Glossary
access point (AP) mode A mode in which a wireless adapter can act as an interface for a router or server.
AirPlay An Apple software that enables your Raspberry Pi to receive a music signal from your home computer. With it, you can stream music from software like iTunes right to your Raspberry Pi without the need for cables.
amperage The amount of ampere (usually shortened to amp or abbreviated A), the unit used to measure electric current. For power adapters, it’s used to gauge the maximum number of power the adapter can send from an outlet to the device.
Arduino A family of single-board microcontrollers similar to the Raspberry Pi but much more simple. A variety of different models of Arduino exist, and most are capable of running single programs that you create yourself. Like the Raspberry Pi, there’s a massive community of DIYers who use the Arduino for their own electronics projects.
ARM processor A type of processor architecture made to use fewer transistors than other processors. This means they’re usually less expensive, use less power, and don’t create as much heat. They’re often the choice for processors in smartphones, tablets, laptops, and set-top boxes. The Raspberry Pi uses an ARM processor to keep costs down and power consumption low.
BeagleBoard The BeagleBoard is incredibly similar to the Raspberry Pi, but it’s a bit more powerful. Like the Raspberry Pi, it’s an open-source single-board computer. The BeagleBoard is developed by Texas Instruments but was created to be used in schools to teach programming, much like the Raspberry Pi. The processor is a bit more powerful than the Raspberry Pi, it includes Flash memory on the board, but it has less RAM than the Raspberry Pi. It can also run a variety of different distributions of Linux.
breadboard A board for making a model of an electronic circuit without the need for soldering.
cascading style sheets (CSS) CSS is a special language used for web design that changes the look and formatting of a website. It’s a little different from HTML because you can apply changes made in CSS to a variety of HTML pages at once instead of making individual changes on each page. Nowadays, it’s used mostly to quickly change the look of a web page.
central processing unit (CPU) The “brains” of a computer.
codec The software that enables compression and decompression of a digital video.
command line A way to interact with a computer program using typed commands as text instead of a mouse. Rather than clicking on something with your mouse, you tell your computer to perform an action using a simple string of text.
domain name server (DNS) A directory of domain names on the internet. Like a phone book, it takes an IP address and translates it into a domain name that’s easy to remember.
driver A small bit of software that tells your computer how to interact with hardware. Without a driver, the computer doesn’t understand that a new piece of hardware is connected and can’t use it.
emulation Emulation is when a computer mimics the behavior of another computer. For example, a Windows machine could emulate a Mac, or a Linux machine could emulate a Nintendo Entertainment System.
emulator The program that does the actual emulation. It duplicates the function of one computer onto another.
encoding Refers to the video codec, the software that enables compression and decompression of a digital video, with which a file is saved. Different types of software save using different codecs, and codecs can change the quality of a video.
encryption Encryption is when information is encoded in such a way that nobody without the key can read it. When you send data, it’s sent through a cypher so anyone who intercepts it can’t read it. This is helpful when you’re sending things like passwords or personally identifiable information.
Ethernet Ethernet is a cable and port used in local area networks (LAN). An Ethernet cable looks like a larger phone cable.
file transfer protocol (FTP) A network protocol used to transfer files between computers. In most cases, it’s used to transfer files onto a web server.
firewall A security system that protects your computer from the outside network. A firewall controls the incoming and outgoing connections of your computer and establishes a barrier that protects it from another network.
general-purpose input/output (GPIO) A generic pin connector that enables you to connect your Raspberry Pi to other computers for more advanced projects. GPIOs can be used for just about anything because they don’t have a dedicated purpose.
graphics processing unit (GPU) An electronic circuit made to control and manipulate the visual processing on a computer. The better the GPU, the more complicated graphics it can process at once.
headless machine Running your Raspberry Pi without a monitor.
high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) An audio/video interface that sends an uncompressed signal so it doesn’t lose quality in the transfer. Because of this, it’s typically used for high-definition signals so the video and audio quality remains high.
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) The standard markup language on web pages. HTML uses tags enclosed by angle brackets to instruct a web browser how to display a page. For example, <h1> tells the browser to render text as a header.
Java The programming language Minecraft was written in, universal across a variety of platforms. Java was originally released in 1995 by Sun Microsystems. Because Java is made to run on every platform imaginable, its original promise was to enable programmers to “write once, run anywhere.”
JavaScript JavaScript is a computer programming language typically used client-side on websites. Generally, it’s used to create scripts so a user can interact with a website in interesting ways.
Linux A free, open-source operating system that works on a wide range of computers. Because it’s open source, anyone can make their own version of Linux, called a distribution. The most popular Raspberry Pi operating system, Raspbian, is a Linux distribution.
media center A computer that hosts your media. You can set up a media center to stream content from an external hard drive, another computer in your house, or online sources. It’s basically a DIY set-top box.
megabit 1 million bits, or 1,000 kilobits—the equivalent of about 100 pages of plain text. This measurement is usually used when talking about data transfer, so you’ll see it places like your internet service provider bills. For context, a megabyte—the word we use to describe data storage—is 8 megabits combined.
microprocessor Also known as the central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor is essentially the heart of a computer. It processes instructions from code, executes that code, and sends the information where it needs to go.
MySQL MySQL is database software used on web servers. It keeps track of data in tables so a website can easily access that information later.
network accessible storage (NAS) A setup that enables a hard drive to be accessible by multiple computers attached to a router.
network address translation (NAT) A setup that enables your computer to communicate with the internet via an internal IP address and a second group of IP addresses for external traffic.
new technology file system (NTFS) A file system originally developed for Windows but that’s now supported by every operating system. Out of the box, many hard drives are already formatted as NTFS, but you can check yours by typing sudo blkid into the command line.
open-source software Computer software whose source code is available publically. Anyone can alter the code without worrying about copyright. Because of this, open-source software is often developed in collaboration among a large team of people.
overclocking The act of making your CPU work harder than it’s supposed to. The Raspberry Pi has a 700MHz processor, but you can overclock it up to 900MHz for speed increases. You can overclock your Raspberry Pi with any operating system, including Raspbian.
personal video recorder (PVR) The device you often get with a cable package to record live video from your TV. It’s also used in camcorders. With Raspbmc, you can access the video saved on your PVR so you don’t have to go through your cable box.
PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) PHP is an open-source scripting language that can be embedded into HTML and is often used to run the back end of web servers so small scripts can run on websites.
port forwarding A setup that enables your router to communicate with the internet. It translates the address online into a packet of information. A port is a number that makes it possible for your internal IP address to communicate with the outside internet.
Python A programming language with an emphasis on syntax and readability. Unlike other programming languages, Python programmers can create expressions in just a few lines, which makes it easier to use for beginners.
random access memory (RAM) A form of computer storage that allows data to be read and written at the same speed regardless of the order the information is accessed. Unlike traditional data storage, RAM isn’t stored permanently.
Raspberry Pi A small, credit card-size single-purpose board. It was created by the Raspberry Pi Foundation as an affordable means to get computers into schools. It runs Linux as its main operating system.
Raspberry Pi Foundation The foundation responsible for creating the Raspberry Pi. The goal of the foundation is to provide affordable, programmable computers to everyone in the world.
RCA connector A type of electrical connector that sends low-quality audio and video signals between devices through a coaxial cable.
read-only memory (ROM) An image of a chip, or a computer file that contains a direct copy of a read-only memory chip like you’d find on a video game cartridge, an arcade game board, or a computer firmware.
Scratch Scratch is a computer program built by MIT meant to teach people programming. Instead of using a specialized syntax to code software, Scratch uses event-driven, visual sprites that are easy to understand. It doesn’t look like a typical program or block of code, but it works the same way and teaches the same principles.
secure digital (SD) card A memory card typically used in portable devices. They’re small cards that can store data that’s accessible on a wide variety of devices.
Secure Shell (SSH) A network protocol that allows for a secure connection between two computers on a network. In the case of the Raspberry Pi, it’s a means for you to interact with the command line on the Raspberry Pi remotely from your desktop computer.
security certificate Information that allows another computer to decrypt an encrypted message you send. Without the certificate, the two computers can’t understand each other.
solderless breadboard A prototyping board that allows you to make connections between cables without soldering or securing them together. Because it doesn’t require soldering, it’s reusable and easy for anyone to use. With the Raspberry Pi, you’d most likely use a solderless breadboard when you’re working with anything involving the GPIO.
sudo An abbreviation for superuser do that indicates you’re running a command as a root user. This is essentially the same as running a command as an administrator. As a superuser, you can access files that wouldn’t normally be available to all users and delete system files you might need, so be careful when you run anything as sudo.
synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) RAM that can run at higher clock speeds than other types of RAM. The speed is synchronized with the system speed.
system on chip (SOC) A system on a chip integrates all the components of a computer into a single chip. This typically means the CPU, GPU, and even the RAM are all on one chip. This is often used in mobile devices to keep costs down and sizes small.
virtual private network (VPN) A network that shares a smaller local network over a larger network, like the internet. It’s also a means to encrypt and secure any information that’s sent over the network. VPNs are often used by remote workers to give them access to a company’s private network from anywhere in the world.
web server A computer that’s accessible online. Typically, it’s used to host the files and data needed to operate a website.
Wi-Fi adapter A small USB device that adds Wi-Fi capability to any device that uses it. They come in small, nano-size kits hardly bigger than the USB port itself as well as larger versions with antennas that can help extend the signal.
XBMC Media center software initially made for the Xbox but now available for many different operating systems—the Raspberry Pi included. It’s basically a media player and streams software so you can turn a computer into a media device to play videos and music and display photos. Originally, XBMC stood for Xbox Media Center, but in 2014, the team announced the software name would change to Kodi.