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Page
The number of bits that can be accessed from one row address. This is also sometimes referred to as a row.

Page Mode
Mode in which if RAS is kept low and the DRAM is given a column address without being given a new row-address, the chip will remember which row it was on the last time and automatically stay on that row. It is like saying that all the bits along one row are all on the same page, and the part will assume the same page is intended until a different page is specified.

Panorama Function
The Panorama function is a special function that allows the stitching together of numerous pictures to create a panorama effect. xD-Picture Cards from Olympus make it particularly easy to create such compositions when used in conjunction with a compatible Olympus digital camera. xD Picture-Card are designed to consume minimal power. Users will benefit from the convenience and savings of longer battery life on a single charge.

Parity
A bit added to a group of bits to detect the presence of an error. The parity bit looks at the other 8 bits and determines if they are even or odd and correspondingly is a 0 or 1. The system compares the 8 bits with the parity bit. If they both are even or odd, the data is assumed to be correct. If one is even and one is odd, there is an error, and typically the system will fail.

Passive Device
A device incapable of current gain or switching, such as a resistor or capacitor.

PC100
The PC100 specification defines the requirements for SDRAM modules used on 100MHz FSB motherboards.

PC133
The PC133 specification details the requirements for SDRAM modules used on 133MHz FSB motherboards. PC133 SDRAM can be used on 100MHz FSB motherboards but will not yield a performance advantage over PC100 memory at 100MHz.

PCB (Printed Circuit Board)
Are used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, or traces, etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. Alternative names are printed wiring board or PWB or etched wiring board. After populating the board with electronic components, a printed circuit assembly (PCA) is formed.

PCMCIA
The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (or PCMCIA) is an international standards body that defines and promotes the PC Card (formerly known as "PCMCIA card") and ExpressCard standards. Although the organization's name refers to memory cards, their standards are not limited to memory devices.

To aid in the widespread marketing and branding of the standard and to account for the standard's widening scope (beyond just memory cards) the association acquired the rights to the simpler term "PC Card" from IBM and began using it (rather than "PCMCIA") from version 2 of the specification onwards.

PD
See Presence Detect.

Pin
1. The metal extensions from an IC package or discrete component that connects the component to the PCB.
2. Another term for the Edge Contacts on a Memory Module

Populated Board
A PCB with components.

Post
Power on self test occurs when the machine turns on before the boot-up. As the name implies it tests all the hardware functions.

Power Down
To turn the system's power OFF.

Power up
To turn the system's power ON.

Presence Detect
Circuitry on certain memory modules that provides information to the system.

Processor
The primary chip of the system that oversees all the other components of the system.

Pull-up
A device or method used to keep the output voltage of a device at a high level, often a resistor network connected to a positive supply voltage.