GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY           PA3.00           PAGE 1 OF 10

This chapter explains a number of computer technical terms as they are
used in the Personal Portfolio Analyzer.  It is not intended to be a
complete technical dictionary.

Batch File:  A list of DOS commands that can be executed in turn with
        just one single command.  It is stored on disk with the filename
        extension .BAT.  For example the batch file PA3.BAT may change
        to the Personal Portfolio Analyzer's program directory and run
        the Personal Portfolio Analyzer itself, all with the single
        command PA3.

Catalog: A list of all securities known to the Personal Portfolio Analy-
        zer and displayed in the Securities Register.  This information
        is stored on disk in the file CATALOG.POR.  The user can add his
        or her own securities to the catalog, up to a maximum of 127.
        A catalog requires 16,384 bytes of disk space.

        Only one catalog can exist in a data directory, but you can use
        any number of different data directories.


GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY                            PAGE 2 OF 10

Command: A program or a batch file that can be executed by entering its
        name from DOS.  For example the command to run the Personal
        Portfolio Analyzer is PA3.  It can run either the batch file 
        PA3.BAT or the program file PA3.EXE.

        Files that are commands have the filename extension .COM or
        .EXE.  Batch files have the filename extension .BAT.  These ex-
        tensions are significant to DOS and certain other programs.

Default: A choice a computer program makes for you if you do not
        explicitly make a choice.  For example if you are asked to res-
        pond Yes or No to a question, and you press the Esc (escape)
        key instead, the computer will make a reasonable and conserva-
        tive choice for you.

        The default directory in DOS is the currently active directory,
        which is the directory whose path name you see at the DOS
        prompt, for example C:\PA3PROG>.  When a program is running, the
        default directory is usually the directory that program is in
        (if the program doesn't change it).

GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY                            PAGE 3 OF 10

Directory: In DOS, a list of the names of a group of related files that
        are within the scope of a specific path.  For example the Per-
        sonal Portfolio Analyzer programs and user manual chapters are a
        group of related files that exist in the program directory.
        The name of this directory might be PA3PROG on your hard disk.

        The hundreds of files on a hard disk system need to be classi-
        fied into different groups of related files, and each one of
        these groups should have its own directory.  For example all DOS
        programs are usually grouped in a directory called DOS, and all
        personal portfolios could be grouped in another directory called
        MYSTOCKS.

        See also: File, Path, Sub-directory.







GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY                            PAGE 4 OF 10

DOS: Disk Operating System.  A group of programs that perform "house-
        keeping" functions such as copying disks and files, formatting
        disks, maintaining directories and paths and providing a organ-
        ized link between the computer, its human operator and applica-
        tion programs such as the Personal Portfolio Analyzer.

Disk Drive: The electro-mechanical device that stores data on a circular
        disk.  It records and plays back data in a way similar to a tape
        recorder.  A hard disk drive is usually sealed and the media is
        not removeable.  A floppy disk drive uses removeable media (the
        floppy diskette).

Driver: a type of computer program that communicates with an input/out-
        put device such as a video display, a printer, a disk drive or a
        mouse (pointing device).






GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY                            PAGE 5 OF 10

Escape: This refers to the key labelled Esc on your keyboard.  It is a
        convention today in most software to allow use of the Escape key
        to gracefully exit a situation you don't understand or don't
        want to be in.  Pressing Esc usually takes you back to a higher
        level menu.

        WARNING: DO NOT use the Enter key for this purpose.  That key is
        used to terminate entry of a specific data item such as a file
        name or a stock price.  Pressing Enter by itself in response to
        a prompt may result in a default action being taken or a default
        value being substituted, and usually has a different effect than
        pressing Esc.









GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY                            PAGE 6 OF 10

Extension: The part of a DOS file name after the period.  For example
        in the filename CATALOG.POR, the extension is POR.  Certain
        extensions have significance to DOS or other programs, for
        example the extensions COM and EXE represent programs that can
        be executed from DOS as commands.  The extensions .DOC, .PRN
        and .TXT usually represent human-readable text files and .WK1,
        .WKS and .CAL are popular spreadsheet files.        

        Extensions used in the Personal Portfolio Analyzer and the Stock
        Charting System are: .EXE for programs, .CTL for setup or con-
        trol files, .HLP for HELP screens or user manual chapters, .POR
        for the catalog, portfolio list and portfolio files, and .SMP
        for price history files.  The .SMP files are used only by the
        Stock Charting System, a companion product to the Personal Port-
        folio Analyzer.

        The extension is considered a part of the file name in determin-
        its "uniqueness".  For example SM3.BAT and SM3.EXE are two dif-
        ferent files and may exist in the same directory.  Incidentally,
        the extension is optional and a filename can exist without any
        extension at all.
GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY                            PAGE 7 OF 10

File:   A contiguous group of homogeneous data, stored as a named unit
        on disk.  For example the catalog is a file named CATALOG.POR.
        A file can contain data or program code.  For example the start-
        up program PA3.EXE is a file.  The part of the file name after
        the . is called the extension.

HELP screen:  A chapter of the User Manual that can be displayed
        directly on the screen from the corresponding menu in the Per-
        sonal Portfolio Analyzer.  That HELP screen pertains to the part
        of the program you are using at the moment (i.e. it is "context-
        sensitive").  A HELP screen can be invoked from any menu by
        typing the H key.  Most HELP screens contain 5-10 "screenfulls"
        of information and the screen pages are numbered in the upper
        right corner of the screen (for example 5 of 8).







GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY                            PAGE 8 OF 10

Path:   The disk drive and/or sub-directory specification that leads to
        a particular file in DOS.  For example the path C:\PAPROG refers
        to a sub-directory named PAPROG which is in the root directory
        on disk drive C.  The path C:\ refers to the root directory it-
        self.  The root directory is analogous to the trunk of a tree.

        The drive designator C: is not necessary if the path is on the
        default drive (the drive that is currently active).  Usually
        the drive designator is needed for the data path only if data
        is on a different drive from programs.

        A sub-directory is analogous to a branch of a tree.  Just as
        tree branches can emanate from other branches, sub-directories
        can be inside other sub-directories, for example \PA3\DATA.
        Sub-directories and paths are needed on hard disks because they
        can contain hundreds or even thousands of different files, which
        would be difficult to manage in a single huge directory.

        "Path" here is not related to the PATH command in DOS, which has
        a similar function but a completely different scope.

GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY                            PAGE 9 OF 10

Record: A group of data items which constitutes a part of a file.  For
        example the name of a security is a data item, which is part of
        a security record, which is part of the catalog file.

Root Directory: The "master directory" on a disk drive.  It is analogous
        to the trunk of a tree, from which branches (sub-directories)
        emanate.  The designation for the root directory is just the \
        character by itself, for example C:\ is the root directory on
        Drive C.

Selector Bar or Selector Block: On the video screen, a solid bar which
        is used to highlight a particular data item or line item.  Its
        purpose is to indicate which item is selected for a particular
        action such as making a change, data entry, etc.  It is similar
        to a cursor except a cursor usually indicates an individual
        character position while a selector block usually indicates a
        whole data item or line item.

        In some programs this is called a "bounce bar".


GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY                           PAGE 10 OF 10

Sub-directory: In DOS, an element of a path specification.  For example
        in the path name C:\STOCKS\DATA\, STOCKS and DATA are sub-direc-
        tories.  (C: is the disk drive designator).  See Path.
