IT Glossary
Key Terms To Know In The IT Industry
Hackathon
An event, typically lasting several days, in which a large number of people meet to engage in collaborative computer programming.
You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Software Development
Hadoop
An open-source framework that allows for the distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of computers using simple programming models.
You will find this term commonly used in Big Data, Distributed Computing
Handover
In mobile communications, the process by which a phone call or data session transfers from one cell coverage area to another without interruption.
You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Mobile Technology
Handover Protocol
In mobile telecommunications, the process by which a mobile device transfers from one network cell to another without losing connection.
You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Mobile Technology
Handshaking
In networking, a process by which two devices initiate communication. Handshaking often involves exchanging certain messages to establish parameters of the communication.
You will find this term commonly used in Networking
Haptic Feedback
The use of touch feedback to the user of an electronic device.
You will find this term commonly used in User Interface, Mobile Technology
Haptic Interface
A system that allows users to interact with a computer through bodily sensations and movements, typically providing force feedback to simulate the touch and feel of virtual objects.
You will find this term commonly used in User Interface, Design
Haptic Technology
The use of technology that stimulates the senses of touch and motion, which is particularly useful in virtual environments.
You will find this term commonly used in User Interface, Virtual Reality
Hard Fork
A change to the protocol of a blockchain network that makes previously invalid blocks/transactions valid (or vice-versa), requiring all nodes or users to upgrade to the latest version of the protocol software.
You will find this term commonly used in Cryptocurrency
Hardware
The collection of physical parts of a computer system. This includes the computer case, monitor, keyboard, and mouse, as well as the internal components such as the motherboard, hard disk drive, graphics card, and RAM modules.
You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Hardware
Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)
A layer of programming that allows a computer operating system to interact with a hardware device at a general or abstract level rather than at a detailed hardware level.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Operating Systems
Hardware Acceleration
The use of computer hardware to perform some functions more efficiently than is possible in software running on a general-purpose CPU.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Computing
Hardware Accelerator
A hardware device or a system software that improves the overall performance of the computer by offloading processing tasks that would be otherwise processed by the CPU.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Computing
Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)
A list maintained by software or hardware vendors that details the components that have been tested and are known to work with their system.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Computing
Hardware Debugging
The process of identifying and fixing hardware issues in a computer or electronic system.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Software Development
Hardware Description Language
Languages used to describe the structure and behavior of electronic circuits, and most commonly, digital logic circuits. VHDL and Verilog are two prominent HDLs.
You will find this term commonly used in Electronics, Digital Design
Hardware Description Language (HDL)
A specialized computer language used to describe the structure, design, and operation of electronic circuits, particularly digital logic circuits.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Programming
Hardware Diagnostic Test
Tests run to check the physical components of a computer or server for functionality and performance issues. They help in identifying hardware failures or potential failures.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Maintenance
Hardware Emulation
The technique of imitating the functionality of one hardware device in another hardware device, commonly used in software development and testing.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Software Development
Hardware Engineer
Designs, develops, and tests physical components of computers and related devices.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware Development, Engineering
Hardware Firewall
A physical device that filters traffic between a computer (or local network) and the Internet to block malicious traffic.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Networking
Hardware Keylogger
A physical device designed to record keystrokes on a computer or mobile device, often used for malicious purposes to capture passwords and other sensitive information.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Hardware
Hardware Optimization
The process of adjusting hardware components and systems to perform more efficiently or to meet specific performance requirements.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Computing
Hardware Performance Counter
A set of special-purpose registers that are used to store the counts of hardware-related activities, useful for software optimization.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Computing
Hardware Profiling
The process of systematically analyzing the hardware components of a computer to ensure compatibility and performance efficiency.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Computing
Hardware RAID
A way to store data on multiple hard disks for redundancy and/or performance, managed by a dedicated piece of hardware.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Data Storage
Hardware Security
The protection of physical devices from threats that could compromise their performance or integrity, including tampering, unauthorized access, and physical damage.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Hardware
Hardware Token
A physical device that an authorized user of computer services is given to ease the authentication process.
You will find this term commonly used in Security
Hardware-Assisted Virtualization
Virtualization that is supported and accelerated by the physical hardware, typically by the CPU. It allows for better performance of virtual machines.
You will find this term commonly used in Virtualization, Hardware
Hash Chain
A method of producing many one-time keys from a single key or password.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Cryptography
Hash Collision
Occurs when a hash function returns the same output for two different inputs. Hash collisions are a concern in the field of cryptography.
You will find this term commonly used in Cryptography
Hash Distribution
The method of distributing database partitions across a cluster using a hash function to decide which node in the cluster receives a given piece of data.
You will find this term commonly used in Databases, Big Data
Hash DoS Attack
A denial-of-service attack technique that exploits the worst-case scenarios of hash table implementations, causing a large number of hash collisions and severely degrading application performance.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Software Development
Hash Function
A function that converts an input (or 'message') into a fixed-size string of bytes. The output, typically a 'digest', is designed to be unique to each unique input. It is a one-way function, meaning a function which is practically infeasible to invert.
You will find this term commonly used in Cryptography
Hash Function Cryptanalysis
The study of the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in hash functions to understand how they can be broken or compromised.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Cryptography
Hash Function Security
The property of a hash function that makes it suitable for use in cryptography, including resistance to collisions and preimage attacks.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Cryptography
Hash Map
A data structure that implements an associative array abstract data type, a structure that can map keys to values.
You will find this term commonly used in Programming, Data Structures
Hash Object
In programming, a hash object is a data structure that implements an associative array, a structure that can map keys to values, using a hash function to compute an index into an array of buckets.
You will find this term commonly used in Software Development
Hash Partitioning
A partitioning method used in databases where a hash function is used to distribute rows across multiple partitions.
You will find this term commonly used in Databases
Hash Rate
The speed at which a compute is completing an operation in the Bitcoin code. A higher hash rate is better when mining as it increases the opportunity of finding the next block and receiving the reward.
You will find this term commonly used in Cryptocurrency
Hash Rate Efficiency
A measure of the amount of hash operations a cryptocurrency miner can perform per unit of power consumed, indicating the efficiency of the mining hardware.
You will find this term commonly used in Cryptocurrency, Blockchain
Hash Rate Optimization
The process of adjusting and improving the efficiency of the computational operations in cryptocurrency mining to maximize the rate of hash calculations.
You will find this term commonly used in Cryptocurrency, Blockchain
Hash Table
A data structure that implements an associative array abstract data type, a structure that can map keys to values using a hash function to compute an index into an array of buckets or slots.
You will find this term commonly used in Data Structures, Programming
Hash Table Overflow
A situation that occurs when a hash table data structure reaches its capacity and cannot accommodate new entries, potentially leading to performance degradation.
You will find this term commonly used in Programming, Data Structures
Hash-Based Routing
In web development, a routing strategy that uses the hash portion of the URL (the part of the URL that follows the # symbol) to keep track of the application state.
You will find this term commonly used in Web Development
Hashing
The process of converting a given key into another value. A hash function is used to generate the new value according to a mathematical algorithm.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Cryptography
Hashing Algorithm
A function that converts an input into a fixed-size string of bytes, typically used for security purposes in creating hash values or digests.
You will find this term commonly used in Cryptography
Hashing Power
The computing power used by the network to process transactions and secure the blockchain, often measured in hashes per second.
You will find this term commonly used in Cryptocurrency, Blockchain
Hashing Space
The range of values that a hash function can output, which is determined by the size of the hash value it produces.
You will find this term commonly used in Cryptography
Hashing Utility
Software tools that generate a hash value based on input data. Hashing utilities are used for various purposes, including data integrity verification, password storage, and digital signatures.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Cybersecurity
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