Glossary-6 Workstation 4 Setup Guide
WS4 Glossary
See Also: Special Mode.
Memory
A generic term for a device that stores information in a form that the
CPU can recognize and manipulate. Memory appears in several forms,
each of which has a specific role in the Workstation 4.
A distinction must be made between the primary and secondary
storage in microprocessor based systems. Memory devices such as
Flash EEPROMs and SDRAM, are considered to be primary storage
because they store information in a form that is immediately accessible
to the processor through its address and data busses.
Secondary storage (sometimes called mass storage) is composed of the
Disk On Chip and Compact Flash both of which serve as the
workstation’s long term memory. The Disk On Chip contains a copy of
WinCE and drivers and is configured to boot the workstation. The CF
card stores the WinCE registry, POS application and optionally
transaction data.
To be of use, this data must be moved from the mass storage device into
primary storage, in this case, the SDRAM where it can be accessed and
manipulated by the CPU. The bootloader and WinCE OS manage this.
See also: SDRAM.
Operating System
System software that acts as a master control program to manage the
execution of application programs. The kernel, or core of the operating
system remains in memory to receive user input as well as to provide
an interface to the hardware. Operating systems perform other tasks
such as establishing the structure of the disk file system, moving
executable files from disk to memory, network communications, and
system security.
Examples of operating systems are Microsoft Windows CE, Microsoft
Windows XP.
PCMCIA
Abbreviation for Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association. The Workstation 4 includes a single Type II 32-bit
PCMCIA CardBus slot, accessible from the connector IO panel. The
CardBus PC Card is a 32-bit version of the original 16-bit PC Card
standard, offering higher levels of performance.
Part of the PC Card family, a CardBus PC Card conforms to an
established physical form factor, providing a rugged card that can be
inserted completely in its host workstation without any external
cabling (except when the card must be attached to a LAN, telephone
line, or a wireless antenna).
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