A computer network consisting of a collection of internet sites that offer text and graphics and sound and animation resources through the hypertext.
HTML
Stands for Hyper Text Markup Language, is the predominant markup language for web pages. It provides a means to create structured documents by denoting structural semantics for text such as headings, paragraphs, lists etc as well as for links, quotes, and other items.
Hypertext
Text displayed on a computer or other electronic device with references (hyperlinks) to other text that the reader can immediately access, usually by a mouse click or keypress sequence.
Multimedia
Multimedia is usually recorded and played, displayed or accessed by information content processing devices, such as computerized and electronic devices, but can also be part of a live performance.
Domain Name System (DNS)
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participants. Most importantly, it translates domain names meaningful to humans into the numerical (binary) identifiers associated with networking equipment for the purpose of locating and addressing these devices worldwide. An often used analogy to explain the Domain Name System is that it serves as the "phone book" for the Internet by translating human-friendly computer hostnames into IP addresses. For example, www.example.com translates to 208.77.188.166.
Internet Access Provider
An Internet service provider (ISP), also sometimes referred to as an Internet access provider (IAP), is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using a data transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem, wireless or dedicated high-speed interconnects.
Dumb Terminal
The term dumb terminal sometimes also refers to public computer terminals that are limited to monochrome text-only capabilities, or to terminals that transmit each character as it is typed rather than waiting until it is polled by a host computer.
Wireless Network
Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is wireless, and is commonly associated with a telecommunications network whose interconnections between nodes is implemented without the use of wires. Wireless telecommunications networks are generally implemented with some type of remote information transmission system that uses electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves, for the carrier and this implementation usually takes place at the physical level or "layer" of the network.
Modem
A device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data. Modems can be used over any means of transmitting analog signals, from driven diodes to radio.
FTP
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to exchange and manipulate files over a TCP/IP based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server applications.
NFS
(Network File System) The file sharing protocol in a Unix network. This de facto Unix standard, which is widely known as a "distributed file system," was developed by Sun. The name is somewhat misleading because NFS is not a disk file system that reads and writes the disk sectors, but enables the operating system to view files on computers in the network as if they were local.
Gopher
A protocol for searching file names and resources on the Internet that presents hierarchical menus to the user. As users select options, they are moved to different Gopher servers. Where links have been established, Usenet news and other information can be read directly from Gopher.
Browser
A program that lets you look through a collection of data.
E-mail
(Electronic-MAIL) The transmission of text messages from sender to recipient. E-mail messages can also be formatted with graphics like a brochure or Web page, an enhancement that many users like, but that creates more spam and a security risk
Applet
A small application, such as a utility program or limited-function spreadsheet or word processor. Java programs that are run from the browser are always known as applets
ASCII
(American Standard Code for Information Interchange) Pronounced "ask-ee," it is the built-in binary code for representing characters in all computers except IBM mainframes, which use the EBCDIC coding system. ASCII was originally developed for communications and uses only seven bits per character, providing 128 combinations that include upper and lower case alphabetic letters, the numeric digits and special symbols such as the $ and %. The first 32 characters are set aside for communications and printer control
Binary
The principle behind digital computers. All input to the computer is converted into binary numbers made up of the two digits 0 and 1 (bits)
Bit
(BInary digiT) The smallest element of computer storage. It is a single digit in a binary number (0 or The bit is physically a transistor or capacitor in a memory cell, a magnetic domain on disk or tape, a reflective spot on optical media or a high or low voltage pulsing through a circuit.
Byte
byte
(BinarY TablE) The common unit of computer storage from desktop computer to mainframe. It is made up of eight binary digits (bits). A ninth bit may be used in the memory circuits as a parity bit for error checking. The term was originally coined to mean the smallest addressable group of bits in a computer, which has not always been eight.
Client
A user's computer, which is generally a Windows, Mac or Linux desktop or laptop.
Cookie
A small amount of data sent back to the requesting party by the recipient. Also called a "magic cookie," it provides information about the transaction, such as an ID or session number, which may be required later either by the recipient or a third party. This is the same concept as definition #2 below, but not specific to the Web.
Cyberspace
Coined by William Gibson in his 1984 novel "Neuromancer," it is a futuristic computer network that people use by plugging their minds into it! The term now refers to the Internet or to the online or digital world in general.
DNS
DNS
(Domain Name System) A system for converting host names and domain names into IP addresses on the Internet or on local networks that use the TCP/IP protocol. For example, when a Web site address is given to the DNS either by typing a URL in a browser or behind the scenes from one application to another, DNS servers return the IP address of the server associated with that name.
Domain Name
The term may refer to any type of domain within the computer field, since there are several types of domains (see domain). However, today, it often refers to the address of an Internet site.
Download
To transmit a file over a network. In a communications session, "download" and "upload" imply a big/little scenario, in which data are being downloaded from the "big" server into the user's "little" computer. Uploading sends data from the little computer to the big computer.
DSL Fire Wall
The primary method for keeping a computer secure from intruders. A firewall allows or blocks traffic into and out of a private network or the user's computer.
Flame
To communicate emotionally via e-mail. Just as people might differ about what is polite behavior and what is not, whether an e-mail message is flaming is also in the eye of the beholder. Vulgar cursing would definitely be flaming, however.
GIF
(Graphics Interchange Format) A popular bitmapped graphics file format developed by CompuServe. Pronounced "giff" with a hard "g" by most Mac users and "jiff" by PC users, GIFs are widely used on the Web because the format uses its own form of compression.
Gigabyte
One billion bytes. Also GB, Gbyte and G-byte
Hit
A successful match
Homepage
The first page retrieved when accessing a Web site or the first screen displayed when a PDA or smartphone is started. It provides the main menu and starting point for the rest of the content on the site or device.
Intranet
An inhouse Web site on the company's local area network (LAN) that serves employees only, and almost every medium to large company has an intranet. Although intranet pages may have links to Web sites on the Internet, the intranet is not exposed to, or is accessed by, the general public. It provides a standard way to publish company policy, news, schedules, medical and insurance forms and training manuals. The intranet is also a venue for publishing blogs, wikis and social activities such as sports and exercise schedules.
Internet
The global network of networks composed of hundreds of millions of computers in more than 100 countries. Originally developed for the U.S. military, it became widely used for academic and commercial research, with access to unpublished data and journals on many subjects.
Java
An object-oriented programming language that is platform independent. Developed by Sun, Java is widely used on the Web for both client and server processing. Modeled after C++ and designed to run in limited memory, Java added programming enhancements such as "garbage collection," which automatically frees unused memory.
LAN
(Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. The "servers" hold programs and data that are shared by the clients. Servers come in a wide range of sizes from Intel-based servers to mainframes. Printers can also be connected to the network and shared.
Listserv
Mailing list management software from L-Soft international, Inc., Landover, MD (www.lsoft.com) that runs on Windows, Mac, OpenVMS, VM (mainframe) and various Unix machines. LISTSERV scans e-mail messages for the words "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" to automatically update the list. Virus protection is also provided. The LISTSERV program originated in France in 1986 by engineering student Eric Thomas, who went on to found the L-Soft company in 1994.
Login
Signing in and gaining access to a network server, Web server or other computer system.
Megabyte
One million bytes, or more precisely 1,048,576.
Network
A system that transmits any combination of voice, video and/or data between users. The network includes the network operating system in the client and server machines, the cables connecting them and all supporting hardware in between such as bridges, routers and switches. In wireless systems, antennas and towers are also part of the network.
Password
A secret word or code used to serve as a security measure against unauthorized access to data.
Plugin
Software that is installed as an add-on to an application in order to enhance its capability.
Protocol
The format and procedure that governs the transmitting and receiving of data. The term comes from the Greek "protokollon," which was the cover page to a manuscript that provided a description of the contents.
Search Engine
Software that searches for data based on some criteria. Although search engines have been around for decades, they were brought to the forefront after the Web exploded onto the scene.
Spam
E-mail that is not requested. Also known as "unsolicited commercial e-mail" (UCE), "unsolicited bulk e-mail" (UBE), "gray mail" and just plain "junk mail," the term is both a noun (the e-mail message) and a verb (to send it). Spam is mostly used to advertise products and sometimes to broadcast some political or social commentary.
Trojan Horse
Destructive computer program: a computer program containing a hidden function that causes damage to other programs while appearing to perform a valid function.
Load
To copy a program from some source, such as the hard disk or CD-ROM, into memory for execution. In the early days, programs were loaded first and then run. Today, when referring to applications, loading implies load and run. Thus, "load" the program, "run" the program and "launch" the program mean the same thing.
Virus
Software used to infect a computer. After the virus code is written, it is buried within an existing program. Once that program is executed, the virus code is activated and attaches copies of itself to other programs in the system. Infected programs copy the virus to other programs.
Website
A presence on the World Wide Web. To qualify as a bona fide Web site, it must be available on the Internet around the clock. A Web site is a collection of Web pages, which are documents coded in HTML that are linked to each other and very often to pages on other Web sites. A Web site is run (hosted) on a Web server by the site's owner or by a third-party Internet service provider.
Worm
A destructive program that replicates itself throughout a single computer or across a network, both wired and wireless. It can do damage by sheer reproduction, consuming internal disk and memory resources within a single computer or by exhausting network bandwidth. It can also deposit a Trojan that turns a computer into a zombie for spam and other malicious purposes. Very often, the terms "worm" and "virus" are used synonymously; however, worm implies an automatic method for reproducing itself in other computers.
