Okay, you've got here, you think a web page is a great idea for
your business but you don't know exactly what IPP (for example) stands
for.... Check out our massive glossary of Internet related terms to know
everything about the Net.
Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump
to appropriate section of the glossary.
If the term you are looking for starts with a digit or symbol, choose the '#' link.
- ActiveX
ActiveX is a model for writing programs. ActiveX technology is used
to make interactive web pages that look and behave like computer programs, rather than
static pages. With ActiveX, users can ask or answer questions, use push buttons, and
interact in other ways with the web page.
- Applet
A small Java program that can be embedded in an HTML
page. Applets differ from full-fledged Java applications in that they are not allowed to
access certain resources on the local computer, such as files and serial devices (modems,
printers, etc.), and are prohibited from communicating with most other computers across a
network.
- ASCII
Used in FTP and the WWW, this is usually any kind of file that you
can read (like a text file). HTML files are ASCII files.
- Applet
A small Java program that can be embedded in an HTML
page. Applets differ from full-fledged Java applications in that they are not allowed to
access certain resources on the local computer, such as files and serial devices (modems,
printers, etc.), and are prohibited from communicating with most other computers across a
network.
- Backgrounds
The bottom-most layer on a web page, usually with either a design
or color that highlights the above copy. A small graphic can be tiled to create a
background texture for a web page.
- Bandwidth
The amount of data that can pass through a connection. When hosting
a site, this usually refers to how much has been downloaded from your site. Number
of hits is irrelevant, so the smaller the web pages, the less bandwidth used. Also,
the smaller the page, the faster it shows up in someone's browser.
- Binary
Used in FTP and the WWW, this is usually any kind of file that is
unreadable as text. Graphic images, sound files, etc. If you try to view these files
in a text viewer such as Notepad, you cannot read it.
- Browser
Short for Web Browser; it's the tool (program) that allows you to surf the web. The most popular Web Browsers right now are Netscape
Navigator and Internet Explorer.
- CGI
(Common Gateway Interface) -- A set of rules that describe how a Web
Server communicates with another piece of software on the same machine.
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-bin
The most common name of a directory on a web server in which CGI
programs are stored.
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.
Depending on the type of Cookie used, and the Browser’s settings, the Browser may
accept or not accept the Cookie, and may save the Cookie for either a short time or a long
time.
Cookies might contain information such as login or registration information, online
“shopping cart” information, user preferences, etc.
When a Server receives a request from a Browser that includes a Cookie, the Server is able
to use the information stored in the Cookie. For example, the Server might customize what
is sent back to the user, or keep a log of particular user’s requests.
Cookies are usually set to expire after a predetermined amount of time and are usually
saved in memory until the Browser software is closed down, at which time they may be saved
to disk if their “expire time” has not been reached.
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.
Domain Name
The unique name that identifies an Internet site. All Internet
addresses are actually numbers (IP address numbers).
Using phone numbers as an example, it is easier to push one button
on a pre-programmed phone to dial your distant cousin Mary, than it is to remember her
number and dial it. The Internet uses Domain Names to point to the IP address.
Most domains end with .com, there are several other endings, these
being the most popular:
.com - commercial
.net - network, internet related
.org - organization
Domain Names must be registered with InterNIC (the current agency
handling Domain registation) in order to be valid and usable on the Internet. You
cannot have a Domain Name without having a server to point it to. If you want to
register a name, but don't need a web site yet, you can keep you domain on our servers
till you are ready to use it.
See Also: IP Number
Download
The transfer of information from the Internet to your computer.
Every time you instruct your computer system to retrieve your mail, you are downloading
your mail to your computer. You may also download programs to your computer. However, be
careful about downloading files or programs from a site in which you
are not familiar. You could download a virus and never know it until
it's too late.
You are also downloading when you are viewing pages on the Internet. That's why it may
take a while for some pages to show up on your screen if the page is big or has a lot of
graphics. The computer has to download all of the information first.
- E-mail
Electronic-mail. This tool is usually provided by your ISP. It allows you to send and receive mail (messages) over the Internet.
E-mail Alias
Aliasing allows you to have multiple e-mail addresses sent to a
specific POP e-mail account.
Example: You can have one POP account that receives mail for 'webmaster@yourdomain.com',
'sales@yourdomain.com' and 'info@yourdomain.com'. This way you
only have to check one mailbox.
E-mail Forward
Forwarding allows you to have e-mail forwarded from a specific
address or POP account to another POP account. The difference between Alias
and Forward is that aliasing is an addressing technique that points to
an email account, while forwarding is usually forwarding mail from one account to another.
- FAQ
An acronym for Frequently Asked Questions. FAQ usually serves
as a mini-help file. (can be pronounced as 'facts')
Forms
HTML tags that define and label text-entry boxes, check boxes, and
radio buttons to create simple on-screen forms for collecting information from the viewer.
Freeware
Software distributed for free on the web. Unlike Shareware, Freeware is FREE.
FTP
An acronym for File Transfer Protocol. It's the tool you would use
to transfer files through the Internet from one computer to another. For example, you
would use an FTP program to upload your web page from where you
built it (like your computer at home) to your web site.
- GIF
Pronounced 'jiff' with a soft g, Stands for graphics interchange
format. GIF images are the most widely used graphic format on the Internet. GIF images
display up to 256 colors.
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; thus
in order for a web browser to display a page that contains 3 graphics, 4 “hits”
would occur at the server: 1 for the HTML page, and one for each of the 3 graphics.
“hits” are often used as a very rough measure of load on a server, e.g.
“Our server has been getting 300,000 hits per month.” Because each
“hit” can represent anything from a request for a tiny document (or even a
request for a missing document), all the way to a request that requires some significant
extra processing (such as a complex search request), the actual load on a machine from 1
hit is almost impossible to define.
Home Page (or Homepage)
Refers to the main web page for a business, organization, person or
simply the main page out of a collection of web pages. Generally, when designing a
web site, the first page (homepage) should be titled 'index.html'.
Host
Any computer on a network that is a repository for services
available to other computers on the network.
HTML
Hyper-Text Mark-up Language. HTML is not really a programming
language, but a way to format text by placing marks around the text.
http
Hypertext Transfer Protocol. A protocol that tells computers how to
communicate with each other. You will notice most web page locations begin with
"http://"
ISP
An Internet Service Provider provides your connection to the
Internet, usually by modem and dialup lines.
Internet
This electronic network connects the hosts
together so that you may go from one web page to another efficiently.
InterNIC
The regulatory agency (in the U.S.) that handles the assignment and
database tracking of active/inactive/available domain names.
IP Number
(Internet Protocol Number) -- Sometimes called a dotted quad. A
unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots, e.g.
208.234.14.206
Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP number.
IPP
(Internet Presence Provider) Provides a presence on the Internet,
usually provides web hosting and e-mail services.
Java
A programming language that developers use to create applets,
small programs that are embedded in Web pages and that run when a user accesses the page
or clicks on a certain area. Java can be used for such simple applications as animation to
more complex applications such as a calculator or shopping carts.
JPEG
Stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. File format for
full-color and black-and-white graphic images. JPEG images allow for more colors than GIF
images and are usually smaller in size.
Keyword
A word you might use to search for a Web site. For example,
searching the Web for the keyword "Dictionary" or "Terms" might help
you find this site.
Link
A link will transport you from one Internet site to another with
just a click of your mouse. Links can be text or graphic and are recognizable once you
know what to look for. Text links usually will be underlined and often a different color
than the rest of the text on your screen. A graphic link, hmm, well, simply move your
mouse over the graphic - if it changes shape, it probably indicates that it's a link.
Location
An Internet address. While you are in your browser you will see a
section at the top of the page that is titled "location" or "address".
If you type in the address of someone's web page and hit enter,
your browser will take you to that page. However the address you type in the location bar
must be an exact match.
Meta-tag
Meta-tags are HTML tags that can be used to identify the creator of
a web page, what HTML specifications a web page follows, the keywords and description of
the page, etc. The most common use of a meta-tag in online marketing is the keyword and
description tags, which tell the search engines that index meta-tags what description to
use in their search query results.
Net
Short for Internet.
Netiquette
Accepted, proper behavior on the Internet. The term especially
applies to e-mail and newsgroup posts.
Newbie
Someone who is new to the web, a newsgroup or e-mail, or any other
application.
Newsgroups
Newsgroups are ongoing discussion groups among people on the
Internet who share a mutual interest.
Also called Usenet
Non-domain
Usually a sub-site on someone's domain, such as '
www.yourname.com/yourdirectory/ '.
- Online
Having access to the Internet.
- Plug-In
A software extension that provides added capabilities to the
browser, for purposes such as viewing, hearing, or saving specially formatted files. Most
plug-ins are available via the creator's web page for downloading.
- POP
Post Office Protocol - Post Office Protocol refers to the way
e-mail software such as Eudora, Outlook Express, and Netscape Mail get mail from a mail
server. When you obtain an account from an ISP, you almost always get a
POP account with it. Your POP mailbox is where your e-mail is stored until you use
your e-mail software to retrieve it.
- Propagation
The period after a Domain Name is registered or transferred when
the domain name is updated among all the nameservers found on the Internet around the
world. This period usually lasts 3-7 days and may result in visitors not being able to
visit the domain name until the period is over.
Quick Time Video
Quick Time Video is the Apple technology that allows video,
digitized sound and music, 3D, and virtual reality to be viewed on your web site. It's
available for Macintosh and Windows-based computers.
Real Media
Can be Audio or Video. Using the
RealPlayer (from www.real.com), users can see and hear
media on your web site.
Search Engine
A search engine is a program that searches documents (i.e. web
pages) for specified keywords and returns a list of documents. A search engine has two
parts, a spider and an indexer. The spider is the program that fetches the documents, and
the indexer reads the documents and creates an index based on the words or ideas contained
in each document. Popular Web search engines are Yahoo! and Infoseek.
Shareware
Software usually distributed for free on the web, where you get to
try the program before paying a nominal fee. Many times Shareware depends on the
honor system. If you like the program and use it, payment is required. It's
also the 'right' thing to do. This allows the developer to continue fine-tuning the
program.
Site
A place on the Internet. Every web page has
a location where it resides which is called it's site. And, every site has an address
usually beginning with "http://."
SMTP
(Simple Mail Transport Protocol) -- The main protocol used to send
electronic mail on the Internet.
Spam (or Spamming)
The Internet version of junk mail. Spamming is sending the
same message to a large number of people who didn’t ask for it, either using mailing
lists or newsgroups. The term probably comes from a famous Monty
Python skit which featured the word Spam repeated over and over. The term may also have
come from someone’s low opinion of the food product with the same name, which is
generally perceived as a generic content-free waste of resources.
This is an act not tolerated by the Internet community. It puts unnecessary loads on
systems, using up valuable bandwidth, and once you start getting 30-40 emails a day in
your mailbox from junk mailers, you too will understand.
Spider/Robot
A software program that search engines use which visit every site
on the web, following all of the links and cataloguing all of the text of every web page.
SSL
(Secure Sockets Layer) -- SSL is used mostly (but not exclusively)
in communications between web browsers and web servers. URL’s
that begin with “https” indicate that an SSL connection will be used.
SSL provides 3 important things: Privacy, Authentication, and Message Integrity.
In an SSL connection each side of the connection must have a Security Certificate,
which each side’s software sends to the other. Each side then encrypts what it sends
using information from both its own and the other side’s Certificate, ensuring that
only the intended recipient can de-crypt it, and that the other side can be sure the data
came from the place it claims to have come from, and that the message has not been
tampered with.
Surfing
The process of "looking around" the Internet.
-
URL
An acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. It's the address of each
web site. It usually begins with "http://"
Upload
The process of transferring information from your computer to
another computer through the Internet. Every time you send e-mail to someone you are
uploading it. You would also upload files to your web site so that others can view them.
Usenet
A collection of so-called news groups that have nothing to do with
news. Usenets are ongoing discussion groups among people on the Internet who share a
mutual interest.
Virtual Host
A Virtual Host is similar to a Virtual Server, except you domain is
pointing to a directory on a Web Server - sharing an IP address with that server.
This is the most popular option for those wanting an easy to use web site.
Virtual Server
A Virtual Server is a server with a dedicated IP address. With it,
you usually have full access to all your configuration files.
Virus
Usually a very small program that can wipe out information on your
computer and create major havoc. Viruses usually originate from malicious people. You can
unintentionally download a virus from a web site or get it from a disk that someone has
given you. There are virus-checking programs, but there are new viruses popping up every
day, so the best defense against a virus is to be very careful not to download programs or
data from a site you're not familiar with.
Web
Short for the World Wide Web.
Web Browser
The tool (program) that allows you to surf
the web. You probably used your Web Browser to locate this page. The most popular Web
Browsers right now are Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer.
Web Page
A web page is an electronic page formatted in HTML
that can contain text, graphic images, and multimedia effects such as sound files, video
and/or animation files, and other programming elements such as Java and JavaScript.
Web Site
A 'place' on the web. A site can hold a collection of Web pages, or
just one.
All trademarks or product names mentioned herein are the property of their respective
owners.
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