Glossary of Terms for the STEM Classroom Administration Site
ISO Definition Standards
A term definition is considered to be consistent with ISO metadata registry guideline 11179 if it meets the following criteria:
- Precise
- Concise
- Distinct
- Non-circular
- Unencumbered with business rules
Administrator Privileges
Special permissions required to modify system settings, install software, or access restricted system functions that are typically reserved for system administrators.
AppData
A Windows folder containing application-specific data and settings files that are stored per user and hidden from normal file browsing.
BalenaEtcher
A free, open-source utility for writing disk images to storage media such as USB drives and SD cards with built-in verification and safety features.
BOOTSEL Button
A physical button on Raspberry Pi Pico microcontrollers that when held during power-on, forces the device into USB mass storage mode for firmware programming.
ChromeOS
Google's Linux-based operating system designed primarily for web applications and cloud computing, featuring automatic updates and sandboxed security.
CLI (Command Line Interface)
A text-based interface that allows users to interact with computer systems by typing commands rather than using graphical elements.
Clone
The process of creating a local copy of a remote code repository, including all files, version history, and metadata.
COM Port
A communication port interface used for serial data transmission between computers and external devices, identified by numbers like COM1 or COM2.
Commit
The action of saving a set of changes to a version control system, creating a permanent record of modifications with associated metadata.
Conda
A cross-platform package manager and environment management system for installing and managing software packages and their dependencies.
Configuration Directory
A folder containing settings files, preferences, and other configuration data used by applications to determine their behavior and appearance.
Container
A lightweight, portable software environment that packages applications with their dependencies while sharing the host operating system kernel.
crosh
ChromeOS shell, a basic command-line interface that provides access to system diagnostics and debugging tools within the ChromeOS environment.
Crostini
ChromeOS's Linux container system that allows users to run Linux applications alongside ChromeOS applications in a secure, isolated environment.
Desktop File
A configuration file with .desktop extension that defines how applications appear in desktop environments, including name, icon, and execution parameters.
Developer Mode
A ChromeOS system configuration that disables security restrictions to enable development activities, hardware access, and system modifications.
dialout Group
A Linux user group that grants members permission to access serial communication devices such as USB-to-serial adapters and modems.
dmesg
A Linux command that displays kernel ring buffer messages, providing information about hardware detection, driver loading, and system events.
Driver
Software that enables an operating system to communicate with and control specific hardware devices by providing a standardized interface.
Environment Variable
A system setting that affects how programs execute, stored as name-value pairs accessible to running applications and scripts.
Executable
A file containing machine code or interpreted instructions that can be executed directly by an operating system or runtime environment.
Firmware
Low-level software stored in non-volatile memory that provides basic operational control for hardware devices and systems.
FS Mode
File System Mode, a device state where microcontrollers present themselves as USB mass storage devices for direct file access and programming.
Git
A distributed version control system for tracking changes in source code and coordinating collaborative software development projects.
GitHub
A web-based platform providing Git version control hosting, collaboration tools, project management features, and software development workflows.
GitHub Pages
A static web hosting service integrated with GitHub repositories that automatically publishes websites from repository content.
HTML
HyperText Markup Language, the standard markup language for creating web pages and web applications using structured text and tags.
IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
Software that provides comprehensive facilities for software development, including code editing, debugging, compilation, and project management tools.
Launcher
The application menu or desktop interface component that provides access to installed programs and system functions.
Linux Development Environment
A ChromeOS feature that enables installation and execution of Linux applications within a secure container environment.
lsusb
A Linux command-line utility that lists all USB devices currently connected to the system with their identification details and connection information.
Markdown
A lightweight markup language using plain text formatting syntax that can be converted to HTML and other document formats.
Material Theme
A design system and user interface theme for web applications based on Google's Material Design principles and guidelines.
MicroPython
A lightweight implementation of the Python programming language optimized for microcontrollers and resource-constrained embedded systems.
MIME Type
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions type, a standard way of classifying file formats on the internet using a two-part identifier.
mkdocs
A static site generator that creates documentation websites from Markdown files using configuration files and themes.
Open Graph Tags
HTML meta tags that control how web content appears when shared on social media platforms and messaging applications.
PATH
An environment variable containing a list of directories where the operating system searches for executable files when commands are entered.
Penguin Container
The default Linux container name in ChromeOS's Crostini system where Linux applications and development tools are installed and executed.
Permissions
Access control settings that determine which users or processes can read, write, execute, or modify files, directories, and system resources.
Physical Computing
An approach to learning computational thinking through projects that sense and respond to the physical world using sensors, actuators, and microcontrollers.
pip
The standard package installer for Python that downloads and installs packages from the Python Package Index and other repositories.
plugdev Group
A Linux user group that grants members access to removable devices such as USB drives, digital cameras, and portable storage.
Product ID
A unique hexadecimal identifier assigned by manufacturers to distinguish specific hardware products within their vendor namespace.
Push
The action of uploading local version control commits to a remote repository, making changes available to other users and systems.
Raspberry Pi Imager
The official utility for writing operating system images to storage devices for Raspberry Pi computers with customization and verification features.
Raspberry Pi Pico
A low-cost microcontroller board featuring dual ARM Cortex-M0+ processors, designed for physical computing and embedded programming education.
REPL
Read-Eval-Print Loop, an interactive programming environment that reads user input, evaluates code, prints results, and repeats the cycle.
Repository
A data structure that stores metadata for a set of files and directories, typically used for version control and collaborative development.
Serial Device
A hardware device that communicates using serial data transmission protocols, typically accessed through device files like /dev/ttyACM0.
SmartScreen
A Windows security feature that helps protect against malicious websites, downloads, and applications by checking reputation databases.
Social Cards
Preview images that appear when web links are shared on social media platforms, generated automatically from page content and metadata.
systemd
A Linux system and service manager that initializes system processes, manages services, and handles system events during boot and operation.
Terminal
An application that provides access to a command-line interface, allowing users to execute text-based commands and interact with the operating system.
Termina VM
The virtual machine component of ChromeOS's Linux subsystem that hosts Linux containers and provides isolation from the host system.
Thonny
A beginner-friendly Python IDE specifically designed for learning programming, featuring simple interface and built-in support for microcontrollers.
udev
A Linux subsystem that manages device events, automatically loads drivers, creates device nodes, and sets device permissions based on rules.
USB ID
A unique identifier for USB devices consisting of a four-digit vendor ID and four-digit product ID in hexadecimal format.
USB Subsystem
The portion of an operating system responsible for managing USB device connections, enumeration, driver loading, and data transfer operations.
Vendor ID
A unique four-digit hexadecimal code assigned to hardware manufacturers by the USB Implementers Forum for device identification.
Virtual Environment
An isolated Python environment that maintains separate package installations and dependencies from the system-wide Python installation.
Virtual Machine (VM)
Software that emulates a complete computer system, allowing multiple operating systems to run simultaneously on a single physical machine.
VS Code
Visual Studio Code, a free, open-source code editor developed by Microsoft with extensive language support and customization options.