Electronics Reference: Acronyms

Commonly Used Acronyms

A, B, C, D, E, F, GHI, JKL, M, NO, P, QR, S, T, UV, WXYZ

A

A	Amperes
AC	Alternating Current
A/D	Analog to Digital
ADC	Analog to Digital Converter
AE	Applications Engineer
AI	Artificial Intelligence
ALU	Arithmetic-Logic Unit
AM	Amplitude Modulation
AMD	Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
ANSI	American National Standards Institute
ARQ	Automatic Retransmission reQuest
ASCII	American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASEE	American Society for Engineering Education
ASIC	Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASPI	Advanced SCSI Programming Interface
ATDM	Asynchronous Time Division Multiplexing
ATM	Asynchronous Transfer Mode
AUI	Attached Unit Interface

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B

B	Magnetic Flux
BBS	Bulletin Board System
BCC	Block Check Character
BCD	Binary Coded Decimal
BiCMOS	Bipolar Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
BIOS	Basic Input / Output System
BNC	Bayonet Nut(?) Connector
BPS/bps	Bytes/bits Per Second
BSC	Binary Synchronous Communications
BSD	Berkeley Standard Distribution

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C

C	Capacitance
CAD	Computer Aided Design
CAM	Computer Aided Manufacturing
CAM	Content Addressable Memory
CAS	Column Address Strobe
CBX	Common Branch eXtender
CCD	Charge Coupled Device
CCITT	Consultative Committee of International Telephony and Telegraphy
CD	Carrier Detect
CDDI	Copper Distributed Data Interface
CDROM	Compact Disk Read Only Memory
CDMA	Code Division Multiple Access
CGA	Color Graphics Adapter
CISC	Complex Instruction-Set Computer
CLA	Carry Look-ahead Adder
CMOS	Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
CP/M	Control Program / Monitor
CPI	Clocks Per Instruction
CPLD	Complex Programmable Logic Device
CPU	Central Processing Unit
CR	Carriage Return
CRC	Cyclic Redundancy Code
CRQ	Command Response Queue
CRT	Cathode Ray Tube
CS	Chip Select / Check-Sum
CSMA	Carrier Sense Multiple-Access
CSMA/CD	Carrier Sense Multiple-Access with Collision Detect
CSR	Command Status Register
CTS	Clear To Send

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D

D	Dissipation Factor
D/A	Digital to Analog
DAC	Digital to Analog Converter
DAT	Digital Audio Tape
dB	(DB) deciBels
dBm	dB referenced to 1 milliWatt
DC	Direct Current
DCD	Data Carrier Detect
DCE	Data Circuit (Channel) Equipment
DD	Double Density
DDD	Direct Distance Dialing
DEC	Digital Equipment Corporation
DES	Data Encryption Standard
DID	Direct Inward Dial
DIN	Deutsche Industrie Norm
DIP	Dual-In-line Package
DMA	Direct Memory Access
DOS	Disk Operating System
DPDT	Double-Pole Double-Throw (switch)
DPE	Data Parity Error
DPSK	Differential Phase Shift Keying
DRAM	Dynamic Random Access Memory
DS	Double Sided
DSP	Digital Signal Processor
DSR	Data Set Ready
DTC	Data Terminal Controller
DTE	Data Terminal (Terminating) Equipment
DTMF	Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency
DTR	Data Terminal Ready
DVD	Digital Video Disk

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E

E	EMF
EBCDIC	Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
ECC	Error Correction Code
ECL	Emitter-Coupled Logic
ECN	Engineering Change Notice
ECO	Engineering Change Order
ECR	Engineering Change Request
EEPROM	Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EGA	Enhanced Graphics Adapter
EIA	Electronic Industries Association
EISA	Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture
EMI	Electro-Magnetic Interference
EMF	Electro-Motive Force
EMS	Expanded Memory Specification
EOF	End Of File
EOL	End Of Line
EPROM	Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
ESD	Electro-Static Discharge
ESDI	Enhanced Small Devices Interface

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F

F	Farads
FAT	File Allocation Table
FCC	Federal Communications Commission
FDD	Floppy Disk Drive
FDDI	Fiber Distributed Data Interface
FDM	Frequency Division Multiplexing
FDMA	Frequency Division Multiple Access
FDX	Full-Duplex Transmission
FE	Front End
FEP	Front End Processor
FF	Form Feed
FF	Flip-Flop
FFT	Fast Fourier Transform
FIFO	First-In First-Out
FILO	First-In Last-Out
FLOPS	Floating-point Operations Per Second
FM	Frequency Modulation
FPGA	Field Programmable Gate Array
FPU	Floating Point Unit
FRU	Field-Replaceable Unit
FSK	Frequency Shifty Keying
FTP	File Transfer Program

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G - H - I

G	Giga
GAs	Gallium Arsenide
GFLOPS	Billions (10^9) of FLOating Point Operations Per Second ("Giga-Flops")
GHz	Giga Hertz
GNU	Gnu's Not Unix
GPIB	General Purpose Interface Bus
GUI	Graphical User Interface
H	Henries
H	Magnetic Force
HD	High Density
HDD	Hard Disk Drive
HDX	Half-Duplex Transmission
HFS	Hierarchical File System
HP	Hewlett-Packard
I	Current
HPIB	Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus
I/O	Input / Output
IBM	International Business Machines Corp.
IC	Integrated Circuit
IDC	Insulation Displacement Connector
IDE	Integrated Device Electronics
IEEE	Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
IMP	Interface Message Processor
IP	Internet Protocol
IPC	InterProcess Communication
IRQ	Interrupt ReQuest
ISA	Industry Standard Architecture
ISDN	Integrated Services Digital Network
ISO	International Standards Organization
ISP	ISP Internet Service Provider

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J - K - L

J	Joules of energy
K	Kilo
KVA	Kilo Volt-Amps
LAN	Local Area Network
LAP	Link Access Protocol
LAPB	Link Access Protocol Balanced
LCD	Liquid Crystal Display
LED	Light Emitting Diode
LF	Line Feed
LIFO	Last In First Out
LSB	Least Significant Bit (or Byte)
LSI	Large Scale Integration
LUN	Logical Unit Number

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M

M	Mega
m	milli
MAN	Metropolitan Area Network
MB	Mega Bytes
MBR	Master Boot Record
MCA	Micro Channel Architecture
MCGA	Multi-Color Graphics Array
MCM	Multi-Chip Module
mfd	micro Farads
MFLOPS	Millions of FLOating Point Operations per Second ("MegaFlops")
MFM	Modified Frequency Modulated
MHz	MegaHertz
MIDI	Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MIPS	Millions of Instructions per Second
MMU	Memory Management Unit
MNP	Microcom Network Protocol
MODEM	MOdulator / DEModulator
MOPS	Millions of Operations Per Second
MOS	Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
MSB	Most Significant Bit (or Byte)
MSDOS	Microsoft Disk Operating System
MSI	Medium Scale Integration
MTBF	Mean Time Between Failures

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N - O

n	nano
NAND	Not And
N/C	No-Connect
NBS	National Bureau of Standards
NEMA	National Electrical Manufacturers Association
NFS	Network File System
NIC	Network Interface Card
NIST	National Institute of Standards and Technology
NMI	Non-Maskable Interrupt
NMOS	Negatively doped Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
NOP	No OPeration
NSF	National Science Foundation
NVRAM	NonVolatile Random Access Memory
OCR	Optical Character Recognition
ODI	Open Datalink Interface
OEM	Original Equipment Manufacturer
OS	Operating System
OSF	Open Software Foundation
OSI	Open Systems Interconnect

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P

p	pico
PAL	Programmable Array Logic
PLA	Programmable Logic Array
PB	Push Button
PBX	Private Branch eXchange
PC	Personal Computer, Program Counter
PCB	Printed Circuit Board
PCI	Peripheral Component Interconnect
PCM	Pulse Code Modulation
PCMCIA	Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
PE	Professional Engineer
PGA	Pin Grid Array
PIA	Peripheral Interface Adapter
PIC	Programmable Interrupt Controller
PIO	Programmed Input/Output
PLCC	Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier
PLD	Programmable Logic Device
PLL	Phase Locked Loop
PMOS	Positively doped Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
POP	Post Office Protocol (email)
POST	Power On Self Test
POTS	Plain Old Telephone Service
PPP	Point-to-Point Protocol
PQFP	Plastic Quad-FlatPack
PROM	Programmable Read-Only Memory
PSTN	Public Switched Telephone Network

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Q - R

Q	Charge
QAM	Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
QFP	Quad-FlatPack
R	Resistance
RAM	Random Access Memory
RAS	Row Address Strobe
RCA	Radio Corporation of America
R/C	Radio Control
RC	Resistor - Capacitor
RF	Radio Frequency
RFC	Radio Frequency Choke
RFI	Radio Frequency Interference
RFP	Request For Proposal
RFQ	Request For Quotation
RI	Ring Indicator
RISC	Reduced Instruction-Set Computer
RLL	Run Length Limited
RMS	Root Mean Square
ROM	Read-Only Memory
RPM	Revolutions Per Minute
RS	Recommended Specification
RTC	Real Time Clock
RTS	Request To Send

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S

S	Siemens
SASI	Shugart Associates Standard Interface
SCSI	Small Computer Systems Interface
SD	Single Density
SDLC	Synchronous Data Link Control
SIMM	Single Inline Memory Module
SIP	Single Inline Package
SLIP	Serial Line Internet Protocol
SMD	Surface Mount Device
SMT	Surface Mount Technology
SNA	System Network Architecture
SNR	Signal to Noise Ratio
SOT	Small Outline Transistor
SOIC	Small Outline Integrated Circuit
SPOOL	Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On Line
SPST	Single-Pole Single-Throw (switch)
SPT	Sectors Per Track
SQE	Signal Quality Error
SRAM	Static Random Access Memory
SS	Single Sided
STDM	Synchronous Time Division Multiplexing
STN	Super Twisted Nematic
STP	Shielded Twisted Pair
STU	Streaming Tape Unit
SVGA	Super Video Graphics Array

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T

TCM	Trellis Code Modulation
TCP/IP	Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol
TDM	Time Division Multiplexing
TDMA	Time Division Multiple Access
TI	Texas Instruments
TIA	Telecomm. Industry Assocation
TPI	Tracks Per Inch
TSR	Terminate and Stay Resident
TTL	Transistor-Transistor Logic
TUV	Technischer Ueberwachuags Verein

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U - V

UV	Ultra Violet
UART	Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
UDP	User Datagram Protocol
UMB	Upper Memory Block
UPS	Uninterruptible Power Supply
UTP	Unshielded Twisted Pair
UUCP	Unix to Unix Copy Program
VCR	Video Cassette Recorder
VESA	Video Enhanced Standards Association
VGA	Video Graphics Array
VLB	VESA Local Bus
VLSI	Very Large Scale Integration
VM	Virtual Memory
VME	Versa Module Eurocard
VRAM	Video Random Access Memory
VTR	Video Tape Recorder

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W - X - Y - Z

W	Watts
WAN	Wide Area Network
WATS	Wide Area Telephone Service
WORM	Write-Once Read-Many
WWW	World Wide Web
XGA	eXtended Graphics Array
XMS	Extended Memory Specification
XOR	Exclusive-Or
Y	Admittance
Z	Impedance
ZIF	Zero Insertion Force

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Last Modified January 17, 2000