Information technology affects every aspect of people's lives, and in this comprehensive one-volume overview the author provides concise definitions of the key words, building up from the level of the single silicon chip via personal computers and large mainframe systems to the international telecommunications networks.;The book includes supplier jargon, industry standards and abbreviations, key programming terms, "end-user systems" like spreadsheets and electronic messaging, and crucial innovations such as optical filing and hypertext.;This updated edition has been substantially expanded with many revised definitions and several hundred new entries, including new terms relating to topics such as multimedia, object orientation and developments in telecommunications. It is published in hardcover as "A Dictionary of Information Technology and Computer Science".