Information Technology Industry Analogies

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Information Technology Industry Analogies is a list of analogies (or corresponding ideas) for technical concepts within the Information Technology (IT) industry, which can be readily understood by non-technical people.

In general terms, the best strategy, when explaining complex technical concepts to non-technical (or lay) people, is to know something about their interests, and to target your analogy to those interests. This isn't always a feasible or viable approach. Furthermore, not all technical people are proficient in this skill. There is therefore value in building a repository of general purpose analogies which can in turn be grown and honed over time.

List of Analogies for Information Technology Industry Concepts

Information Technology Concept	General Analogy
Binary Digits	Think of these as the "digital" alphabet that computers use to store information. They are either "0" or "1" - representing off and on. When concatenated together they represent an ASCII character.
Bug	Is an error in the software program, which manifests to generate errors or problems of some sort. An analogy would be a fault in the electrical wiring of an home or office; something which causes issues, possibly serious ones, and may be difficult to find.
Compiled, Binary or Machine code	Essentially software programs which have been converted into the language used (and understood) by particular computers. Computers sometimes have different computer architectures and these generally have different compiled (or machine) codes; compiling to binary (or machine) codes is akin to translating from one language that you can understand, into another that others can understand, in this case, the computer.
Computer Server	Is equivalent to a shop or government office which you can 'talk to' through your own computer to obtain specific things; examples are files you or others had previously stored (on the file-server) or web pages that are published (on a web-server) or arrange for a print-out (through a print-server).
CPU	The central processing unit is the primary system which performs computation functions within a computer, and is therefore equivalent, in simple terms, to the thought center of the human brain.
Crash	A software program can fail in such a way that it stops responding or even breaks down in a catastrophic fashion, in much the same way that an overheated car can stop working or even demonstrate serious issues by releasing steam from the radiator.
Defragmentation	On some computer systems, files and directories within the storage area can become 'messy' over time, much like someone's desk. Defragmentation is the process by which that storage area can be cleaned up (i.e, made neater) and therefore made specific items easier to locate. A similar concept is a library - if books are not returned to the correct shelf they take longer to find.
Directory	Also called a folder; analogous to a document wallet or manila folder, where related materials (i.e, files) are kept together in the computer's storage.
Encryption	The obfuscation of information, done in such a way that unauthorized parties cannot understand it; similar to the made-up alphabets created by school children to share hidden messages.
File	A storage area for either data or a software program.
File System	The storage area of the comnputer; in many ways, similar to a filing cabinet filled with categories or alphabetized folders (i.e, directories), in turn containing files.
Firewall	A software application or hardware unit which is placed between computers (or computer networks) to limit how these can be reached by external systems/parties. A firewall is in simple terms equivalent to your home's front door - you can open it and leave whenever you want, but you retain the ability to stop others from entering your home unless you allow them to. A firewall similarly applies sets of rules to allow/disallow external systems/parties from reaching your computer.
Internet	The Internet can be thought of as series of towns/cities connected by roads. The Internet is made up of many computers (cities) which talk to each other via communication lines (roads).
Hard Disk failure	A computer stores data on a hard disk, which includes various fast-moving parts; much like any physical machine, it can wear with time, and beyond a certain point, may not function due to that wear and tear. This can lead to hard disk failure and catastrophic loss of data.
IP Address	Equivalent of a phone number for a computer system or device on the Internet or other Internet Protocol-based network.
MAC Address	Equivalent to a house address for computer (e.g. a laptop computer and some types of peripherals such as a router). Used to uniquely identify the computer hardware.
Modem	Modems can be thought of as telephones for computers so they can talk to each other.
Protocol	In simple terms, the agreed-upon language used to communicate between independent computing entities, often optimized for particular or constrained conditions, where clarity, simplicity and accuracy of representation and meaning are paramount; similar in many ways to the flag semaphore system used by ships at sea.
RAM	Random Access Memory is similar to short-term memory of the human brain.
Slow network link	Network (or related data transfer) links can become congested, much like a freeway becomes congested when there is too much traffic.
Software License	The legal agreement (or contract) under which the developer of the computer software allows you to use (and in some cases modify and redistribute) that software, in a manner similar to the acceptance of terms when leasing commercial property or office space.
Spreadsheet	A software program equivalent to a (very) wide and long sheet of paper, where you can add numerical figures, and specify how these should be manipulated, aggregated, summed and sorted, to achieve designated processes or aims.
Web Browser	A software program which contacts web servers on your behalf, fetches web pages, then displays the results to your screen, in much the same way that a librarian in a research library will fetch books or journals on your behalf and show you the requested contents.
Why some bugs are hard to fix	Some software bugs are relatively easy to fix, much like straightening a lopsided painting hanging on a wall. Other bugs may be both difficult to discover, and difficult to resolve once determined, such as finding a leak in the plumbing under a house and then tearing down a wall or two to fix it.
Word Processor	A software program equivalent to a typewriter where you're able to move over the entire page (or many pages), making changes as you see fit, and only printing out to paper when you're ready.

List of "Comparison" Analogies

Information Technology Comparison	General Analogy
Bandwidth: Less vs More
Hard Disk vs RAM
Hardware vs Software	Think of the Computer Hardware as a DVD and the Software as the Movie stored on the DVD.
IP Address: Static vs Dynamic
IP Address vs MAC Address	The MAC address is the house and the IP address is the phone number. The phone number (IP Address) can change but the house address (MAC Address) cannot change.
Purchasing a Computer	According to Kevin Purdy from Lifehacker, the best way to describe what you need when purchasing a new computer is the Library Analogy. The Hard Drive is the shelf space, the CPU how quickly the books can be retreived and RAM is the size of the table a person reads book(s) at.
RAM: Less vs More

External links

• Use analogies to simplify complex technical concepts
• Could you explain technology to a non-IT person?
• Use analogies to explain technical subjects to end users
• Video: Explain computer concepts to non-technical people with analogies

This article "Information Technology Industry Analogies" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Information Technology Industry Analogies. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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