Plug-and-Play

A phase that can have a variety of meanings in different contexts. In the most general sense, it means ease of setup and operation such as when a device can simply be plugged into power and run with ease. In the area of PCMCIA cards, the term means that cards can be removed and replaced with other cards without having to reboot the system. Details of plug and play are given in White (1994). (See also PCMCIA)

Refers to the ability of a computer system to automatically configure expansion boards and other devices. You should be able to plug in a device and play with it, without worrying about setting DIP switches, jumpers, and other configuration elements. Since the introduction of the NuBus, the Apple Macintosh has been a plug-and-play computer. The Plug and Play (PnP) specification has made PCs more plug-and-play, although it doesn't always work as advertised.