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Card Reader
A card reader is a data input device that reads data from a card-shaped storage medium and provides the data to a computer. Card readers can acquire data from a card via a number of methods, including: optical scanning of printed text or barcodes or holes on punched cards, electrical signals from connections made or interrupted by a card's punched holes or embedded circuitry, or electronic devices that can read plastic cards embedded with either a magnetic strip, computer chip, RFID chip, or another storage medium. Card readers are used for applications including identification, access control and banking, data storage, and data processing. Mechanisms Magnetic card readers Magnetic stripe technology, usually called mag-stripe, is so named because of the stripe of magnetic oxide tape that is laminated on a card. There are three tracks of data on the magnetic stripe. Typically the data on each of the tracks follows a specific encoding standard, but it is possible to encod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Punched Card
A punched card (also punch card or punched-card) is a stiff paper-based medium used to store digital information via the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. Developed over the 18th to 20th centuries, punched cards were widely used for data processing, the control of automated machines, and computing. Early applications included controlling weaving looms and recording census data. Punched cards were widely used in the 20th century, where unit record equipment, unit record machines, organized into data processing systems, used punched cards for Input (computer science), data input, data output, and data storage. The IBM 12-row/80-column punched card format came to dominate the industry. Many early digital computers used punched cards as the primary medium for input of both computer programs and Data (computing), data. Punched cards were used for decades before being replaced by magnetic storage and terminals. Their influence persists in cultural references, sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Input Device
In computing, an input device is a piece of equipment used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system, such as a computer or information appliance. Examples of input devices include keyboards, computer mice, scanners, cameras, joysticks, and microphones. Input devices can be categorized based on: * modality of output (e.g., mechanical motion, audio, visual, etc.) * whether the output is discrete (e.g., pressing of key) or continuous (e.g., a mouse's position, though digitized into a discrete quantity, is fast enough to be considered continuous) * the number of degrees of freedom involved (e.g., two-dimensional traditional mice, or three-dimensional navigators designed for CAD applications) Keyboard A keyboard is a human interface device which is represented as a matrix of buttons. Each button, or key, can be used to either input an alphanumeric character to a computer, or to call upon a particular function of the computer. It acts as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Personal Identification Number
A personal identification number (PIN; sometimes RAS syndrome, redundantly a PIN code or PIN number) is a numeric (sometimes alpha-numeric) passcode used in the process of authenticating a user accessing a system. The PIN has been the key to facilitating the private data exchange between different data-processing centers in computer networks for financial institutions, governments, and enterprises. PINs may be used to authenticate banking systems with cardholders, governments with citizens, enterprises with employees, and computers with users, among other uses. In common usage, PINs are used in ATM or PO transactions, secure access control (e.g. computer access, door access, car access), internet transactions, or to log into a restricted website. History The PIN originated with the introduction of the automated teller machine (ATM) in 1967, as an efficient way for banks to dispense cash to their customers. The first ATM system was that of Barclays in London, in 1967; it accepted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interface (computing)
In computing, an interface (American English) or interphase (British English, archaic) is a shared boundary across which two or more separate components of a computer system exchange information. The exchange can be between software, computer hardware, peripheral, peripheral devices, User interface, humans, and combinations of these. Some computer hardware devices, such as a touchscreen, can both send and receive data through the interface, while others such as a mouse or microphone may only provide an interface to send data to a given system. Hardware interfaces Hardware interfaces exist in many components, such as the various Bus (computing), buses, Computer data storage, storage devices, other I/O devices, etc. A hardware interface is described by the mechanical, electrical, and logical signals at the interface and the protocol for sequencing them (sometimes called signaling). See also: A standard interface, such as SCSI, decouples the design and introduction of computing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computing Platform
A computing platform, digital platform, or software platform is the infrastructure on which software is executed. While the individual components of a computing platform may be obfuscated under layers of abstraction, the ''summation of the required components comprise the computing platform''. Sometimes, the most relevant layer for a specific software is called a computing platform in itself to facilitate the communication, referring to the whole using only one of its attributes – i.e. using a metonymy. For example, in a single computer system, this would be the computer's architecture, operating system (OS), and runtime libraries. In the case of an application program or a computer video game, the most relevant layer is the operating system, so it can be called a platform itself (hence the term cross-platform for software that can be executed on multiple OSes, in this context). In a multi-computer system, such as in the case of offloading processing, it would encompass b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Application Programming Interface
An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build such a connection or interface is called an ''API specification''. A computer system that meets this standard is said to ''implement'' or ''expose'' an API. The term API may refer either to the specification or to the implementation. In contrast to a user interface, which connects a computer to a person, an application programming interface connects computers or pieces of software to each other. It is not intended to be used directly by a person (the end user) other than a computer programmer who is incorporating it into software. An API is often made up of different parts which act as tools or services that are available to the programmer. A program or a programmer that uses one of these parts is said to ''call'' that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PKCS11
In cryptography, PKCS #11 is a Public-Key Cryptography Standards that defines a C programming interface to create and manipulate cryptographic tokens that may contain secret cryptographic keys. It is often used to communicate with a Hardware Security Module or smart cards. The PKCS #11 standard is managed by OASIS with the current version being 3.1 PKCS #11 is sometimes referred to as "Cryptoki" (from "cryptographic token interface" and pronounced as "crypto-key"). The API defines most commonly used cryptographic object types ( RSA keys, X.509 certificates, DES/Triple DES keys, etc.) and all the functions needed to use, create/generate, modify and delete those objects. Usage Most commercial certificate authority (CA) software uses PKCS #11 to access the CA signing key or to enroll user certificates. Cross-platform software that needs to use smart cards uses PKCS #11, such as Mozilla Firefox and OpenSSL (using an extension). It is also used to access smart cards and HS ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operating System
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also include accounting software for cost allocation of Scheduling (computing), processor time, mass storage, peripherals, and other resources. For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system acts as an intermediary between programs and the computer hardware, although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware and frequently makes system calls to an OS function or is interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on many devices that contain a computerfrom cellular phones and video game consoles to web servers and supercomputers. , Android (operating system), Android is the most popular operating system with a 46% market share, followed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Device Driver
In the context of an operating system, a device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer or automaton. A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabling operating systems and other computer programs to access hardware functions without needing to know precise details about the hardware being used. A driver communicates with the device through the computer bus or communications subsystem to which the hardware connects. When a calling program invokes a routine in the driver, the driver issues commands to the device (drives it). Once the device sends data back to the driver, the driver may invoke routines in the original calling program. Drivers are hardware dependent and operating-system-specific. They usually provide the interrupt handling required for any necessary asynchronous time-dependent hardware interface. Purpose The main purpose of device drivers is to provide abstraction b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Serial Bus
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical interfaces, and communication protocols to and from ''hosts'', such as personal computers, to and from peripheral ''devices'', e.g. displays, keyboards, and mass storage devices, and to and from intermediate ''hubs'', which multiply the number of a host's ports. Introduced in 1996, USB was originally designed to standardize the connection of peripherals to computers, replacing various interfaces such as serial ports, parallel ports, game ports, and Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) ports. Early versions of USB became commonplace on a wide range of devices, such as keyboards, mice, cameras, printers, scanners, flash drives, smartphones, game consoles, and power banks. USB has since evolved into a standard to replace virtually all common ports on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Software Framework
In computer programming, a software framework is a software abstraction that provides generic functionality which developers can extend with custom code to create applications. It establishes a standard foundation for building and deploying software, offering reusable components and design patterns that handle common programming tasks within a larger software platform or environment. Unlike libraries where developers call functions as needed, frameworks implement inversion of control by dictating program structure and calling user code at specific points, while also providing default behaviors, structured extensibility mechanisms, and maintaining a fixed core that accepts extensions without direct modification. Frameworks also differ from regular applications that can be modified (like web browsers through extensions, video games through mods), in that frameworks are intentionally incomplete scaffolding meant to be extended through well-defined extension points and followin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CCID (protocol)
CCID (chip card interface device) protocol is a USB protocol that allows a smartcard to be connected to a computer via a card reader using a standard USB interface, without the need for each manufacturer of smartcards to provide its own reader or protocol. This allows the smartcard to be used as a security token for authentication and data encryption, such as that used in BitLocker. Chip card interface devices come in a variety of forms. The smallest CCID form is a standard USB dongle and may contain a SIM card or Secure Digital card inside the USB dongle. Another popular interface is a USB smart card reader keyboard, which in addition to being a standard USB keyboard, has an built-in slot for accepting a smartcard. However, not all CCID compliant devices accept removable smartcards, for example, select Yubikey hardware authentication devices support CCID, where they play the role of both the card reader and the smartcard itself. As the protocol is based primarily around interactio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
