WWW/Internet Glossary
Apache
Famous web server software
ASP
(Active Server Pages)
A means of delivering
dynamically-written web pages to web browsers on demand,
according to a wide range of possible variables, such as
user interaction from forms, the contents of a database,
the type of browser used, etc. A Microsoft product, ASP
works closely with VBScript, which does not work
currently on Netscape. The equivalent Netscape products
are JavaScript and LiveConnect.
Authoring Package
A type of layout or desktop-publishing package that
permits the design of web pages without requiring
knowledge of HTML. Examples include Microsoft FrontPage,
HotMetal, HotDog, VisualStudio, Macromedia Dreamweaver,
Adobe's GoLive, etc.
Backbone
A high-speed line or series of connections that forms
a major pathway within a network. The term is relative
as a backbone in a small network will likely be much
smaller than many non-backbone lines in a large network.
Bandwidth
How much data 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 15,000 bits in one second. Full-motion full-screen
video would require roughly 10,000,000 bits-per-second,
depending on compression.
Baud Rate
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). Modems are
usually classed as running at 33.6K or 56K - this
relates to the speed of data transfer in
bits-per-second.
Bit
(Binary DigIT)
A single digit number in base-2, in
other words, either a 1 or a zero. The smallest unit of
computerized data. Bandwidth is usually measured in
bits-per-second.
Bps
(Bits-Per-Second)
A measurement of how fast data
is moved from one place to another. A 28.8 modem can
move 28,800 bits per second.
Browser
A Client program (software) that is used to look at
various kinds of Internet resources.The best known
browsers (often called 'web browsers') are Microsoft
Internet Explorer and Netscape. Both companies are
currently shipping version 6 of their browsers and are
probably working on version 7. The choice of browser is largely
personal, although many people stay with the browser
supplied by their ISP (Internet Service Provider),
unaware that they have a choice. Each browser varies
slightly in the abilities it has, the way it displays
web pages, and the range of additional programs (plugins)
it can run. Both major browsers are free of charge and
can be downloaded from the manufacturer's web site, or
obtained by using the CD's on the front of Internet and
PC magazine covers. Caution: the latest browser versions
require large
amounts of RAM and disk space to run well.
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. Usually a CGI program is a small program
that takes data from a web server and does something
with it, like putting the content of a form into an
e-mail message, or turning the data into a database
query. You can often see that a CGI program is being
used by seeing "cgi-bin" in a URL, but not
always. CGI programs are usually written in Perl, Java,
Visual Basic, or Visual C++.
Client
A software program that is used to contact and obtain
data from a Server software program on another computer,
often across a great distance. Each Client program is
designed to work with one or more specific kinds of
Server programs, and each Server requires a specific
kind of Client. A Web Browser is a specific kind of
Client that works with Web Servers.
Client/Server
A computer network that uses servers to supply files
on request and client machines and software to use them.
The Web and the Internet are very large distributed
Client/Server networks.
Cookie
The most common meaning of "Cookie" on the
Internet refers to a piece of information sent by a Web
Server to a Web Browser that the Browser software is
expected to save and to send back to the Server whenever
the browser makes additional requests from the Server.
Cookies might contain information such as login or
registration information, online "shopping
cart" information, user preferences, etc. They are
used by programs like JavaScript and Active Server Pages
(ASP) to manage dynamic web interactions. Cookies do not
read your hard drive and send your life story to the
CIA, but they can be used to gather more information
about a user than would be possible without them.
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.
DNS
(Domain Name Service)
A global distributed network of
servers that look up the IP numbers of particular
Internet addresses from their Domain Names. Every web
address has to have a DNS server that knows where that
address is, so that requests for web pages can be sent
to the correct place.
Domain Name
The unique name that identifies an Internet site.
Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by
dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the
part on the right is the most general. A given machine
may have more than one Domain Name but a given Domain
Name points to only one machine.
Eudora
A popular Internet email package produced by Qualcomm;
Eudora Pro has a complex system of filtering mail which
allows commercial users of email to send standardised
replies, allocate email to different people and handle
multiple addresses.
Email
A system of sending electronic messages between
users. Office email networks include Microsoft Exchange
and Lotus CC:Mail; these generally run within a certain
site or organisation. Internet Email runs to a set of
rules which can be understood by any package that
follows them; well known Internet email packages include
Microsoft Mail, Netscape Mail, Eudora and Pegasus.
Extranet
A network linking together a group of suppliers, user
communities, etc, for the purposes of exchanging data
using Internet tools (web browsers, servers, etc) in a
structured way, such as online ordering systems. A sort
of Intranet shared between many sites and organisations.
Fire Wall
A combination of hardware and software that separates
a LAN into two or more parts for security purposes, or
partially isolates an office network from the
Internet.
FrontPage
A Microsoft web authoring package that is currently
on Version 2002. Allows viewing of web site links and
creation of web pages without having to know HTML.
FTP
(File Transfer Protocol)
A very common method of
moving files between two Internet sites. FTP is a
special way to login to another Internet site for the
purposes of retrieving and/or sending files. There are
many Internet sites that have established publicly
accessible repositories of material that can be obtained
using FTP, by logging in using the account name
anonymous, thus these sites are called anonymous ftp
servers. Web browsers are normally able to do FTP, but
people often use a separate FTP tool such as WS_Ftp to
do FTP transactions.
GIF
(Graphic Interchange Format)
A common format for
image files, especially suitable for images containing
large areas of the same color. GIF format files of
simple images are often smaller than the same file would
be if stored in JPEG format, but GIF format does not
store photographic images as well as JPEG.
Gigabyte
(or GB or gig or giga)
1000 or 1024 Megabytes, depending on
who is measuring.
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,
additionally, in HTML you can specify that a block of
text, or a word, is linked to another file on the
Internet. HTML files are meant to be viewed using a
World Wide Web browser, such as Netscape or Internet
Explorer.
HTML Editor
A package that allows high-speed HTML editing and
composing for people who are familiar with HTML, as well
as access to tools for advanced web programming
languages such as ASP and JavaScript. Examples include
Homesite and VisualInterDev.
HTTP
(HyperText Transport Protocol)
The protocol for
moving hypertext files 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).
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.InternetStrictly speaking,
any network that uses IP (Internet Protocol). In
practise, The Internet is the global inter-network of
servers, routers and user communities who share
information and services using the same protocols, such
as http, POP, FTP, IRC and many others.
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. As the Internet has become more popular many of the
tools used on the Internet are being used in private
networks, for example, many companies have web servers
that are available only to employees. Any restricted
group of web pages (for example, using passwords) can
also be regarded as an Intranet.
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 on the Internet has a unique IP number
- if a machine does not have an IP number, it is not
really on the Internet. Most machines also have one or
more Domain Names that are easier for people to
remember. The DNS service converts the names into
numbers.
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 data over existing regular phone lines.
ISDN is rapidly becoming 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
56,000 or 64,000 bits-per-second. ISDN is more expensive
to use than normal phone services and can often be
configured to do more than just handle an Internet
connection.
Unfortunately not (yet) available in Fiji
- but rumors have it that it will be introduced by end
of 2002.
ISP
(Internet Service Provider)
An institution that
provides access to the Internet in some form, usually
for money. ISP's come in 2 main types - standard ISP's
who charge a fixed monthly fee and allow unlimited
access and Online Service Providers (OSP's) who have a
variable pricing model based on access time and offer
additional online services unconnected to the Internet.
Examples of OSP's include Compuserve, AOL and MSN. In
Fiji, there is currently only one ISP: Connect.
Overseas, most
ISP's now offer Dial-up access as well as ISDN, Leased
Line and other services.
Java
Java is a network-oriented programming language
invented by Sun Microsystems that is specifically
designed for writing programs that can be safely
downloaded to any 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, which can slow pages down.
JavaScript
A programming language for the web that allows the
use of dynamic content display in web pages, for
example, when a user moves a mouse over a certain point
on a web page, or when forms are filled in. JavaScript
works on both leading web browsers and is therefore
popular with programmers. Despite the name, it is not
closely related to Java - this was marketing hype by
Netscape, who created it.
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.
Keywords
The words or phrases used in a Web Page that will be
noticed and indexed by Search Engines, and guide people
to your web site when they type in those words or
phrases at the Search Engine. A great deal of thought
and time is spent on trying to make a web site stand out
on the Search Engine response page with the clever use
of combinations of keywords and Meta-Tags.
Kilobyte
(or k or kb or kilo)
A thousand bytes. Actually, usually 1024 (210) 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 a phone line 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 and this type of Internet
connection is also used to run a web server.
Megabyte
(or MB or Meg or Mega)
A million bytes. Actually,
technically, 1024 kilobytes.
Meta-Tags
Elements in a Web Page that allow Keywords or phrases
to be hidden in the page and ignore by Browsers, but
noticed and indexed by Search Engines.
Microsoft
The world's largest software producer and the company
that created DOS and Windows. Based in Seattle,
Washington, USA and headed by Bill Gates.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
The Microsoft web browser, currently on version 6,
and fiercely competing with Netscape (sorry, that was
the case until version 4, now IE has more than 80% of
the browser market share). Explorer is somewhat
different from Netscape, offering the use of VBScript (a
version of Visual Basic - works closely with ASP)and
Active-X (a sort of slimline Java Applet method). These
features mean that Explorer is often used on Intranets
where the Intranet manager can determine which browser
will be used and can then deliver ASP applications from
an NT server.
Modem
(MOdulator, DEModulator)
A device that you connect
to your computer and to a phone line, that allows the
computer to talk to other computers through the phone
system. Basically, modems do for computers what a
telephone does for humans.
Netscape
The leading web-rival to Microsoft. Founded and
headed by Marc Andreeson. Offers Netscape 6.2.1 as it's current main browser and many server
products. Led the field in commercial web browsing and
servers for some years, but now closely rivaled by
Microsoft Explorer and server products.
Newsgroup
The name for discussion groups on USENET, also known
as News. There are many thousands of newsgroups, such as
alt.gardening.flowers or rec.arts.books.tolkien and
millions of people participate in them. Some newsgroups
are local or based on a particular organisation, others
are national or global. Many are awash with Spam and can
be almost unusable as a result. The search tool Dejanews
(http://www.dejanews.com) is an easy way to get to know
the service.
Plug-in
A (usually small) piece of software
that adds features to a larger piece of software. Common
examples are plug-ins for the Netscape® browser and web
server. Adobe Photoshop® also uses plug-ins. Plug-ins
enhance the functionality of the main package.
POP
(1)
Point of Presence. A Point of Presence usually means a
city or location where a network can be connected to,
often with dial up phone lines.
(2) Post Office Protocol.
The major Internet protocol by which e-mail software
such as Eudora gets mail from a mail server. When you
obtain a SLIP, PPP, or shell account 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.
Router
A special-purpose computer (or software
package) that handles the connection between 2 or more
networks. Routers spend all their time looking at the
destination addresses of the packets passing through
them and deciding which route to send them on.
Search Engine
A web site that accumulates details of the
contents of Web Pages in an index and then allows the
searching of that index by Internet users with Keywords,
phrases and other methods. Well known examples like Google,
AltaVista, Yahoo and
HotBot are among the most heavily
visited sites on the Internet and attract large amounts
of on-site advertising revenue, which is how they are
financed.
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 could have several
different server software packages running on it, thus
providing many different servers to clients on the
network.
SMTP
(Simple Mail Transport Protocol)
The main
protocol used to send electronic mail on the Internet.
Spam (or Spamming)
An inappropriate attempt to use a
mailing list, or USENET or other networked
communications facility as if it was a broadcast medium
(which it is not) by sending the same message to a large
number of people who didn't ask for it. The term
probably comes from a famous Monty Python skit which
featured the word spam repeated over and over. Email
spam can be dealt with to some extent by using 'Spaminator'
tools and filters.
SSL
(Secure Sockets Layer)
A
protocol designed by Netscape Communications to enable
encrypted, authenticated communications across the
Internet. One of a number of competing Encryption
Methods for secure data transfer across the web.
TCP/IP
(Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
This is the suite
of protocols that defines the Internet. Originally
designed for the UNIX operating system, TCP/IP software
is now available for every major kind of computer
operating system.
UNIX
A computer operating system (the
basic software running on a computer, underneath things
like word processors and spreadsheets). Unix is one of
the longest-established operating systems for powerful
computers and is widely used in many different flavours
for Internet servers, often in conjunction with Apache.
URL
(Uniform Resource Locator)
The standard way
to give the address of any resource on the Internet that
is part of the World Wide Web (WWW). The most common way
to use a URL is to enter into a WWW browser program,
such as Netscape, or Internet Explorer.
USENET
See Newsgroup.
Web
See World Wide Web
Web Page
An HTML document,
of any length, usually part of a web site.
Web Site
A
collection of interlinked web pages on a particular
theme, usually under one Domain Name belonging to one
organisation or subject. Called a 'Web' in FrontPage.
WWW
(World Wide Web)
Two 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 allow text,
graphics, sound files, etc. to be requested from, and
delivered to, web browsers.