Glossary   A    B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T  U   V   W   X  Y   Z   This glossary of Internet acronyms, words, and phrases was created to help both new and established web surfers navigate their way through the Internet's particular jargon and terms. A   ADSL   See: DSL.   AltaVista One of the Web’s leading search engines and a major portal site known for its particularly wide search breadth and increasing emphasis on locally-tailored talent.   Applet A small Java program that can be embedded in an HTML page.   [ Return to Top ]   B   Bandwidth The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time.   Binary A number system that has just two unique digits; computers are based on the binary numbering system, which consists of just two unique numbers, 0 and 1.   Box A piece of hardware, e.g. a server or a computer.   Brick and Mortar Refers to companies doing business in the "real world"; as opposed to online; businesses operating stores that customers physically visit.   Browser Web browser; a software application used to locate and display Web pages.   Byte Binary term; a unit of storage capable of holding a single character.   [ Return to Top ]   C   Cache A special high-speed storage mechanism; can be either a reserved section of main memory or an independent high-speed storage device.   Cage The metal cage surrounding a company’s machines within a larger machine room housing machines from different companies; used when a company rents space in a data center.   CGI Common Gateway Interface; a common industry term used to refer to the protocol for running a program under a Web server that generates a dynamic page view.   Cookie A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file called cookie.txt. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.   [ Return to Top ]   D   DSL Digital Subscriber Line; refers to a method for moving data over regular phone lines.   DMZ Demilitarized zone; refers to servers outside the firewall.   [ Return to Top ]   E   E-commerce The process of buying goods directly through the Internet.   E-mail Messages, usually text, sent from one person to another through the computer.   ERP Enterprise Resource Planning.   EYP Electronic Yellow Pages.   [ Return to Top ]   F   Firewall A dedicated computer that runs special software that physically and logically separates the different sub-nets (security zones), limiting traffic to each network by source (friendly or foe) and type (network protocols such as HTTP, FTP, mail, etc).   FTP File Transfer Protocol; a common method of moving (downloading/uploading) files between two Internet sites.   [ Return to Top ]   G   GIF Graphic Interchange Format; A common format for image files.   Gigabyte 1000 or 1024 Megabytes, depending on who is measuring.   [ Return to Top ]   H   HTML Hyper Text Markup Language; The coding language used to create Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web.   HTTP HyperText Transfer Protocol; the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web defining how messages are formatted and transmitted.   [ Return to Top ]   I   Internet The vast collection of inter-connected networks that all use the TCP/IP protocols.   Intranet A private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software as the Internet, but that is only for internal use.   ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network; A way to move more data over existing regular phone lines.   ISP An institution that provides access to the Internet in some form, usually for profit.   [ Return to Top ]   J   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 your computer through the Internet and immediately run without fear of viruses.   JavaScript JavaScripting is a programming language that is mostly used in web pages, usually to add features that make the web page more interactive.   JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group; JPEG is most commonly mentioned as a format for image files.   [ Return to Top ]   K   KB Kilobyte; when used to describe data storage, KB usually represents 1,024 bytes. When used to describe data transfer rates, KB represents 1,000 bytes.   [ Return to Top ]   L   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.   [ Return to Top ]   M   Megabyte A million bytes. Technically, 1024 kilobytes.   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.   [ Return to Top ]   N   Network A group of two or more computer systems linked together.   NOC Network Operations Center; another term for a data center.   [ Return to Top ]   O   OS Operating System; the most important program that runs on a computer.   [ Return to Top ]   P   PDA Personal digital assistant; a handheld device that combines computing, telephone/fax, and networking features.   Pixel "Picture Element"; a single point in a graphic image.   Portal A Web site or service that offers a broad array of resources and services.   Protocol An agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices.   [ Return to Top ]   Q   QCIF Quarter Common Intermediate Format; a videoconferencing format.   [ Return to Top ]   R   Real World The physical world; everything but the Internet.   ROI Return on investment; the value that something adds to something else.   ROW Rest of World.   [ Return to Top ]   S   Server A computer or device on a network that manages network resources.   Socket In UNIX and some other operating systems, a software object that connects an application to a network protocol.   Spam Unsolicited and often bothersome general e-mail sent in a "mass mailing" to a large group of people.   SSH Secure Shell; widely used Unix software that provides a secure protocol for connecting to a host.   Sub-Nets Parts of the network that have been divided up in order to assign different security levels or access at the firewall.   [ Return to Top ]   T   Telephony The science of translating sound into electrical signals, transmitting them, and then converting them back to sound; the science of telephones.   TLA Three-letter acronym.   ROW Rest of World.   [ Return to Top ]   U   URL Uniform Resource Locator; the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web.   [ Return to Top ]   V   vCard An electronic business or personal card that can be viewed, saved in an address book, or processed by some other application program.   [ Return to Top ]   W   WSD Web Server Director; hardware running proprietary load-balancing software, one primary and one backup in each data center.   [ Return to Top ]   X       [ Return to Top ]   Y       [ Return to Top ]   Z   Z-buffering An algorithm used in 3-D graphics to determine which objects, or parts of objects, are visible and which are hidden behind other objects.   [ Return to Top ]

  Copyright © 2002 Konocti Net. All Rights Reserved.