Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary or type the term on which you want to search.

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b2b

(business to business) a popular phrase that refers to a company either online, brick and mortar (a physical location) or both, that specializes in providing goods and services to other businesses and not consumers.

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b2c

(business to consumer) refers to a company either doing business online, a business with a physical location, or both, that provides goods and services primarily to consumers.

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back

the browser command button that returns you to the previously viewed page.

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back door

an alternative way of gaining access to a computer system. A back door entry might be a programmed secret access into the system unknown to routine users of the system.

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back end

the database to which information presented by the front-end application connects. see front end.

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backbone

the major connections or high-speed cables servicing a network. For example, the backbone for the Internet in the United States is maintained by the various telecomms that own the high-speed lines comprising the network.

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background

the field or setting against which characters or graphics are displayed on a monitor.

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background execution

modern computers are capable of running more than one program at a time. This is called multitasking. The program in use (primary program) is said to be operating in the foreground. Secondary programs are running in the background. For example, you might be writing a letter on a word processing program in the foreground while periodically monitoring a realtime stock quote application. To access the program in the background, the user would click the program icon on the taskbar.

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backlighting

flat-panel display illumination from behind that causes the foreground to appear more distinct in contrast to the background.

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backslash

the keyboard character, ( \ ).