34 ICT: General abbreviations and terminology

34.1 What the Syllabus Covers

ICT — Information and Communication Technology — encompasses all technologies that handle information: capture, store, process, transmit, and present. NTA Paper-I tests recognition of standard abbreviations and basic vocabulary.

PYQ patterns: (a) full form of an abbreviation (HTTP, URL, RAM, ROM, USB, etc.), (b) storage unit conversions (KB → MB → GB), (c) categorise an item into hardware / software / network / web / security, (d) match generation of computers, and (e) identify Indian ICT bodies.

34.2 Hardware

Common Hardware Abbreviations

Abbreviation	Full Form	What it does
CPU	Central Processing Unit	“Brain” of computer; arithmetic + control
ALU	Arithmetic & Logic Unit	Performs math and logic
CU	Control Unit	Directs operations
MU	Memory Unit	Stores data and instructions
RAM	Random Access Memory	Volatile main memory
ROM	Read-Only Memory	Non-volatile; stores firmware
PROM / EPROM / EEPROM	Programmable / Erasable / Electrically Erasable PROM	Variants of ROM
HDD	Hard Disk Drive	Magnetic storage
SSD	Solid State Drive	Flash storage; no moving parts
GPU	Graphics Processing Unit	Parallel graphics & ML
BIOS	Basic Input/Output System	Firmware between OS and hardware
UEFI	Unified Extensible Firmware Interface	Modern BIOS replacement
USB	Universal Serial Bus	Standard peripheral connector
HDMI	High-Definition Multimedia Interface	A/V cable
VGA / DVI / DP	Video Graphics Array / Digital Visual Interface / DisplayPort	Display connectors
PCI / PCIe	Peripheral Component Interconnect (Express)	Expansion bus
NIC	Network Interface Card	Connects to network
UPS	Uninterruptible Power Supply	Battery backup
OCR	Optical Character Recognition	Scans printed text into digital text
MICR	Magnetic Ink Character Recognition	Cheque processing
QR	Quick Response (code)	2-D barcode
RFID	Radio Frequency Identification	Wireless tag identification
IoT	Internet of Things	Networked devices
NFC	Near Field Communication	Short-range tap-pay

34.2.1 Storage Hierarchy (Volatile vs Non-Volatile)

Memory Hierarchy

Volatile (loses contents on power-off): Registers · Cache (L1, L2, L3) · RAM.
Non-volatile (persists): ROM · SSD · HDD · Optical (CD/DVD/Blu-ray) · Tape · USB flash · Cloud.

34.2.2 Storage Units

Storage Conversion (Binary vs Decimal)

Binary (multiples of 1024): 1 KiB = 1024 B; 1 MiB = 1024 KiB; 1 GiB = 1024 MiB; 1 TiB = 1024 GiB.
Decimal (multiples of 1000): 1 KB = 1000 B; 1 MB = 1000 KB; 1 GB = 1000 MB.
1 Nibble = 4 bits. 1 Byte = 8 bits. 1 Word = 16/32/64 bits (architecture-dependent).
Order: Bit → Nibble → Byte → KB → MB → GB → TB → PB (Petabyte) → EB (Exabyte) → ZB (Zettabyte) → YB (Yottabyte).

34.3 Software

Software Categories

System software — OS, device drivers, firmware, utilities.
Application software — productivity, browsers, media.
Programming / Development software — IDEs, compilers, interpreters.
Middleware — connects applications.

34.3.1 Operating Systems

Common Operating Systems

Windows · macOS · Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Mint, Kali, Red Hat) · Unix · Solaris · Chrome OS · BSD.

Mobile: Android (Linux-based, Google) · iOS · iPadOS · HarmonyOS.

Indian: BOSS (Bharat Operating System Solutions, by C-DAC), Ubuntu-derived.

34.3.2 Programming Languages

Programming Languages

Low-level: Machine code · Assembly.
High-level: C · C++ · Java · Python · JavaScript · R · Ruby · PHP · Go · Rust · Swift · Kotlin.
Statistical: R · SAS · SPSS syntax.
Web: HTML · CSS · JavaScript · TypeScript · PHP.
Database: SQL.

34.3.3 File Formats

Common File Formats

Text: TXT · RTF · DOC/DOCX · ODT · PDF.
Spreadsheet: XLS/XLSX · CSV · TSV · ODS.
Presentation: PPT/PPTX · ODP · KEY.
Image: JPG/JPEG · PNG · GIF · BMP · TIFF · WebP · SVG · HEIC.
Audio: MP3 · WAV · AAC · FLAC · OGG.
Video: MP4 · MKV · AVI · MOV · WMV · WebM.
Compressed: ZIP · RAR · 7Z · TAR · GZ.
Code/Markup: HTML · CSS · JSON · XML · YAML · Markdown.
Database: SQL · SQLite · MDB.

34.3.4 Common Software Acronyms

Common Software Acronyms

OS — Operating System. GUI — Graphical User Interface. CLI — Command-Line Interface.
IDE — Integrated Development Environment.
API — Application Programming Interface. SDK — Software Development Kit.
DBMS — Database Management System. RDBMS — Relational DBMS.
SQL — Structured Query Language. NoSQL — Not-only SQL.
CRUD — Create, Read, Update, Delete.
SaaS — Software as a Service. PaaS — Platform as a Service. IaaS — Infrastructure as a Service.
FOSS — Free and Open-Source Software.
CMS — Content Management System (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla).
LMS — Learning Management System (Moodle, Canvas).
ERP — Enterprise Resource Planning (SAP, Oracle).
CRM — Customer Relationship Management (Salesforce).
OS X = macOS. WSL — Windows Subsystem for Linux.

34.4 Networking

Network Types

PAN — Personal Area Network (Bluetooth).
LAN — Local Area Network (office).
MAN — Metropolitan Area Network (city).
WAN — Wide Area Network (internet).
CAN — Campus Area Network.
HAN — Home Area Network.
VPN — Virtual Private Network.
VLAN — Virtual LAN.
WLAN — Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi).

34.4.1 Network Topologies

Network Topologies

Bus — single backbone.
Star — central hub.
Ring — closed loop.
Mesh — every node to every node.
Tree — hierarchical.
Hybrid — combination.

34.4.2 Devices

Network Devices

Hub — broadcast to all.
Switch — forwards by MAC address.
Router — connects networks; works at OSI Layer 3.
Modem — modulator-demodulator (signal conversion).
Bridge — connects two LAN segments.
Gateway — connects different protocols.
Repeater — amplifies signal.
Access Point (AP) — wireless gateway.
Firewall — security barrier.
NIC — network card.

34.4.3 Network Protocols

Major Protocols

TCP/IP — Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (backbone of internet).
UDP — User Datagram Protocol.
HTTP — Hypertext Transfer Protocol. HTTPS — HTTP Secure (with TLS/SSL).
FTP / SFTP — File Transfer Protocol / Secure FTP.
SMTP — Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (send mail).
POP3 / IMAP — Post Office Protocol / Internet Message Access Protocol (receive mail).
DNS — Domain Name System (URL → IP).
DHCP — Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (auto IP assignment).
SSH — Secure Shell.
Telnet — older remote login.
SNMP — Simple Network Management Protocol.
VoIP — Voice over IP.
MAC address — Media Access Control (hardware ID).
IP address — Logical address (IPv4 32-bit; IPv6 128-bit).

34.4.4 OSI 7-Layer Model

OSI 7 Layers (top-down)

7 — Application (HTTP, SMTP). 6 — Presentation (encryption, compression). 5 — Session (sessions, sockets). 4 — Transport (TCP, UDP). 3 — Network (IP, routers). 2 — Data Link (MAC, switches). 1 — Physical (cables, wireless signals).

Mnemonic: “All People Seem To Need Data Processing”.

34.5 Web & Internet

Web Vocabulary

WWW — World Wide Web (Tim Berners-Lee, CERN, 1989/1991).
URL — Uniform Resource Locator.
URI — Uniform Resource Identifier (URL + URN).
HTML — HyperText Markup Language.
CSS — Cascading Style Sheets.
JS — JavaScript.
DOM — Document Object Model.
DNS — Domain Name System.
HTTP/HTTPS — protocols.
SSL/TLS — encryption.
CDN — Content Delivery Network.
VPN — Virtual Private Network.
ISP — Internet Service Provider.
W3C — World Wide Web Consortium (founded 1994 by Berners-Lee).
IETF — Internet Engineering Task Force.
ICANN — Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
IANA — Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.

34.5.1 Web Generations

Web Generations

Web 1.0 (1990s) — read-only static pages.
Web 2.0 (2000s) — read-write social/UGC web (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Wikipedia).
Web 3.0 — semantic web / decentralised (blockchain, NFT, DAO).

34.5.2 Top-Level Domains

Top-Level Domains (TLD)

Generic: .com (commercial), .org, .net, .edu, .gov, .mil, .int.
Country code (ccTLD): .in (India), .uk, .us, .jp.
Indian sub-domains: .gov.in · .ac.in · .nic.in · .org.in · .co.in.
New gTLDs: .app · .ai · .blog · .dev · .info · .tech.

34.6 Security & Cybersecurity

Security Vocabulary

Antivirus · Firewall · IDS/IPS (Intrusion Detection/Prevention System).
VPN — Virtual Private Network.
2FA / MFA — Two-Factor / Multi-Factor Authentication.
SSL / TLS — encryption protocols.
PKI — Public Key Infrastructure.
DSC — Digital Signature Certificate.
CAPTCHA — Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.
CIA Triad — Confidentiality · Integrity · Availability.
AAA — Authentication, Authorisation, Accounting.
SOC — Security Operations Center.
SIEM — Security Information and Event Management.

34.6.1 Cyber Threats

Common Cyber Threats

Virus, Worm, Trojan, Ransomware, Spyware, Adware, Rootkit, Keylogger.
DDoS — Distributed Denial-of-Service.
Phishing, Vishing (voice), Smishing (SMS).
Spoofing — IP / Email / DNS / GPS.
Man-in-the-Middle (MITM).
Zero-day — unknown vulnerability.
SQL Injection · XSS (Cross-site scripting) · CSRF.
Social engineering · Pretexting · Baiting.
Botnet · Cryptojacking · Brute force.

34.7 Cloud, Big Data, and AI

Cloud-Computing Vocabulary

Cloud computing — on-demand network access to computing resources.
IaaS · PaaS · SaaS · FaaS (Function as a Service) · BaaS (Backend) · DaaS (Desktop).
Public · Private · Hybrid · Community clouds.
Major cloud platforms: AWS · Azure · Google Cloud · Oracle Cloud · IBM Cloud.
Indian cloud: MeghRaj (NIC’s government cloud, 2014).

Big Data + AI Vocabulary

Big Data 5 Vs: Volume · Velocity · Variety · Veracity · Value.
Hadoop · Spark · Kafka — big-data frameworks.
AI — Artificial Intelligence. ML — Machine Learning. DL — Deep Learning. NLP — Natural Language Processing. CV — Computer Vision.
GenAI — Generative AI. LLM — Large Language Model. RAG — Retrieval-Augmented Generation.
AGI — Artificial General Intelligence. ANI — Artificial Narrow Intelligence.
Famous LLMs: ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), Llama (Meta), Mistral, Grok.
Indian AI: AI4Bharat, Bhashini (Indian language tech), IndiaAI Mission (2024).

34.8 Education-Related Acronyms — Recap

Indian Education ICT Acronyms

NMEICT, SWAYAM, SWAYAM Prabha, NPTEL, NDLI, e-PG Pathshala, e-ShodhSindhu, Shodhganga, VIDWAN, NIRF, AISHE, ABC, NAD, DIKSHA, NDEAR, NEAT, FOSSEE, e-Yantra, Virtual Labs — covered in Topic 11 and Topic 35.

34.9 Generations of Computers

Five Generations of Computers

Gen	Period	Technology	Examples
1st	1940s-1956	Vacuum tubes	ENIAC (1946), UNIVAC, EDVAC
2nd	1956-1963	Transistors	IBM 7094
3rd	1964-1971	Integrated Circuits (IC)	IBM System/360
4th	1971-present	Microprocessors (VLSI)	Intel 4004, modern PCs
5th	future	AI, ULSI, parallel	Quantum, neuromorphic

34.9.1 Indian Computing Milestones

Indian Computing Milestones

1955 — TIFRAC (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Automatic Calculator) — India’s first indigenous computer (1955; operational 1960).
1991 — PARAM 8000 (C-DAC) — India’s first supercomputer.
2007 — EKA (Computational Research Laboratories, Tata).
Recent: PARAM Siddhi-AI, PARAM Ananta, PARAM Pravega (NSM — National Supercomputing Mission, 2015).
National Knowledge Network (NKN) — 10 Gbps research backbone (NIC).

34.10 Theory Anchors

Key Persons and Bodies

Person / Body	Year / Note	Contribution
Charles Babbage	1830s	Difference Engine; “Father of computing”
Ada Lovelace	1843	First computer programmer
Alan Turing	1936, 1950	Turing machine; Turing test
John von Neumann	1945	Stored-program architecture
Tim Berners-Lee	1989/1991	Invented WWW
Vint Cerf & Bob Kahn	1974	Designed TCP/IP — “Fathers of the Internet”
Linus Torvalds	1991	Linux kernel
Richard Stallman	1983	GNU Project; Free Software movement
Bill Gates / Paul Allen	1975	Microsoft
Steve Jobs / Steve Wozniak	1976	Apple
Larry Page & Sergey Brin	1998	Google
Mark Zuckerberg	2004	Facebook
C-DAC	1988	PARAM supercomputer
NIC	1976	India’s IT backbone
MeitY	1999 (reorg)	Apex ICT ministry

34.11 Practice Questions

Q 01 Full Form Easy

ICT stands for:

AInternet Communication Technology
BInformation and Communication Technology
CIndian Computer Technology
DIntegrated Communication Tools

View solution

Correct Option: B

ICT = Information and Communication Technology.

Q 02 Storage Easy

1 byte contains how many bits?

View solution

Correct Option: B

1 byte = 8 bits. 1 nibble = 4 bits.

Q 03 Memory Medium

RAM is best described as:

ANon-volatile, permanent memory
BVolatile, temporary main memory
CMagnetic disk storage
DOptical storage

View solution

Correct Option: B

RAM = volatile main memory; loses contents on power-off.

Q 04 URL Easy

URL stands for:

AUniform Resource Locator
BUnique Resource Link
CUniversal Reference Locator
DUnited Resource Library

View solution

Correct Option: A

Uniform Resource Locator — the address of a web resource.

Q 05 HTTP Easy

HTTPS is HTTP with the additional layer of:

ASSL / TLS encryption
BBetter speed only
CNo compression
DFTP support

View solution

Correct Option: A

HTTPS = HTTP + SSL/TLS (encryption).

Q 06 WWW Medium

The World Wide Web was invented in 1989 by:

ATim Berners-Lee
BVint Cerf
CAlan Turing
DBill Gates

View solution

Correct Option: A

Tim Berners-Lee, CERN, 1989 proposal; first web server 1991.

Q 07 TCP/IP Medium

TCP/IP — the backbone of the internet — was designed in 1974 by:

ABerners-Lee
BVint Cerf and Bob Kahn
CLinus Torvalds
DBill Gates

View solution

Correct Option: B

Vint Cerf & Bob Kahn — "Fathers of the Internet".

Q 08 OSI Hard

The OSI model has how many layers?

View solution

Correct Option: C

7: Physical, Data Link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation, Application.

Q 09 Generation Medium

The 4th generation of computers is characterised by:

AVacuum tubes
BTransistors
CIntegrated circuits
DMicroprocessors

View solution

Correct Option: D

1st = vacuum tubes; 2nd = transistors; 3rd = ICs; 4th = microprocessors; 5th = AI / ULSI.

Q 10 India Hard

India's first supercomputer, PARAM 8000, was developed in 1991 by:

AISRO
BC-DAC
CDRDO
DCSIR

View solution

Correct Option: B

C-DAC, Pune. PARAM 8000 (1991) — India's first indigenous supercomputer.

Q 11 DBMS Medium

SQL stands for:

AStructured Query Language
BStandard Query Language
CSystem Query Logic
DSimple Query Language

View solution

Correct Option: A

Structured Query Language.

Q 12 Cloud Medium

Google Docs is an example of:

AIaaS
BPaaS
CSaaS
DFaaS

View solution

Correct Option: C

Web-delivered application = SaaS.

Q 13 Network Medium

A network that connects computers within a single building or office is called:

APAN
BLAN
CMAN
DWAN

View solution

Correct Option: B

LAN = Local Area Network.

Q 14 Device Hard

A device that forwards data between two different networks based on IP address is:

AHub
BSwitch
CRouter
DRepeater

View solution

Correct Option: C

Router = OSI Layer 3 (network), uses IP. Switch = Layer 2, uses MAC.

Q 15 Linux Medium

The Linux kernel was developed in 1991 by:

ARichard Stallman
BLinus Torvalds
CKen Thompson
DDennis Ritchie

View solution

Correct Option: B

Linus Torvalds, 1991 (then a student at the University of Helsinki).

Q 16 Cyber Medium

A fraudulent email pretending to be from a legitimate source to steal credentials is:

APhishing
BHashing
CSpoofing
DBotnet

View solution

Correct Option: A

Phishing. Vishing = voice phishing; Smishing = SMS phishing.

Q 17 CIA Triad Hard

The "CIA Triad" of information security comprises:

AConfidentiality, Integrity, Availability
BCoverage, Integrity, Access
CCyber, Internet, Authentication
DComputer, Internet, Auditing

View solution

Correct Option: A

Confidentiality · Integrity · Availability.

Q 18 India Hard

India's government cloud computing initiative is called:

ADigiLocker
BMeghRaj
CUMANG
DBOSS

View solution

Correct Option: B

MeghRaj (NIC's government cloud, 2014).

Q 19 BOSS Hard

BOSS, an Indian operating system, stands for:

ABharat Open System Software
BBharat Operating System Solutions
CBoss Operating Software System
DBasic Operating Software Set

View solution

Correct Option: B

Bharat Operating System Solutions — by C-DAC, Linux-based.

Q 20 Match Hard

Match each abbreviation with its full form:

(i)	DNS	(a)	Application Programming Interface
(ii)	API	(b)	Domain Name System
(iii)	SMTP	(c)	Virtual Private Network
(iv)	VPN	(d)	Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

A(i)-b, (ii)-a, (iii)-d, (iv)-c
B(i)-a, (ii)-b, (iii)-c, (iv)-d
C(i)-c, (ii)-d, (iii)-a, (iv)-b
D(i)-d, (ii)-c, (iii)-b, (iv)-a

View solution

Correct Option: A

DNS → Domain Name System; API → Application Programming Interface; SMTP → Simple Mail Transfer Protocol; VPN → Virtual Private Network.

34.12 Quick Recall

Quick recall

ICT = Information and Communication Technology.
Hardware: CPU (ALU + CU + MU) · RAM (volatile) · ROM/SSD/HDD (non-volatile) · GPU · BIOS/UEFI · USB · HDMI · NIC · UPS · OCR · MICR · QR · RFID · IoT · NFC.
Storage: 1 byte = 8 bits; 1 nibble = 4 bits. Bit → Nibble → Byte → KB → MB → GB → TB → PB → EB → ZB → YB.
Software: OS · GUI/CLI · IDE · API · SDK · DBMS/RDBMS · SQL/NoSQL · CRUD · SaaS/PaaS/IaaS/FaaS · FOSS · CMS · LMS · ERP · CRM.
Indian OS: BOSS (C-DAC, Linux-based).
Programming languages: Machine/Assembly → C/C++/Java/Python/JS/R/PHP/Go/Rust/Swift/Kotlin.
Networks by area: PAN (Bluetooth) · LAN · MAN · WAN · VPN · VLAN · WLAN. Topologies: Bus · Star · Ring · Mesh · Tree · Hybrid.
Network devices: Hub · Switch · Router (Layer 3, IP) · Modem · Bridge · Gateway · Repeater · AP · Firewall.
Protocols: TCP/IP · UDP · HTTP/HTTPS · FTP/SFTP · SMTP · POP3 · IMAP · DNS · DHCP · SSH · Telnet · SNMP · VoIP. MAC vs IP (hardware vs logical address). IPv4 32-bit, IPv6 128-bit.
OSI 7 layers: Physical → Data Link → Network → Transport → Session → Presentation → Application. (“All People Seem To Need Data Processing.”)
Web: WWW (Berners-Lee 1989, CERN) · URL · URI · HTML · CSS · JS · DOM · SSL/TLS · CDN · ISP. Bodies: W3C (1994) · IETF · ICANN · IANA.
Web 1.0 → 2.0 → 3.0 (static → social → semantic/decentralised).
TLDs: .com .org .net .edu .gov .mil + .in / .ac.in / .gov.in / .nic.in. New gTLDs: .app .ai .blog .dev.
Security: Antivirus · Firewall · IDS/IPS · 2FA/MFA · SSL/TLS · PKI · DSC · CAPTCHA · CIA Triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) · AAA · SOC · SIEM.
Cyber threats: Virus · Worm · Trojan · Ransomware · Spyware · Rootkit · Keylogger · DDoS · Phishing/Vishing/Smishing · Spoofing · MITM · Zero-day · SQLi · XSS · CSRF · Botnet · Cryptojacking.
Cloud: IaaS/PaaS/SaaS/FaaS/BaaS/DaaS · Public/Private/Hybrid. Major: AWS · Azure · GCP · Oracle · IBM. Indian: MeghRaj (NIC, 2014).
AI/ML: AI · ML · DL · NLP · CV · GenAI · LLM · RAG · AGI/ANI. ChatGPT · Claude · Gemini · Llama · Mistral. Indian: AI4Bharat · Bhashini · IndiaAI Mission 2024.
5 generations of computers: Vacuum tubes → Transistors → ICs → Microprocessors → AI/ULSI. ENIAC 1946.
Indian computing: TIFRAC 1955/1960 · PARAM 8000 (C-DAC 1991) · EKA 2007 · PARAM Siddhi-AI · NSM 2015 · NKN 10 Gbps.
Key persons: Babbage · Lovelace · Turing · von Neumann · Berners-Lee · Cerf & Kahn (TCP/IP 1974) · Linus Torvalds · Stallman · Gates · Jobs/Wozniak · Page & Brin.
Indian bodies: MeitY · NIC (1976) · NeGD · UIDAI · NPCI · CERT-In · C-DAC (1988) · STQC · NHA.