Glossary Of Terms
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| AD592 | The AD592 is a temperature transducer that provides an output current proportional to absolute temperature |
| Amp | Ampere: The international base unit of electrical current that represents the rate flow of electric charges through a conductor. Symbolized by "A." 1 amp is equal to the steady current produced by 1 volt applied across a resistance of 1 ohm. |
| Analogue | A continuously varying action or movement that takes time to change from one position to another. A good example of this is a simple sine wave - |
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| Analogue Inputs | An input that can accept an analogue signal at a pre-defined maximum/minimum level. |
| ASCII | ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange. The standard code consisting of 7-bit coded characters (8 bits including parity check) used to exchange information between data processing systems, data communication systems, and associated equipment. The ASCII set contains control characters and graphic characters |
| Attachment | An attachment is a computer file which is sent in conjunction with an e-mail message. |
| CSV | CSV (Comma Separated Values) also known as a comma-separated list is a file type that stores tabular data. The format is very old, dating back to the days of mainframe computing. For this reason, CSV files are common on all computer platforms. |
| Data Logging | In computerised data logging, a computer
program may automatically record events in a certain scope
in order to provide an audit trail that can be used to
diagnose problems. |
| Data Transfer Protocol | A defined rule set for transfer of data |
| Digital | A system of data or image values in the
form of discrete, non continuous codes, such as binary. When
data is in a digital format, it can be processed, stored
(recorded), and reproduced easily while maintaining its
original integrity. |
| Digital Inputs | An input type that can only accept a
digital signal (1's or 0's), used where an input has an on
or off defined state. |
| Digital Outputs | An output type that will give a digital
representation of on or off (1 or 0) used widely for
triggering alarms or relays. |
| Digital States | An digital electrical signal possesses
two distinct states (on/off, positive/negative); typically
represented by "0" or "1". |
| DIN Rail | A DIN rail or top-hat rail is a
standardized 35 mm wide metal rail with hat-shaped cross
section. It is widely used, especially in Europe, for
mounting circuit breakers and industrial control equipment
inside equipment racks. |
| E-mail | Electronic Mail |
| Ethernet | A network protocol that uses MAC
addresses to exchange data between computers. Using ARP,
with TCP/IP support, Ethernet devices can be connected to
the Internet. |
| Excel | Spreadsheet application by Microsoft
Corporation |
| Export | An ability to send data to another
program/file type |
| Frequency Measurement | The number of times a particular event
happens per a given time. In electronics this is the number of
complete cycles per second of an electronic signal,
expressed in Hertz (Hz). |
| FTP | File Transfer Protocol. A protocol used
to transfer files over a TCP/IP network (Internet, UNIX,
etc.). For example, after developing the HTML pages for a
Web site on a local machine, they are typically uploaded to
the Web server using FTP and stored there for access via
the internet. |
| GPRS | General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a
mobile data service available to users of GSM and IS-136
mobile phones. GPRS data transfer is typically charged per
megabyte of transferred data. Data communication via
traditional circuit switching is billed per minute of
connection time, independently of whether the user actually has
transferred data or been in an idle state. GPRS can be
utilized for services such as WAP access, SMS and MMS, but
also for Internet communication services such as email and
web access. |
| GSM | The Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM) is the most popular standard for mobile
phones in the world. GSM service is used by over 2 billion
people across more than 212 countries and territories. The
ubiquity of the GSM standard makes international roaming
very common between mobile phone operators, enabling
subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. |
| GSM Network Router | GSM Network Routers or Cellular routers
(sometimes known as 3G Routers) are routers that provide
shared Internet access by incorporating a GSM data modem as
a WAN interface. |
| Hayes Compatible Modem | Most dialup modems follow to a large
extent the specifications of the Hayes Command Set, a
specific programming language originally developed for the
Hayes Smartmodem 300 modem. The modem initialization string
consists of a series of commands. It prepares the modem for
communications, setting such features as dialling mode (tone
or pulse), waits, detection of the busy signal and many
other settings. |
| iLOG | Data Logger available in 3 formats GSM,
LAN or EDM |
| Import | The ability to take in data from another
source |
| Internal Memory | Data storage medium that is built in to
a device |
| Internet | The Internet is the worldwide, publicly
accessible network of interconnected computer networks that
transmit data by packet switching using the standard
Internet Protocol (IP). It is a "network of networks" that
consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic,
business, and government networks, which together carry
various information and services, such as electronic mail,
online chat, file transfer, and the interlinked Web pages
and other documents of the World Wide Web. |
| LAN | Local Area Network. A local area network
is a group of computers and associated devices that share a
common communications line and typically share the resources
of a single processor or server within a small geographic
area (for example, within an office building). |
| Local Network | See LAN |
| mA | abbreviation of milli Amp |
| Memory | The medium used to store the data
received by a device. |
| milli Amp | Milli Ampere. Or 1000th of an ampere. |
| Modem | A device that puts information on a
carrier signal and transmits it over a (phone) network. The
same device receives such signals and demodulates, or
separates the information from the carrier. A modem connects
computers with other communication devices through ordinary
phone lines. |
| PSTN | The public switched telephone network
(PSTN) is the network of the world's public circuit-switched
telephone networks, in much the same way that the Internet
is the network of the world's public IP-based
packet-switched networks. Originally a network of fixed-line
analogue telephone systems, the PSTN is now almost entirely
digital, and now includes mobile as well as fixed
telephones. |
| PT100 | A common type of RTD (Resistance
Temperature Detector) |
| Relay | A device that acts like a switch and is
controlled by a current. The relay switch contacts and then
controls another circuit to pass a signal. Most relays are
either solid state or electromagnetic. |
| RTD | Resistance thermometers, also called
resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), are temperature
sensors that exploit the predictable change in electrical
resistance of some materials with changing temperature. As
they are almost invariably made of platinum, they are often
called platinum resistance thermometers (PRTs). They are
slowly replacing the use of thermocouples in many industrial
applications below 600°C. |
| Serial Data | A way to transfer information by
breaking the characters of a word into bits, which are then
transmitted sequentially along a single line. Compare to
parallel, which uses more than one line. |
| Serial Port | An input/output connection on the
computer that allows it to communicate with other devices in
a serial fashion — data bits flowing on a single pair of
wires. The serial port is used with RS-232 protocol. |
| SMS | Short Message Service (SMS) is a service
available on most digital mobile phones, other mobile
devices (e.g. a Pocket PC, or occasionally even desktop
computers) and some fixed phones, that permits the sending
of short messages between mobile phones, other handheld
devices and even landline telephones. |
| TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol. The communi╜cation protocol of the Internet.
Computers and devices with direct access to the Internet are
provided with a copy of the TCP/IP program to allow them to
send and receive information in an understandable form. |
| Telemetry | Telemetry is a technology that allows
the remote measurement and reporting of information of
interest to the system designer or operator. |
| Text Message | A more commonly used term for SMS |
| Upload | Uploading and downloading are related
terms used to describe the transfer of electronic data
between two computers or similar systems. To upload refers
to the sending of data from one location to another. |
| V | Abbreviation of Volt |
| Volt | The electrical potential difference or
electromotive force that will cause current of 1 ampere to
flow through the resistance of 1 ohm. Symbolized by "V." |
| Web Server | A computer that is responsible for
accepting HTTP requests from clients, which are known as Web
browsers, and serving them HTTP responses along with
optional data contents, which usually are Web pages such as
HTML documents and linked objects (images, etc.). |
| XLS | The common file format associated with
Microsoft Excel |
