Technical information

ICT in the science department 1658 © CLEAPSS 2005
WLAN Wireless Local Area Network. A computer network that utilises wireless technology to
provide the connection between computers.
WMA Windows Media Audio. A format and file extension for audio files encoded by the
Windows Media audio codec. Similar to Mp3.
WMP Windows Media Player. The audio / video playback application from Microsoft.
WMF Windows Metafile Format. A format and file extension for a Windows graphic.
WMV Windows Media Video. A format and file extension for video files encoded by the
Windows Media video codec.
Workgroup A group of computers or computer users working on the same project and set of files.
Workstation The computer and associated environment where an individual works.
World-wide web The total set of accessible, hyperlinked web pages and associated files on all the web
servers around the world.
Worm A malicious program that can spread from computer to computer. Worms typically cause
trouble by making excessive numbers of copies of themselves.
WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get. For instance, a display that is the same on screen as it
will appear in print.
Y/C video See S-video.
YPbPr A component analogue video signal connection. YPbPr uses three cables to transmit
video - ‘Y’, ‘Pb’ and ‘Pr’. It provides a higher-quality signal than a single-wire composite
connection. The YPbPr signals are derived from the red, green and blue (RGB) colours
captured by a scanner or digital camera. RGB is converted into brightness (Y) and two
colour difference signals (B-Y and R-Y). YPbPr is the analogue counterpart to YCbCr
(component digital video).
Also known as PbPrY / PrPbY.
YPrPb See YPbPr.
YCbCr A component digital video signal connection. One of the two primary colour spaces used
to represent component digital video (the other is RGB). YCbCr represents colour as
brightness and two colour difference signals. ‘Y’ is the brightness (luminance), ‘Cb’ is blue
minus luminance (B-Y) and ‘Cr’ is red minus luminance (R-Y). YCbCr uses a single cable
to transmit video.
YCC A method for defining colour in digital formats. See YCbCr.
YUV Composite analogue video signal. The colour encoding system used for analogue
television. The ‘Y’ in YUV stands for ‘luminance’. ‘U’ and ‘V’ provide colour information
and are the colour difference signals of blue minus luminance (B-Y) and red minus
luminance (R-Y), respectively.
XGA See VGA.
Zip The file extension of a format of compressed file.