In linguistics, register refers to the degree of formality or informality of language used in a particular rhetorical situation. You might talk very differently with friends than you would in a professional setting like a job interview or business presentation. This kind of variation in the words you use, your tone of voice, and other stylistic features is known as register.
A register is an authoritative list of a type of information, such as a company register administered by Companies House. This is often the single source of all data that directly relates to a limited company, and is kept up-to-date and accurate. Registers should be able to link to other registers so that they do not duplicate data, and should be guarded against misuse and error by trusted custodians.
The term register also refers to an official list of people or things, such as a school register or a list of voters. You might register a car or a product, meaning you put it on an official list so that others can access it. Registering something can legalize it, making it legitimate for future use and removing doubt that the information is true. For example, when someone registers a pregnancy they are proving the fact that they are a mother.
A register can be a database for a specific kind of purpose, such as event attendance, an account of something, or a log. A contract register, for example, details important information about a legal agreement between two parties. This includes contract value, purpose, catch duration, and other details. This document ensures that important information is not lost or misplaced and helps in the transition from one administration to the next.
Registers can be public or private. Public registers might include school records, a list of voters, and official lists of births, deaths or marriages. Private registers might be a medical record, membership lists, or a personal database. A register should only hold the kind of data that is required for its particular purpose, and should be accessible to those who are authorised to use it.
In digital electronics, a register is a high-speed storage location in a computer’s central processing unit (CPU). It holds the data that the CPU requires for immediate processing during arithmetic and logic operations. The data is loaded into the register using a general clock pulse transition that activates all four inputs of the flip-flops that make up the register. The register can then be accessed from any of its four outputs at any time. Registers require more hardware than memory locations and are thus more expensive. When designing and building systems that use registers, understanding register basics, troubleshooting methodology, interconnections and wiring, system limitations and tradeoffs, signal integrity, and maintenance procedures are essential.