Master/slave (technology)
In the computer world, sometimes there are two pieces of equipment that work together. One is the boss, or "master," and the other one is the helper, or "slave."
For example, when you want to watch a video on your computer, you may have a hard drive where the video is stored and a DVD player that reads it. The hard drive is the "master" because it knows where the video is located and tells the DVD player what to do. The DVD player is the "slave" because it simply follows orders from the hard drive and reads the video.
This set up is useful because it makes things run smoothly. By having one piece of technology in charge, everything else can work together more easily.
However, it's important to note that using the terms "master" and "slave" can be controversial because they evoke images of human slavery. Many people believe that there are better, less problematic words that can be used instead.
For example, when you want to watch a video on your computer, you may have a hard drive where the video is stored and a DVD player that reads it. The hard drive is the "master" because it knows where the video is located and tells the DVD player what to do. The DVD player is the "slave" because it simply follows orders from the hard drive and reads the video.
This set up is useful because it makes things run smoothly. By having one piece of technology in charge, everything else can work together more easily.
However, it's important to note that using the terms "master" and "slave" can be controversial because they evoke images of human slavery. Many people believe that there are better, less problematic words that can be used instead.
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