Webster's New World Computer Dictionary

By Sangeet Sharma

The author of this dictionary teaches technical writing and the sociology of technology at the University of Virginia. This dictionary can easily vouch for his experience.

Webster's New World Computer Dictionary      Tenth Edition      By Bryan Pfaffenberger      Wiley Dreamtech India Pvt. Ltd.      422 Pages    Price: Rs. 149.00

Technical writers should read and refer to this dictionary to see how techno-babble has been explained in a simple and an effective manner.

Like an English dictionary, a Computer dictionary should also be a part of every technical writer’s reference material. Nowadays, our lifestyle is extremely influenced by computers, and this influence is definitely going to increase in the future. So, knowledge of computer terminology will certainly be a stepping-stone to success.

This dictionary is not as extensive as the Microsoft Computer Dictionary. The Webster’s New World Computer dictionary has around 4750 terms whereas the Microsoft Computer dictionary has about 10,000 terms. However, the definitions are very clear and concise.

Some special features of the Webster’s New World Computer dictionary that make it easy to use are the following:

Cross Referencing

While reading the definition of a computer terminology, readers will see some italicized words that direct them to related terms and concepts. This cross-referencing feature helps the reader in obtaining a broader understanding of the terminology. For example:

active attack:  In computer security, an attack based on altering information in the computer system so that an intrusion is possible. See passive attack. 

passive attack: In computer security, and attack on computer system thaty is based on obtaining (but not altering) existing information. See active attack.

Numbered Definitions

Terminologies that have multiple definitions are numbered. For example:

address 1. The precise location of some type of resource (such as a file, a website, or storage space) in a computer system or network. See memory address. 2. In e-mail, an e-mail address. 3. In the Internet, the location of a host on the network. See IP address.

Pronunciation

In addition to giving the definition of a terminology, this dictionary shows you how to pronounce the terminology. Some examples are:

C# (pronounced as C-sharp)
Cache (Pronounced as cash)

This feature is of great help in instances where it is not easy to get the pronunciation of some words.

Sangeet Sharma is Projects Officer with Press Trust of India (PTI).