Choose the letter that your search term starts with, or scroll down and review all the terms.
{A}
{B}
{C}
{D}
{E}
{F}
{G}
{H}
{I}
{J}
{K}
{L}
{M}
{N}
{O}
{P}
{Q}
{R}
{S}
{T}
{U}
{V}
{W}
ADN
Advanced Digital Network - A 56Kbps leased line.
ADSL
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line - A method of moving data through regular
phone lines. An ADSL circuit is faster than a regular phone connection, and
the wires coming onto the subscribers premises are the same wires used for
regular phone service. An ADSL circuit must be configured to connect two
specific locations.
See Also:
ISDN
Anonymous FTP
See: FTP
Applet
A small program that can be embedded in an HTML page. Applets differ from
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. The current rule is that an applet can only make an Internet
connection to the computer from which the applet was sent.
See Also:
HTML ,
Java
Archie
A tool (software) for finding files stored on anonymous FTP sites. You need
to know the exact file name or a substring of it.
ARPANet
Advanced Research Projects Agency Network - The precursor to the Internet.
Developed in the late 60’s and early 70’s by the US DOD as an experiment in
wide area networking that would survive a nuclear war.
ASCII
American Standard Code for Information Interchange - This is the standard
for the code numbers used by computers to represent all the upper and
lower-case Latin letters, numbers, punctuation, etc. There are 128 standard
ASCII codes each of which can be represented by a 7 digit binary number:
0000000 through 1111111.
Backbone
A high-speed line or series of lines that form a major pathway within a
network. The term is relative to the system that it is on.
See Also:
Network
Bandwidth
The amount of information that can be sent 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.
See Also:
Bps ,
Bit
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).
See Also:
Bit,
Modem
Bit
Binary Digit - A single digit number in base-2, a bit can have the value of
either '1' or zero. The smallest unit of computerized data. Bandwidth is
usually measured in bits-per-second.
See Also:
Bandwidth ,
Bps ,
Byte ,
Kilobyte ,
Megabyte
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.
See Also:
Bandwidth ,
Bit
Browser
A program (software) that is used to look at various kinds of Internet
resources.
See Also:
Client ,
URL ,
WWW ,
Mosaic ,
Homepage
Byte
A set of bits that represent a single character. There are 8 bits in one
byte.
See Also: Bit
Certificate Authority
An issuer of Security Certificates used in SSL connections.
See Also: Security Certificate ,
SSL
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.
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.
See Also: Cgi-bin
Cgi-bin
The most common name of a directory on a web server in which CGI programs
are stored.
See Also: CGI
Client
A software program that is used to contact and obtain data from a Server
software program on another computer. 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 client.
See Also:
Browser ,
Server
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.
See Also:
Browser ,
Server
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. For example, the domain names:
mattcas.net
mail.mattcas.net
support.mattcas.net
can all refer to the same machine, but each domain name can refer to no
more than one machine.
See Also: IP Address
E-mail
Electronic Mail - Messages, sent from one person to another via computer.
E-mail can also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses
(Mailing List).
See Also:Maillist
Ethernet
A very common method of networking computers in a LAN. Ethernet will handle a
bout 10,000,000 bits-per-second and can be used with almost any kind of
computer.
See Also: Bandwidth ,
LAN
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Fire Wall
A combination of hardware and software that separates a LAN into two or more
parts for security purposes.
See Also: Network ,
LAN
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.
Gateway
The technical meaning is a hardware or software set-up that translates
between two dissimilar protocols, for example Prodigy has a gateway that
translates between its internal, proprietary e-mail format and Internet
e-mail format.
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.
See Also: JPEG
Gigabyte
1024 Megabytes.
See Also: Byte ,
Megabyte
Gopher
A widely successful method of making menus of material available over the
Internet. Gopher is a client and server style program, which requires 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.
See Also:
Client ,
Server ,
WWW ,
Hypertext
Hit
"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.
Homepage
Originally, the web page that your browser is set to use when it starts up.
The more common meaning refers to the main web page for a business,
organization, person or simply the main page out of a collection of web
pages.
See Also:
Browser
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 WWW and USENET.
See Also:
Node ,
Network
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 Client Program, such as
Internet Explorer or Netscape.
See Also:
Client ,
Server ,
WWW
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).
See Also:
Client ,
Server ,
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.
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. Most machines
also have one or more Domain Names that are easier for people to remember.
See Also:
Domain Name ,
TCP/IP
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.
ISP
Internet Service Provider - An institution that provides access to the
Internet in some form, usually for money.
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 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.
We can expect to see a huge variety of features added to the Web using Java,
since you can write a Java program to do almost anything a regular computer
program can do, and then include that Java program in a Web page.
See Also: Applet
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.
See Also:
GIF
Kilobyte
1024 bytes.
See Also:
Byte ,
Bit
LAN
Local Area Network - A computer network limited to the immediate area,
usually the same building or floor of a building.
See Also:
Ethernet
Maillist
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.
Megabyte
1024 kilobytes.
See Also:
Byte ,
Bit ,
Kilobyte
MIME
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions - The standard for attaching non-text
files to standard Internet mail messages. Non-text files include graphics,
spreadsheets, formatted word-processor documents, sound files, etc.
An email program is said to be MIME Compliant if it can both send and
receive files using the MIME standard.
When non-text files are sent using the MIME standard they are converted
(encoded) into text - although the resulting text is not really readable.
Generally speaking the MIME standard is a way of specifying both the type
of file being sent and the method that should be used to turn it back into
its original form.
See Also:
Browser ,
Client ,
Server
Mirror
Generally speaking, "to mirror" is to maintain an exact copy of something.
The most common use of the term on the Internet refers to "mirror sites"
which are web sites, or FTP sites that maintain exact copies of material
originated at another location, usually in order to provide more widespread
access to the resource.
Another common use of the term "mirror" refers to an arrangement where
information is written to more than one hard disk simultaneously, so that
if one disk fails, the computer keeps on working without losing anything.
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.
Mosaic
The first WWW browser that was available for the Macintosh, Windows, and
UNIX all with the same interface.
See Also:
Browser ,
Client ,
WWW
Netiquette
The etiquette 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.
Network
Any time you connect 2 or more computers together so that they can share
resources, you have a computer network. Connect 2 or more networks together
and you have an internet.
Newsgroup
The name for discussion groups on USENET.
See Also: USENET
NIC
(Networked Information Center) -- Generally, any office that handles
information for a network. The most famous of these on the Internet is the
InterNIC, which is where new domain names are registered.
Another definition: NIC also refers to Network Interface Card which plugs
into a computer and adapts the network interface to the appropriate standard.
ISA, PCI, and PCMCIA cards are all examples of NICs.
NNTP
Network News Transport Protocol - The protocol used by client and 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, Internet
Explorer, etc. to participate in newsgroups then you are benefiting from an
NNTP connection.
See Also:
Newsgroup ,
TCP/IP ,
USENET
Node
Any single computer connected to a network.
See Also: Network
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 to different routes by special machines along
the way. This way many people can use the same lines at the same time.
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 the way 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.
See Also:
SLIP ,
PPP
PPP
Point to Point Protocol - Most well known as a protocol that allows a
computer to use a regular telephone line and a modem to make TCP/IP
connections and thus be really and truly on the Internet.
See Also:
IP Number ,
SLIP ,
TCP/IP
PSTN
Public Switched Telephone Network - The regular telephone system.
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.
See Also:
Network ,
Packet Switching
Security Certificate
A chunk of information (often stored as a text file) that is used by the
SSL protocol to establish a secure connection.
Security Certificates contain information about who it belongs to, who it
was issued by, a unique serial number or other unique identification, valid
dates, and an encrypted "fingerprint" that can be used to verify the
contents of the certificate.
In order for an SSL connection to be created both sides must have a valid
Security Certificate.
See Also:
Certificate Authority ,
SSL
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.
See Also: Client ,
Network
SLIP
Serial Line Internet Protocol - A standard for using a regular telephone
line and a modem to connect a computer as a real Internet site. SLIP is
gradually being replaced by PPP.
See Also: PPP
SMTP
Simple Mail Transport Protocol - The main protocol used to send electronic
mail on the Internet.
SMTP consists of a set of rules for how a program sending mail and a program
receiving mail should interact.
Almost all Internet email is sent and received by clients and servers using
SMTP, thus if one wanted to set up an email server on the Internet one
would look for email server software that supports SMTP.
See Also: Client ,
Server
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 by
sending the same message to a large number of people who didn’t ask for it.
SQL
Structured Query Language -- A specialized programming 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 version of SQL implementing features unique to that application,
but all SQL-capable databases support a common subset of SQL.
SSL
Secure Sockets Layer - A protocol designed by Netscape Communications to
enable encrypted, authenticated communications across the Internet.
SSL 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.
See Also:
Browser ,
Server ,
Security Certificate ,
URL
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 is the fastest speed commonly used to connect networks
to the Internet.
See Also: Bandwidth ,
Bit ,
Byte ,
Ethernet ,
T-3
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-motion
video.
See Also: Bandwidth ,
Bit ,
Byte ,
Ethernet ,
T-1
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. To be truly on the Internet, your computer
must have TCP/IP software.
Telnet
The command and program used to login from one Internet site to another.
The telnet command/program gets you to the login: prompt of another host.
Terabyte
1024 gigabytes.
UNIX
A computer operating system (the basic software running on a computer).
UNIX is designed to be used by many people at the same time and has TCP/IP
built-in. It is the most common operating system for servers on the Internet.
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). A URL
looks like this: http://www.kodiakloghomes.com
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, maybe half. USENET is completely decentralized, with over
10,000 discussion areas, called newsgroups.
See Also: Newsgroup
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) according to
how relevant the hits are, and that subsequent searches can find more stuff
like that last batch and thus refine the search process.
WAN
Wide Area Network - Any internet or network that covers an area larger
than a single building or campus.
See Also:
LAN ,
Network
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.
See Also: Browser ,
FTP ,
Gopher ,
HTTP ,
Telnet ,
URL ,
WAIS