| ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) |
A high speed internet connection line where the upload speed is different from the download speed. Usually the download speed is much greater. The most common form of ADSL has a 512kps download speed, and a 256kps upload speed. The broadband packages that Proweb resell are all ADSL products. |
|
| Animated GIF |
An image that moves like a cartoon on your computer screen. |
|
| Antivirus |
Antivirus(or "anti-virus") software is a class of program that searches your hard drive and floppy disks for any known or potential viruses. The market for this kind of program has expanded because of Internet growth and the increasing use of the Internet |
|
| Applet |
A small piece of code that forms part of a web page, designed to change areas of the page depending on what the user does as they are looking at it |
|
| Application |
Any software program that you use on your computer to perform a task such as writing letters. Applications on your computer are like CDs on your CD player. |
|
| ARPANet (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) |
The precursor to the Internet. Developed in the late 60's and early 70's by the US Department of Defense as an experiment in wide-area-networking to connect together computers that were each running different systems, so that people at one location could use computing resources from another location. |
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| ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) |
This is the most common way in which computers store plain text, using a set of binary digits to represent each letter of the alphabet |
|
| ASP |
ASP is an abbreviation for Active Server Page. ASP is a method of adding processing code to a web page, so that a user can submit information, which the server processes using ASP, and will then return the result. There are many things that can be done with ASP, it is often used for things like getting customer feedback on a web site by filling in a form on a page, and various other tasks like this |
|
| ASP+ |
ASP+ is another name for ASP.NET. for more information, please see the ASP.NET entry |
|
| ASP.NET |
ASP.NET is the next generation of Microsoft's Active Server Page (ASP), a feature of their Internet Information Server (IIS). Both ASP and ASP.NET allow a Web site builder to dynamically build Web pages on the fly by inserting queries to a relational database in the Web page. ASP.NET is different than its predecessor in two major ways: it supports code written in compiled languages such as Visual Basic, C++, C#, and Perl, and it features server controls that can separate the code from the content, allowing WYSIWYG editing of pages. Although ASP.NET is not backwards compatible with ASP, it is able to run side by side with ASP applications. ASP.NET files can be recognized by their .aspx extension. |
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| Attachment |
A file that you can attach to an Email. |
|
| Backbone |
A high speed network connection that links many smaller network connections together |
|
| Bandwidth |
How much stuff you can send through a connection. Usually measured in bits-per-second. A full page of English text is about 16,000 bits. A fast modem can move about 57,000 bits in one second. Full-motion full-screen video would require roughly 10,000,000 bits-per-second, depending on compression. |
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| Banner |
Signboard style advertising positioned in a web page, usually at the top |
|
| Baud |
In common usage the baud rate of a modem is how many bits it can send or receive per second. Technically, baud is the number of times per second that the carrier signal shifts value - for example a 1200 bit-per-second modem actually runs at 300 baud, but it moves 4 bits per baud (4 x 300= 1200 bits per second). |
|
| BBS (Bulletin Board System) |
A computerized meeting and announcement system that allows people to carry on discussions, upload and download files, and make announcements without the people being connected to the computer at the same time. In the early 1990's there were many, many thousands, possibly even millions of BBS systems around the world. The closet comparison would be to a Disussion Forum found on many modern internet sites |
|
| Binary |
1. Raw computer data consisting entirely of ones and zeros, which the computer can process quickly, and can then translate back into a form that the user can interpret.
2. Used to refer to a file, most commonly to be uploaded to the internet, that is not a text file. e.g. Pictures, programs e.t.c |
|
| Bit (Binary DigIT) |
A single digit number in base-2, or binary. This can be either a 1 or a zero. The smallest unit of computerized data. Bandwidth is usually measured in bits-per-second. |
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| BITNET (Because It's Time NETwork (or Because It's There NETwork)) |
A network of educational sites separate from the Internet, but e-mail is freely exchanged between BITNET and the Internet. Listservs, a popular form of e-mail discussion groups, originated on BITNET. BITNET machines are usually mainframes running the VMS operating system, and the network is probably the only international network that is shrinking. |
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| Body |
Part of a web page that appears inside the main part of a browser window. |
|
| Bookmarking |
Adding a web site address to your on-line address book so you can visit it again without having to type in the web address. Netscape call this feature 'Bookmarking', Microsoft's browser names them 'Favourites'. |
|
| Boolean Operator |
Words like 'and' 'or' and 'no' that help you pinpoint information you want to retrieve from the Internet. |
|
| Boot |
boot(as a verb; also "to boot up") a computer is to load an operating system into the computer's main memory or random access memory (RAM ). Once the operating system is loaded (and, for example, on a PC, you see the initial Windows or Mac desktop screen) |
|
| Bootable floppy |
A Bootable Floppy Disk is a disk that can be used to recover a computer in some instances where the hard disk will no longer boot, or is unsafe to boot due to a virus or similar problem |
|
| bps (Bits-Per-Second) |
A measurement of how fast data is moved from one place to another. A 56K modem can move about 57,000 bits per second. |
|
| broadband |
In general, broadband is a high speed internet connection, allowing a user much faster access to information than a standard modem would allow. The most common forms of broadband are ADSL and Cable Modems, both of which are very similar in terms of performance, |
|
| Browser |
A Client program (software) that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources. Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator are both examples of Browsers |
|
| BTW (By The Way) |
A shorthand appended to a comment written in an online forum. |
|
| Byte |
A set of 8 Bits that represent a single block of information. This can be a single ASCII character, or part of a large block of text or information |
|
| Cable Modem |
A technology, similar to ADSL, offered by some cable TV companies, allowing computer data to be sent at high speeds along the same line that carries the television signals. The cable modem itself is a device that seperates the internet data from the television signals and feeds it to the computer. |
|
| Cache |
The part of the computer memory where downloaded web pages are stored. |
|
| CAD |
CAD (computer-aided design) software is used by architects, engineers, drafters, artists, and others to create precision drawings or technical illustrations. CAD software can be used to create two-dimensional (2-D) drawings or three-dimensional (3-D) mode |
|
| Certificate Authority |
An issuer of Security Certificates used in SSL connections. |
|
| CGI (Common Gateway Interface) |
A set of rules that describe how a Web Server communicates with another piece of software on the same machine, and how the other piece of software (the CGI program) talks to the web server. Any piece of software can be a CGI program if it handles input and output according to the CGI standard. |
|
| cgi-bin |
The most common name of a directory on a web server in which CGIprograms are stored. |
|
| Chat |
Live conversations with any number of other people anywhere in the world. You 'talk' by typing and reading messages. Everyone sees your message and you can read everyone else's messages. |
|
| Client |
A computer that requests material from the World Wide Web. You can view a web site, your computer, the client, has requested it from another computer that is called the server. |
|
| co-location |
Most often used to refer to having a server that belongs to one person or group physically located on an Internet-connected network that belongs to another person or group. Usually this is done because the server owner wants their machine to be on a high-speed Internet connection and/or they do not want the security risks of having the server on thier own network. |
|
| Computer |
A computer is a device that accepts information(in the form of digital data) and manipulates it for some result based on a program or sequence of instructions on how data is to be processed. Complex computers also include the means for storing data (inclu |
|
| Cookie |
A cookie is a small text file stored on your computer when you visit certain sites, to store your preferences from your visit, so that when you return, the site will be able to set it's viewing options to those you selected on your last visit |
|
| Cyberpunk |
Cyberpunk was originally a cultural sub-genre of science fiction taking place in a not-so-distant, dystopian, over-industrialized society. The term grew out of the work of William Gibson and Bruce Sterling and has evolved into a cultural label encompassing many different kinds of human, machine, and punk attitudes. It includes clothing and lifestyle choices as well. |
|
| Cyberspace |
Term originated by author William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer the word Cyberspace is currently used to describe the whole range of information resources available through computer networks. |
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| Data |
Information, specifically in a computer format. |
|
| Device |
1. In general, a device is a machine designed for a purpose. In a general context, a computer can be considered a device.
2. In the context of computer technology, a device is a unit of hardware, outside or inside the case or housing for the essential |
|
| Dial Up |
The use of telephone lines to connect a computer to another computer on the Internet. |
|
| Digerati |
The digital version of literati, it is a reference to a vague cloud of people seen to be knowledgeable, hip, or otherwise in-the-know in regardsto the digital revolution. |
|
| Directory |
A list of hyperlinks to web pages or programs from the Internet to your computer. |
|
| Domain Name |
The highest level name for a web site. For example, Oneview's domain name is www.oneview.net. |
|
| Download |
To copy files such as web pages or programs from the Internet to your computer. |
|
| DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) |
A high connection internet line, that uses a standard phone line. It works by transmitting on the frequencies that are not used for voice calls on the phone line. A splitter is needed to seperate the DSL signal from the voice signal at the user's end. This is known as a Microfilter. DSL is available in two types, Asymetric, which has different download speeds to upload speeds, and Symetric, where the download and upload speeds are the same |
|
| E-commerce |
The ability to purchase goods on-line from a web site using a secure server. |
|
| Email (Electronic Mail) |
E-Mails are messages, usually text, but that can contain images and files aswell, that are sent between users on the internet. When you send an e-mail, it is sent to a server, where it will be forwarded on to the recipient's e-mail box. When the recipient next requests their e-mail, it goes from his/her box to their computer where they can read it |
|
| Ethernet |
A very common method of networking computers in a LAN. There is more than one type of Ethernet. By 2001 the standard type was "100-BaseT" which can handle up to about 100,000,000 bits-per-second and can be used with almost any kind of computer. |
|
| Extranet |
An intranet that is accesible to computers that are not hysically part of a companys' own private network, but that is not accessible to the general public, for example to allow vendors and business partners to access a company web site. Often an intranet will make use of a Virtual Private Network. (VPN.) |
|
| FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) |
FAQs are documents that list and answerthe most common questions on a particular subject. There are hundreds of FAQs on subjects as diverse as Pet Grooming and Cryptography. FAQs are usually written by people who have tired of answering the same question over and over. |
|
| FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) |
A standard for transmitting data on optical fiber cables at a rate of around 100,000,000 bits-per-second (10 times as fast as 10-BaseTEthernet, about twice as fast as T-3). |
|
| Finger |
An Internet software tool for locating people on other Internet sites. Finger is also sometimes used to give access to non-personal information, but the most common use is to see if a person has an account at a particular Internet site. Many sites do not allow incoming Finger requests, but many do. |
|
| Fire Wall |
A piece of software, either running as a service on an individual machine, or running on a dedicated machine. The purpose of a firewall is to filter out certain requests made to a computer or computer network, so that they can, for example, block any attempts to gain unauthorised access to a machine from outside of the local building. |
|
| Flame |
Originally, "flame" meant to carry forth in a passionate manner in the spirit of honorable debate. Flames most often involved the use of flowery language and flaming well was an art form. More recently flame has come to refer to any kind of derogatory comment no matter how witless or crude. |
|
| Flame War |
When an online discussion degenerates into a series of personal attacks against the debators, rather than discussion of their positions. A heated exchange. |
|
| Flash |
Flash is a tool, created by a company called Macromedia, used to add multimedia and interactivity to web sites. Many colourful games and new web sites are written using flash. It is pleasant to look at and listen to although many people dislike the length of time it takes to load flash web sites. |
|
| FTP (File Transfer Protocol) |
FTP is a very common way of moving files between a user and a server. FTP servers can be public, or can require a username and password in order to gain access. Once a user has access to the server, they can download any files listed on the server to their own computer, or can upload new files on to the ftp server |
|
| Gateway |
The technical meaning is a hardware or software set-up that translates between two dissimilar protocols, for example America Online has a gateway that translates between its internal, proprietary e-mail format and Internet e-mail format. Another, sloppier meaning of gateway is to describe any mechanism for providing access to another system, e.g. AOL might be called a gateway to the Internet. |
|
| GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) |
A graphic format for storing images, that compresses the image. A downside of the gif format is that it can only use 256 colours, so will reduce the detail on highly colourfull images. gif images can also contain animation, so that the image will appear to move.
many people still use gif images, although the PNG image format offers similar results in compressing images, but png does not loose any of the colour details |
|
| Gigabyte |
1000 or 1024 Megabytes, depending on who is measuring. |
|
| Gopher |
Invented at the University of Minnesota in 1993 just before the Web, gopher was a widely successful method of making menus of material available over the Internet. Gopher was designed to be much easier to use than FTP, while still using a text-only interface. Gopher is a Client and Server style program, whichrequires that the user have a Gopher Client program. Although Gopher spread rapidly across the globe in only a couple of years, it has been largely supplanted by Hypertext, also known as WWW (World Wide Web). There are still thousands of Gopher Servers on the Internet and we can expect they will remain for a while. |
|
| GUI |
A GUI (usually pronounced GOO-ee) is a graphical (rather than purely textual) user interface to a computer. As you read this, you are looking at the GUI or graphical user interface of your particular Web browser. |
|
| Handshake |
A signal sent by a modem to an access provider's computer in order to obtain permission to connect to the Internet. |
|
| hit |
As used in reference to the World Wide Web, hit means a single request from a web browser for a single item from a web server |
|
| Home Page (or Homepage) |
1. The default page that your browser will display if you run it without instruction to visit a different page
2. A term used to describe the internet site belonging to an individual or a company |
|
| Host |
Any computer on a network that is a repository for services available to other computers on the network. It is quite common to have one host machine provide several services, such as SMTP (email) and HTTP (web). |
|
| HTML (HyperText Markup Language) |
The coding language used to create Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web. HTML looks a lot like old-fashioned typesetting code, where you surround a block of text with codes that indicate how it should appear. The "hyper" in Hypertext comes from the fact that in HTML you can specify that a block of text, or an image, is linked to another file on the Internet. HTML files are meant to be viewed using a "Web Browser". HTML is loosely based on a more comprehensive system for markup called SGML. |
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| HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) |
The protocol for moving hypertextfiles across the Internet. Requires a HTTP client program on one end, and an HTTP server program on the other end. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World Wide Web (WWW). |
|
| Hyperlink |
A piece of text, picture or graphic that links a web page with another web page. Also known as Hotspot. |
|
| Hypertext |
Generally, any text that contains links to other documents - words or phrases in the document that can be chosen by a reader and which cause another document to be retrieved and displayed. |
|
| Icon |
A small picture representing a program, or an action that a program is taking. |
|
| IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) |
IMAP is gradually replacing POP as the main protocol used by email clients in communicating with email servers. Using IMAP an email client program can not only retrieve email but can also manipulate message stored on the server, without having to actually retrieve the messages. So messages can be deleted, have their status changed, multiple mail boxes can be managed, etc. IMAP is defined in RFC 2060 |
|
| IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) |
A shorthand appended to a comment written in an online forum, IMHO indicates that the writer is aware that they areexpressing a debatable view, probably on a subject already under discussion. One of many such shorthands in common use online, especially in discussion forums.
The term IMO can also be used, which stands for In My Opinion, but means basically the same |
|
| Information Superhighway |
Slang for the Internet |
|
| Internet |
The vast collection of inter-connected networks that are connected using the TCP/IP protocols and that evolved from the ARPANET of the late 60's and early 70's. The Internet connects tens of thousands of independent networks into a vast global internet and is probably the largest Wide Area Network in the world. |
|
| Internet protocol (IP) |
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the method or protocol by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet . Each computer (known as a host) on the Internet has at least one IP address that uniquely identifies it from all other computers on t |
|
| Intranet |
A private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software that you would find on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use. Compare with extranet. |
|
| IP Number (Internet Protocol Number) |
Sometimes called a dotted quad. A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots, e.g. 165.113.245.2 every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP number - if a machine does not have an IP number, it is not really on the Internet. Many machines (especially servers) also have one or more Domain Names that are easier for people to remember. |
|
| IRC (Internet Relay Chat) |
Basically a huge multi-user live chat facility. There are a number of major IRC servers around the world which are linked to each other. Anyone can create a channel and anything that anyone types in a given channel is seen by all others in the channel. Private channels can (and are) created for multi-person conference calls. |
|
| ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) |
Basically a way to move more dataover existing regular phone lines. ISDN is available to much of the USA and in most markets it is priced very comparably to standard analog phone circuits. It can provide speeds of roughly 128,000 bits-per-second over regular phone lines. In practice, most people will be limited to 56,000or 64,000 bits-per-second. Unlike DSL, ISDN can be used to connect to many different locations, one at a time, just like a regular telephone call, as long the other location also has ISDN. |
|
| ISP (Internet Service Provider) |
An institution that provides access to the Internet, or any other internet service, e.g. Web site Design, e-mail e.t.c |
|
| Java |
Java is a network-friendly programming language invented by Sun Microsystems. Java is often used to build large, complex systems that involve several different computers interacting across networks, for example transaction processing systems. Java is also becoming popular for creating programs that run in small electronic devices, such as mobile telephones. A very common use of Java is to create programs that can be safely downloaded to your computer through the Internet and immediately run without fear of viruses or other harm to your computer or files. Using small Java programs (called "Applets"), Web pages can include functions such as animations,calculators, and other fancy tricks. |
|
| JavaScript |
JavaScript is a programming language that is mostly used in web pages, usually to add features that make the web page more interactive. When JavaScript is included in an HTML file it relies upon the browser to interpret the JavaScript. When JavaScript is combined with Cascading Style Sheets(CSS), and later versions of HTML (4.0 and later) the result is often called DHTML. |
|
| JDK (Java Development Kit) |
A software development package from Sun Microsystems that implements the basic set of tools needed to write, test and debugJava applications and applets |
|
| JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) |
JPEG is most commonly mentioned as a format for image files. JPEG format is preferred to the GIF format for photographic images as opposed to line art or simple logo art. The JPEG format is however lossy, which means that the picture quality is reduced if you zoom in on the image or enlarge it |
|
| Keyword |
Any word used with a search engine to locate information or a web page. |
|
| Kilobyte |
Roughly a thousand bytes. The exact number is 1024 bytes. |
|
| LAN (Local Area Network) |
A computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building or floor of a building. |
|
| Leased Line |
Refers to line such as a telephone line or fiber-optic cable that is rented for exclusive 24-hour, 7-days-a-week use from your location to another location. The highest speed data connections require a leased line. |
|
| Linux |
A widely used Open Source Unix-like operating system. Linux was first released by its inventor Linus Torvalds in 1991. There are versions of Linux for almost every available type of computer hardware from desktop machines to IBM mainframes. The inner workings of Linux are open and available for anyone to examine and change as long as they make their changes available to the public. This has resulted in thousands of people working on various aspects of Linux and adaptation of Linux for a huge variety of purposes, from servers to TV-recording boxes. |
|
| Listserv |
The most common kind of maillist, "Listserv" is a registered trademark of L-Soft international, Inc. Listservs originated on BITNET but they are now common on the Internet. |
|
| Location Box |
the part of the browser where the URL's of the web page are stored. for example, to visit Proweb's website, you would type "www.proweb.net" in the location box |
|
| Login |
Noun or a verb. Noun: The account name used to gain access to a computer system. Not a secret (contrast with Password). Verb: the act of connecting to a computer system by giving your credentials (usually your "username" and "password") |
|
| Mail list |
(or Mailing List) A (usually automated) system that allows people to send e-mail to one address, whereupon their message is copied and sent to all of the other subscribers to the maillist. In this way, people who have many different kinds of e-mail access can participate in discussions together. |
|
| Master boot record |
The part of a hard disk that tells the computer to begin loading the operating system's files |
|
| Megabyte |
Roughly a million bytes. The exact number is 1024 kilobytes (1048576 bytes) |
|
| MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) |
Originally a standard for defining the types of files attached to standard Internet mail messages. The MIME standard has come to be used in many situations where one cmputer programs needs to communicate with another program about what kind of file is being sent. For example, HTML files have a MIME-type of text/html, JPEG files are image/jpeg, etc. |
|
| Mirror |
Generally speaking, "to mirror" is to maintain an exact copy of something. Probably the most common use of the term on the Internet refers to "mirror sites" which are web sites, or FTP sites that maintain copies of material originated at another location, usually in order to provide more widespread access to the resource. For example, one site might create a library of software, and 5 other sites might maintain mirrors of that library. |
|
| Modem (MOdulator, DEModulator) |
A device that connects a computer to a phone line. A telephone for a computer. A modem allows a computer to talk to other computers through the phone system. Basically, modems do for computers what a telephone does for humans. |
|
| MOO (Mud, Object Oriented) |
One of several kinds of multi-user role-playing environments. |
|
| Mosaic |
The first WWW browser that was available for the Macintosh, Windows,and UNIX all with the same interface. Mosaic really started the popularity of the Web. The source-code to Mosaic was licensed by several companies and used to create many other web browsers. Mosaic was developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), at the Univeristy of Urbana-Champange in Illinois, USA. The first version was released in late 1993. |
|
| Mouse |
A mouse is a small device that a computer user pushes across a desk surface in order to point to a place on a display screen and to select one or more actions to take from that position. |
|
| Mousepad |
A mousepad is a small, portable surface that sometimes provides better traction for the ball on a computer mouse and, at the very least, provides a bounded area in which to move the mouse. |
|
| MUD (Multi-User Dungeon or Dimension) |
A (usually text-based) multi-user simulation environment. Some are purely for fun and flirting, others are used for serious software development, or education purposes and all thatlies in between. A significant feature of most MUDs is that users can create things that stay after they leave and which other users can interact within their absence, thus allowing a world to be built gradually and collectively. |
|
| MUSE (Multi-User Simulated Environment) |
One kind of MUD - usually with little or no violence. |
|
| Net Surfing |
Exploring the Internet by jumping from one file to another, like a surfer catching one wave and then another. |
|
| Netiquette |
A code of conduct, developed by Internet users, which states acceptable and unacceptable behaviour on the Internet. |
|
| Netizen |
Derived from the term citizen, referring to a citizen of the Internet,or someone who uses networked resources. The term connotes civic responsibility and participation. |
|
| Netscape |
A WWW Browser and the name of a company. The Netscape (tm) browser was originally based on the Mosaic program developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). Later versions of netscape (version 6 and above) are based on the Mozilla browser technology |
|
| Network |
Any time you connect 2 or more computers together so that they can share resources, you have a computer network |
|
| Network |
a number of computers and other devises that are linked together so that they can share information and equipment. |
|
| Newsgroup |
The name for discussion groups on USENET. |
|
| NIC (Network Information Center) |
Generally, any office that handles information for a network. The most famous of these on the Internet was the InterNIC, which was where most new domain names were registered until that process was decentralized to a number of private companies. |
|
| NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol) |
The protocol used by clientand server software to carry USENET postings back and forth over a TCP/IP network. If you are using any of the more common software such as Netscape, Nuntius, Internet Explorer, etc. to participate in newsgroups then you are benefiting from an NNTP connection. |
|
| Node |
Any single computer connected to a network. |
|
| Off-line |
Not connected to the Internet. |
|
| On-line |
Connected to the Internet. |
|
| On-line service |
A company that gives you access to its private network, containing various kinds of information, as well as to the Internet. |
|
| Open Source Software |
Open Source Software is software for which the underlying programming code is available to the users so that they may read it, make changes to it, and build new versions of the software incorporating their changes. There are many types of Open Source Software, mainly differing in the licensing term under which (altered) copies of the source code may (or must be) redistributed. |
|
| Operating system |
An operating system (sometimes abbreviated as "OS") is the program that, after being initially loaded into the computer by a boot program, manages all the other programs in a computer. |
|
| Operator |
A word or symbol that gives a particular instruction to a search engine (e.g "&"). |
|
| Packet |
A packet is a small chunk of information, sent over networks. Packets are very small, and large files are broken down into many packets to better control the delivery of the file |
|
| Packet Switching |
The method used to move data around on the Internet. In packet switching,all the data coming out of a machine is broken up into chunks, each chunk has the address of where it came from and where it is going. This enables chunks of data from many different sources to co-mingle on the same lines, and be sorted and directed along different routes by special machines along the way. This way many people can use the same lines at the same time. You might think of several caravans of trucks all using the same road system. to carry materials. |
|
| Password |
A code used to gain access (login) to a locked system. Good passwords contain letters and non-letters and are not simple combinations such as virtue7. |
|
| PHP |
In Web programming, PHP is a script language and interpreter that is freely available and used primarily on Linux Web servers. PHP, originally derived from Personal Home Page Tools, now stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, which the PHP FAQ describes as a "recursive acronym." PHP is an alternative to Microsoft's Active Server Page (ASP) technology. As with ASP, the PHP script is embedded within a Web page along with its HTML. Before the page is sent to a user that has requested it, the Web server calls PHP to interpret and perform the operations called for in the PHP script. An HTML page that includes a PHP script is typically given a file name suffix of ".php" ".php3," or ".phtml". Like ASP, PHP can be thought of as "dynamic HTML pages," since content will vary based on the results of interpreting the script. |
|
| Plug-in |
A piece of software you can add to another program, e.g. your internet browser, to enable it to perform extra functions such as displaying video clips. |
|
| PNG (Portable Network Graphics) |
PNG is a graphics format specifically designed for use on the World Wide Web. PNG enable compression of images without any loss of quality, including high-resolution images. Another important feature of PNG is that anyone may create software that works with PNG images without paying any fees - the PNG standard is free of any licensing costs. |
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| POP (Point of Presence, also Post Office Protocol) |
Two commonly used meanings:Point of Presence and Post Office Protocol. A Point of Presence usually means a city or location where a network can be connected to, often with dial up phone lines. So if an Internet company says they will soon have a POP in Belgrade, it means that they will soon have a local phone number in Belgrade and/or a place where leased lines can connect to their network. A second meaning, Post Office Protocol refers to a way that e-mail client software such as Eudora gets mail from a mail server. When you obtain an account from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) you almost always get a POP account with it, and it is this POP account that you tell your e-mail software to use to get your mail. Another protocol called IMAP is replacing POP for email. |
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| Port |
3 meanings. First and most generally, a place where information goes into or out of a computer, or both. E.g. the serial port on a personal computer is where a modem would be connected. On the Internet port often refers to a number that is part of a URL, appearing after a colon (:) right after the domain name. Every service on an Internet server listens on a particular port number on that server. Most services have standard port numbers, e.g. Web servers normally listen on port 80. Services can also listen on non-standard ports, in which case the port number must be specified in a URL when accessing the server, so you might see a URL of the form: gopher://peg.cwis.uci.edu:7000/This shows a gopher server running on a non-standard port (the standard gopher port is 70). Finally, port also refers to translating a piece of software to bring it from one type of computer system to another, e.g. to translate a Windows program so that is will run on a Macintosh. |
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| Portal |
Usually used as a marketing term to described a Web site that is or is intended to be the first place people see when using the Web. Typically a "Portal site" has a catalog of web sites, a search engine, or both. A Portal site may also offer email and other service to entice people to use that site as their main "point of entry" (hence "portal") to the Web. |
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| Posting |
A single message entered into a network communications system. |
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| PPP (Point to Point Protocol) |
The most common protocol used to connect home computers to the Internet over regular phone lines. Most well known as a protocol that allows a computer to use a regular telephone line and a modem to make TCP/IPconnections and thus be really and truly on the Internet. |
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| Protocol |
An agreed set of rules that two computers use when communicating with each other. |
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| Proxy Server |
A Proxy Server sits in between a Client and the "real" Server that a Client is trying to use. Client's are sometimes configured to use a Proxy Server, usually an HTTP server. The clients makes all of it's requests from the Proxy Server, which then makes requests from the "real" server and passes the result back to the Client. Sometimes the Proxy server will store the results and give a stored result instead of making a new one (to reduce use of a Network). Proxy servers are commonly established on Local Area Networks |
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| PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) |
The regular old-fashioned telephone system. |
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| Query |
Instructions, made up of key words, that you give to a search engine so it can find web pages on a particular subject. |
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| Query Box |
The place on the search engine's home page where you can type in your query or keywords. |
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| Register |
To type in details about yourself on a form on a web site in order to fin access to the information on that site. |
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| Remote access |
Remote access is the ability to get access to a computer or a network from a remote distance. In corporations, people at branch offices, telecommuters, and people who are travelling may need access to the corporation's network. |
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| RFC (Request For Comments) |
The name of the result and the process for creating a standard on the Internet. New standards are proposed and published on the Internet, as a Request For Comments. The proposal is reviewed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (http://www.ietf.org/), a consensus-building body that facilitates discussion, and eventually a new standard is established, but the reference number/name for the standard retains the acronym RFC, e.g. the official standard for e-mail message formats is RFC 822. |
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| Router |
A special-purpose computer (or software package) that handles the connection between 2 or more Packet-Switched networks. Routers spend all their time looking at the source and destination addresses of the packets passing through them and deciding which route to send them on. |
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| SDSL (Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line) |
A version of DSL where the upload speeds and download speeds are the same. |
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| Search Engine |
A (usually web-based) system for searching the information available on the Web. Some search engines work by automatically searching the contents of other systems and creating a database of the results. other search engines contains only material manually approved for inclusion in a database, and some combine the two approaches. |
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| Search Engine |
A type of program that searches for web pages which contain particular words. |
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| Sector |
On a computer diskette or hard disk, a sector is one of the "pies slices" the diskette or disk is divided into. Dividing the circular medium into pie slices is a way to organize it so that data can be located by the read/write heads of the drive. |
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| Security Certificate |
A chunk of information (often stored as a text file) that is used by the SSL protocol to establish a secure connection. |
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| Serial Port |
A type of port on a computer that transmits a digital signal. The serial port used to be common for modems and mice to be connected, but is now very rarely used |
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| Server |
A computer, or a software package, that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software, such as a WWW server, or to the machine on which the software is running, e.g. "Our mail server is down today, that's why e-mail isn't getting out." A single server machine can (and often does) have several different server software packages running on it, thus providing many different servers to clients on the network. |
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| Shareware |
Software which you can try out before having to pay for it. |
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| Shopping Cart |
The virtual shopping cart is used for 'collecting' the products you wish to purchase on-line. |
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| SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) |
A standard for using a regular telephone line (a serial line) and a modem to connect a computer as a realInternet site. SLIP has largely been replaced by PPP. |
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| SMDS (Switched Multimegabit Data Service) |
A standard for very high-speed data transfer. |
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| SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) |
The main protocol used to send electronic mail from server to server on the Internet. SMTP is defined in RFC 821 and modified by many later RFC's |
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| SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) |
A set of standards for communication with devices connected to a TCP/IP network. Examples of these devices include routers, hubs, and switches. SNMP is defined in RFC 1089 |
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| Software |
Programs that enable computers to carry out certain tasks. |
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| Source Code |
Code used to instruct a computer how to do certain tasks. Whenever a new piece of software is written, the code that the programmer writes to produce that software is the source code. Another example is the HTML code that makes up a web page. |
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| Spam |
Junk e-mail on the Internet, usually advertising. Can also refer to any comment made in internet chat rooms or forums that contains no relevance |
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| SQL (Structured Query Language) |
A specialized language for sending queries to databases. Most industrial-strength and many smaller database applications can be addressed using SQL. Each specific application will have its own slightly different version of SQL implementing features unique to that application, but all SQL-capable databases support a common subset of SQL. A example of an SQl statement is: SELECT name,email FROM people_table WHERE contry='uk' |
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| SSL (Secure Socket Layer) |
A protocol designed by Netscape Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated communications across the Internet. |
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| Sysop (System Operator) |
Anyone responsible for the physical operations of a computer system or network resource. For example, a System Administrator decides how often backups and maintenance should be performed and the System Operator performs those tasks. |
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| T-1 |
A leased-line connection capable of carrying data at 1,544,000 bits-per-second. At maximum theoretical capacity, a T-1 line could move a megabyte in less than 10 seconds. That is still not fast enough for full-screen, full-motion video, for which you need at least 10,000,000 bits-per-second. T-1 lines are commonly used to connect large LANs to theInternet. |
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| T-3 |
A leased-line connection capable of carrying data at 44,736,000 bits-per-second. This is more than enough to do full-screen, full-motionvideo. |
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| TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) |
This is the suiteof protocols that defines the Internet. Originally designed for the UNIX operating system, TCP/IP software is now included with every major kind of computer operating system. To be truly on the Internet, your computer must have TCP/IP software. |
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| Telnet |
The command and program used to login from one Internet siteto another. The telnet command/program gets you to the login: prompt of another host. |
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| Terabyte |
1000 gigabytes. |
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| Terminal |
A device that allows you to send commands to a computer somewhere else. At a minimum, this usually means a keyboard and a display screen and some simple circuitry. Usually you will use terminal software in a personal computer - the software pretends to be (emulates) a physical terminal and allows you to type commands to a computer somewhere else. |
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| Terminal Server |
A special purpose computer that has places to plug in many modemson one side, and a connection to a LAN or host machine onthe other side. Thus the terminal server does the work of answering thecalls and passes the connections on to the appropriate node. Mostterminal servers can provide PPP or SLIP services if connectedto the Internet. |
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| UDP (User Datagram Protocol) |
One of the protocols for data transfer that is part of the TCP/IP suite of protocols. UDP is a "stateless" protocol in that UDP makes no provision for acknowledgement of packets received. |
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| Unix |
A computer operating system (the basic software running on a computer, underneath things like word processors and spreadsheets). Unix is designed to be used by many people at the same time (it is multi-user) and has TCP/IP built-in. It is the most common operating system for servers on the Internet. Apple computers' Macintosh operating system, as of version 10, is based on Unix. |
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| URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) |
An address for s resource available on the Internet. The first part of a URI is called the "scheme". the most well known scheme is http, but there are many others. Each URI scheme has its own format for how a URI should appear.Here are examples of URIs using the http, telnet, and news schemes: http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html telnet://well.sf.ca.us news:new.newusers.questions |
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| URL (Uniform Resource Locator) |
The term URL is basically synonymous with URI. URI has replaced URL in technical specifications. |
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| URN (Uniform Resource Name) |
A URI that is supposed to be available for along time. For an address to be a URN some institution is supposed to make a commitment to keep the resource available at that address. |
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| USENET |
A world-wide system of discussion groups, with comments passed among hundreds of thousands of machines. Not all USENET machines are on the Internet. USENET is completely decentralized, with over 10,000 discussion areas, called newsgroups. |
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| UUENCODE (Unix to Unix Encoding) |
A method for converting files from Binaryto ASCII (text) so that they can be sent across the Internet viae-mail. Veronica (Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives) |
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| Virus |
A harmful program which interrupts the normal functioning of your software or hardware, usually without the user being aware of it's pressence. |
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| VPN (Virtual Private Network) |
Usually refers to a network in which some of the parts are connected using the public Internet, but the data sent across the Internet is encrypted, so the entire network is "virtually" private. |
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| WAIS (Wide Area Information Servers) |
A commercial software package that allows the indexing of huge quantities of information, and then making those indices searchable across networks such as the Internet. A prominent feature of WAIS is that the search results are ranked (scored) accordingto how relevant the hits are, and that subsequent searches can find more stuff like that last batch and thus refine the search process. |
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| WAN (Wide Area Network) |
Any internet or network that covers an area larger than a single building or campus. |
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| Web Page |
A computer document written in HTML and linked to other computer documents by hyperlinks. |
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| Web Site |
A collection of web pages set up by an organisation or an individual, which are usually stored on the same server. |
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| Webmaster |
A person who creates or maintains a web site. |
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| WWW (World Wide Web) |
Frequently used (incorrectly) when referring to "The Internet", WWW has two major meanings - First, loosely used: the whole constellation of resources that can be accessed using Gopher, FTP, HTTP,telnet, USENET, WAIS and some other tools. Second, the universe of hypertext servers (HTTP servers) which are the servers that allow text, graphics, sound files, etc. to be mixed together. |
