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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P2P

(peer-to-peer) is a network that relies on computing power at the edges (ends) of a connection rather than in the network itself. P2P networks are used for sharing content like audio, video, data or anything in digital format. P2P network can also mean grid computing.

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pack

to compress computer data.

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packed file

a computer file in a compressed form. see compression.

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packet

sometimes called datagram, a packaged unit of characters or other form of computer output sent from one computer to another over a network. Packets are digitally encoded with the address of the sender and recipient so they reach their intended destinations as well as letting the receiver of the data know that it came from an authorized or recognized source.

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packet switching

the method used to send information over a network. Each packet has the address of the sender as well as the destination address. This allows information to intermingle with other packets of data, without being lost or misdirected, while making it’s journey over the network.

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page

1. in a word processing program, a specified amount of information such as text or images, regardless of the size of the characters or other variables.
2. short for Web page, a frame of information stored on a Web server, available on the Internet. Unlike a page in a word processing application, a Web page has an unlimited amount of space available. However, Website developers consider it wise to keep page sizes within reasonable limits.

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Page Down key

a key on the numeric keypad that, when set in the cursor mode, moves the cursor down by a pre-specified number of spaces on the display monitor.

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page impressions

(compare to hit) also referred to as page views, the number of times a particular Web page is visited by a user. This is a more accurate method of tracking site activity than counting hits because page impressions account for a server delivering an entire page to a viewer. A hit refers to individual components of a page such as a single image or block of text. Consequently, a page containing five images would be counted as five hits. Determining the accurate number of page impressions is important for companies both buying and selling advertising. see hit.

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Page Up key

a key on the numeric keypad that, when set in cursor mode, moves the cursor up by a pre-specified number of spaces on the display monitor.

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pagination

the assignment of numbers to the pages in a document. Logically, one would think that one number simply followed another, but in word processing jobs, allowances can be made for objects such as charts and blank pages, which the author might want excluded from the logical numbering sequence. Word processing programs also automatically divide text into single pages. Without this function a document would appear to be one continuous page.