B
- background audio source
- An audio source that is not controlled by the operating system, such as a radio, a CD player, or an auxiliary input device. Background audio sources may continue playing in the background when foreground audio sources are active. See also foreground audio source.
- background graphics mode
- Defines how background colors are mixed with window or screen colors for text and bitmap operations. See also drawing mode.
- backlight
- A light source for a backlit display.
- backup authority
- A trusted application running on a secure computer used as a storage medium.
- bandwidth
- 1. The difference between the highest and lowest frequencies that an analog communications system can pass. For example, a telephone accommodates a bandwidth of 3,000 Hz, which is the difference between the lowest (300 Hz) and highest (3,300 Hz) frequencies it can carry. 2. The data transfer capacity of a digital communications system.
- base font
- The font glyphs that you obtain from another font when performing font linking. See also linked font.
- base notification engine
- One of the two parts of the notification subsystem in Windows CE. The base notification engine manages all the notifications registered on the system and triggers notifications when an event occurs.
- .bat file
- A text file that contains operating system commands. The operating system processes the commands sequentially.
- .bib file
- See binary image builder file (.bib).
- bidirectional parallel port
- An interface that supports two-way parallel communications between a device and a computer.
- .bif file
- A build information file. A file containing definitions of environment variables used in the process of building a platform
- binary editor
- A resource editor that allows you to edit a resource at the binary level in either hexadecimal or ASCII format.
- binary image builder file (.bib)
- A file used by the ROM Image Builder tool, Romimage.exe, to determine which modules and files to combine when forming the ROM image, and where to place the modules in memory.
- binary large object (BLOB)
- 1. A large piece of data, such as a bitmap, characterized by large field values, an unpredictable table size, and data that is formless from the perspective of an application. 2. A keyword that designates the BLOB structure that contains information about a block of data.
- .bin file
- A Windows CE binary image data format file. A .bin file is an image file that is generated by Romimage.exe that makes up the bits of the operating system image. See image file.
- bit block transfer (blit)
- The process of copying the bits that constitute a bitmap from one device context to another. For example, a bit block transfer can be used to move a bitmap stored in memory to the screen for display. The bits can also be altered during a bit block transfer. As a result, light and dark portions of an image can be reversed. Successive displays can thus be used to change the appearance of an image or to move it around on the screen.
- bitmap
- A data structure in memory that represents information as a collection of individual bits. A bitmap represents a bit image. A bit map is also used in some systems to represent the blocks of storage on a disk, indicating whether each block is free (0) or in use (1).
- blink time
- The elapsed time, in milliseconds, required to invert the caret display. This value is half of the flash time.
- blit
- See bit block transfer.
- BLOB
- See binary large object.
- block
- A group of statements in a file that are treated as a unit. For example, a component file (.cec) contains component blocks, implementation blocks, and build method blocks. See also .cec file.
- block cipher mode
- An encryption scheme in which data is encrypted one block at a time. Compare stream cipher mode.
- block mode
- A synchronous method of calling the CeRapiInvoke function by storing input parameters and output data in a single buffer.
- board support package
- In Platform Builder, the software that implements the hardware development platform drivers. The file name extension is .bsp. See hardware development platform.
- bookmark
- A marker used to locate lines in a source file. A bookmark can be either named or unnamed.
- boot loader
- An application that is automatically run when a computer is switched on (booted). After first performing a few basic hardware tests, the boot loader loads and passes control to a larger loader application, which then typically loads the operating system. The boot loader normally resides in the computer's read-only memory (ROM).
- boot loader image
- The executable file that loads and starts an operating system image on a target device.
- bootstrap loader
- See boot loader.
- bound command
- A command that has a key combination assigned to it. See unbound command.
- bounding rectangle
- The smallest rectangle that completely surrounds an ellipse.
- BRIEF
- A text editor by Borland.
- brush
- A tool used in painting applications to sketch or fill in areas of a drawing with the color and pattern currently in use. Painting applications that offer a variety of brush shapes can produce brushstrokes of varying width and, in some cases, shadowing or calligraphic effects.
- brush origin
- The coordinates of a mapped pixel.
- .bsp file
- See board support package.
- build environment
- The state of the development workstation and the directory structure when an application build begins.
- build window
- See command prompt build window.
- built-in device driver
- See native device driver.