Glossary - B        A B  C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X

Base Name - The file name without a drive, path, or extension. For example, in the file name C:\DIR1\LETTER.DAT the base name is LETTER.

Basic Input Output System (BIOS) - Software which provides basic low-level control of devices required to operate the system, such as the keyboard, floppy disk, and screen. On most systems the BIOS is stored in read-only memory inside the PC.

BAT File - Same as Batch File.

Batch File - A text file containing a sequence of commands for TCC to execute. Batch files are used to save command sequences so that they can be reexecuted at any time, transferred to another system, etc. The extension of a batch file may be .BAT, .CMD, or .BTM.

Batch File Argument - Same as Batch File Parameter.

Batch File Parameter - A numbered variable (e.g. %2) used within a batch file, allowing a different value to be used at that spot in the file each time it is executed.

Batch Program - A more descriptive name for Batch File.

Binary File - A file containing information which does not represent or cannot sensibly be interpreted as text. See also ASCII File, text file.

BIOS - Basic Input Output System..

Block Device - A physical device for input or output, which interchanges data with the computer in large blocks. XXIth Century PCs can perform such transfers of data concurrently with other activities. Examples of block devices include disk, tape, and CD-ROM drives. See also Character Device.

Boot - Ungrammatical contraction of Booting, shortened from Bootstrapping.

Boot Directory - The current directory at the time the system is started, usually the root directory of the boot drive.

Boot Drive - The disk drive that the operating system is loaded from during the boot process, usually A: (the floppy disk) or C: (the hard disk), or on some systems a CD or DVD drive. In some diskless workstations it may be a network drive.

Booting - shortened form of Bootstrapping.

Bootstrapping - From the book "Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia", by Rudolf Erich Raspe (London, England, 1786), in particular, the story of the Baron's astounding ability to pull himself from the ocean by his own bootstraps. See also Cold Boot, Cold Reboot, Reboot, and Warm Reboot.

Break - A signal sent to a program to tell it to halt what it is doing. The Ctrl-C key  or Ctrl-Break key is used to send this signal. Some external commands abort when they receive a break signal; others return to a previous screen or menu, or abort the current operation.

BTM File - A special type of batch file, unique to JP Software products, which is loaded into a buffer in memory to speed up its execution.

Buffer - An area of memory set aside for temporary storage of information moved between concurrent programs or between programs and external media. For example, disk buffers are used to save information as it is transferred between your program and the disk, and the keyboard buffer holds keystrokes until a program can use them. TCC uses many buffers for its internal operations, e.g., to store aliases.