CS2911: Computer Networking

CS2911

Instructional Vocabulary

If you grew up speaking languages other than English, there are some words that I use on quizzes and exams that you might like to practice.

If you see any other words that might help other students, please send them to me. If you have other definitions of the words here, or other examples that you would like to share, please send those to me, too!

Sentences in italics give examples of how the words and phrases may be used.

Instructional Phrases

These are words and phrases that I use to describe what I want you to do on a problem.

Determine: Calculate or compute. Determine the number of bytes in the HTTP response body.
Assuming: For this problem, whatever follows is true. Assuming x = 5, and x + y = 3, find the value of y.
Suppose: For this problem, whatever follows is true. Suppose the packet is lost. Write how the sender will respond.
Consider: Use this information for this problem. Consider the table below. What is the first byte of the HTTP response?
Illustrate: Draw a diagram. Illustrate how the nodes in your network will communicate, including both servers and clients.
Sketch: Draw a diagram. Make a brief sketch, showing how messages are sent back and forth between the server and client.
Stand: Is defined as. In this case, q stands for the second prime number.
Which is which: When distiguishing two terms, make clear how your definitions match to the terms. Explain the difference between an HTTP request and an HTTP response, making clear which is which.
As in ...: This gives an example. Do this assignment the same way as the example. As in the last lab, the shift register shifts left, taking in DATA as the least significant bit on the rising clock edge.
Box: Draw a rectangle or other square shape around your answer. Box the bytes in the IP address.
Circle: Draw an ellipse or other round shape around your answer. For multiple choice, you only need to circle the number, not the whole line, even if the question just says. Circle one.. Circle the chunk size.
Edit: Cross out and add to the answer as needed to achive your goals Edit the UML class diagram to illustrate programming to an interface (not implementing an interface)

Technical Terms

These are words that have special meanings in this class. You don't need to know them at the start of the class, but you might want to learn their other, more common, English meanings that native English speakers probably already know. There is no need to learn the technical meanings until we come to them in class. It's hard to understand what these technical meanings are without the context that the class will give you.

Here are the common English meanings for these words. We will study the technical meanings as we come to them.

Week 1

Packet: A bundle, a little pile of things packed up together, an envelope, a little package. Please pick up your information packet as you come into the room.
Layer: One of several things stacked up on each other. A three-layer cake .
Stack: A group of layers, each layer on top of the one below it. A stack of pancakes.
Link: One ring in a chain.
Channel: A man-made waterway. Enter the channel staying to the east of the buoys.
Hop: A short jump. One of many short jumps. Hop like a bunny.
Bite: Take a bite out of your sandwich.
Nibble: A smaller bite. Johnny hardly even nibbled at his dinner. Something was clearly bothering him.
Bit: A tiny piece, even smaller than a nibble (at least for this class.) When Johhny finished his lunch, there were a few bits left - tiny crumbs of toast and a few peas.
Dump: To pour out without any concern for maintaining the order. He dumped his laundry on the bed.
Protocol: A proper and orderly way of conducting, e.g., a conversation. Following the protocol of her host, Sabrina removed her shoes upon entering the tea-house.
Host: Someone who entertains guests. Sabrina's host greeted her, motioning for her to enter the team room.
Node: A round dot. The graph had nodes connected by edges (lines).

Week 2

Ordinal number: Numbers for position or rank (as opposed to cardinal numbers, for quantity). 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are ordinal numbers.
Header: Text at the start of a message. The header included his name, address, and the date the letter was sent.
Body: The center of a letter or report, containing the message itself. When writing a technical report, the body should include not only your text, but figures, equations, and inline reference to cite your sources.
Message: Information sent from one person to another. She handed him the message.
Field: (In forms) a blanks space where the user can write or type something. Be sure to fill in all the required fields before hitting submit.
Literal: A word that means exactly what it says. He went so fast over the speed bump, his car literally flew through the air. There was air under his tires.

Grammatical Structures

These aren't terms or phrases, but rather grammatical structures that I use in assignments. Currently, I only give examples of these, not definitions.