two values, either a 0 or a 1. Eight bits constitute a byte, which can represent a letter or a number.
Bit rate
The number of bits that are transmitted or processed per unit of time (usually per second); usually measured as bps (bits per second).
Byte
An 8-bit unit of data that represents a single character.
Character data
Letters, symbols, or numerals that will not be used in arithmetic operations (name, Social Security number, etc.).
Data
In the context of computing and data management, refers to the symbols that a computer uses to represent facts and ideas.
Data representation
The use of electronic signals, marks, or binary digits to represent character, numeric, visual, or audio data.
Delimiter
A special character used to separate commands or formatting characters from the rest of the text in a file.
Digital data
Text, numbers, graphics, or sound represented by discrete digits, such as 1s and 0s.
Digitization
Converting non-digital information or media to a digital format through the use of a scanner, sampler, or other input device.
Extended ASCII
Similar to ASCII but with 8-bit character representation instead of 7-bit, allowing for an additional 128 characters.
File
A named collection of data (such as a computer program, document, or graphic) that exists on a storage medium, such as a hard disk or CD.
File format
The method of organization used to encode and store data in a computer. Text formats include DOCX and TXT. Graphics formats include BMP, TIFF, GIF, and PNG.
File name extension
The characters in a file name after the period, such as .exe and .txt.
Gigabit (Gb or Gbit)
Approximately 1 billion bits; exactly 1,024 megabits.
Gigabyte (GB)
Approximately 1 billion bytes; exactly 1,024 megabytes (1,073,741,824 bytes).
Kilobit (Kbit or Kb)
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Kilobyte (KB)
Approximately 1,000 bytes; exactly 1,024 bytes.
Lossless compression
A compression technique that is able to reconstitute all of the data in the original file; hence, lossless means that this compression technique does not lose data.
Lossy compression
Any data compression technique in which some of the data is sacrificed to obtain more compression.
Megabit (Mb or Mbit)
1,048,576 bits.
Megabyte (MB)
Approximately 1 million bytes; exactly 1,048,576 bytes.
Numeric data
Numbers that represent quantities and can be used in arithmetic operations.
Unicode
A 16-bit character-representation code that can represent more than 65,000 characters.
UTF-8
A variable-length coding scheme that uses seven bits for common ASCII characters, but uses 16-bit Unicode as necessary.