Glossary
of Internet Terms
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
Active X
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.
ADSL
Asynchronous Digital subscriber
line. It has different speeds for uploading and downloading information. (also see: DSL)
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. The current rule is that an applet can only make an
Internet connection to the computer from which the applet was sent.
(also see: HTML
, Java)
Archie
A tool (software) for finding
files stored on anonymous FTP sites. You need to know the exact file
name or a sub string 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 Department of Defense as an
experiment in wide-area-networking that would survive a nuclear war. [also
see: Internet]
ASCII (American Standard Code
Information Interchange)
This is the de facto world-wide 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
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 nonbackbone lines in large networks. [also
see: Network]
Bandwidth
How much stuff 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.
[also see: Bps
, Bit , T-1]
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).
[also see: Bit
, Modem]
BBS (Bulletin Board System)
A
computerized meeting and announcement system that allows people to carry on
discussions, upload and download files, and make announcements without the
people being connected to the computer at the same time. There are many
thousands (millions?) of BBS’s around the world, most are very small,
running on a single IBM clone PC with 1 or 2 phone lines. Some are very
large and the line between a BBS and a system like CompuServe gets crossed
at some point, but it is not clearly drawn.
Binhex
(BINary HEXadecimal)
A method
for converting non-text files (non-ASCII) into ASCII. This is needed
because Internet e-mail can only handle ASCII. [also
see: ASCII
, MIME , UUENCODE]
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. [also
see: 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. [also
see: Bandwidth
, Bit]
Browser
A Client program
(software) that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources.
[also see: Client, URL, WWW, Netscape, Mosaic,
Homepage]
BTW
(By The Way)
A shorthand
appended to a comment written in an online forum.
[also see: IMHO]
Byte
A set of Bits that represent a
single character. Usually there are 8 Bits in a Byte, sometimes more,
depending on how the measurement is being made. [also
see:Bit]
Certificate
Authority
An issuer of Security
Certificates used in SSL connections.
[also see: 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.
You can often see that a CGI program is being used by seeing “cgi-bin”
in a URL, but not always. [also see: Web]
cgi-bin
The most common name of a
directory on a web server in which CGI programs are stored.
The “bin” part of “cgi-bin” is a shorthand version of “binary”,
because once upon a time, most programs were referred to as “binaries”.
In real life, most programs found in cgi-bin directories are text files --
scripts that are executed by binaries located elsewhere on the same machine.
[also see: CGI]
Chat Room
A place on the Internet where
people go to "chat" with other people in the room. Actually there
are thousands of these Chat Rooms. The rooms are usually organized by topic.
For example in a Michigan Room you would expect that most of the
participants in the room are probably from Michigan. When you're in a Chat Room you can view all of
the conversations taking place at once on your screen. You can also get into
a private chat room where only you and one or two others may talk. This can
be an inexpensive way to keep up with friends and relatives who are online.
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. [also see: Browser
, Server]
co-location
Most often used to refer to
having a server that belongs to one person or group physically
located on an Internet-connected network that belongs to
another person or group. Usually this is done because the server owner wants
their machine to be on a high-speed Internet connection and/or they do not
want the security risks of having the server on their own network.
[also see: Internet
, Server , Network]
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. [also see: Browser
, Server]
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk was originally a
cultural sub-genre of science fiction taking place in a not-so-distant,
dystopian, over-industrialized society. The term grew out of the work of
William Gibson and Bruce Sterling and has evolved into a cultural label
encompassing many different kinds of human, machine, and punk attitudes. It
includes clothing and lifestyle choices as well. [also see: Cyberspace]
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.
Digerati
The digital version of literati,
it is a reference to a vague cloud of people seen to be knowledgeable, hip,
or otherwise in-the-know in regards to the digital revolution. Aka
"geeks" :)
DSL
(Digital Subscriber Line)
A
method for moving data over regular phone lines. A DSL circuit is much
faster than a regular phone connection, and the wires coming into the
subscriber’s premises are the same (copper) wires used for regular phone
service. A DSL circuit must be configured to connect two specific locations,
similar to a leased line. -- A commonly discussed configuration of DSL allows downloads at speeds of up
to 1.544 megabits (not mega bytes) per second, and uploads at speeds of 128
kilobits per second. This arrangement is called ADSL: “Asymmetric”
Digital Subscriber Line. -- Another common configuration is symmetrical: 384 Kilobits per second in both
directions. -- In theory ADSL allows download speeds of up to 9 megabits per second and
upload speeds of up to 640 kilobits per second.
DSL is now a popular alternative to Leased Lines and ISDN,
being faster than ISDN and less costly than traditional Leased Lines. [also see: bit
, bps , ISDN , Leased
Line]|
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. It is also possible for a
Domain Name to exist but not be connected to an actual machine. This is
often done so that a group or business can have an Internet e-mail address
without having to establish a real Internet site. In these cases, some real
Internet machine must handle the mail on behalf of the listed Domain Name. [also see: IP
Number]
E-mail (Electronic Mail)
Messages,
usually text, sent from one person to another via computer. E-mail can also
be sent automatically to a large number of addresses (Mailing List). [also see: Listserv®, Maillist]
Ethernet
A very common method of
networking computers in a LAN. Ethernet will handle about 10,000,000
bits-per-second and can be used with almost any kind of computer. [also see: Bandwidth
, LAN]
FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions)
FAQs are documents that list and answer the most common questions on a
particular subject. There are hundreds of FAQs on subjects as diverse as Pet
Grooming and Cryptography. FAQs are usually written by people who have tired
of answering the same question over and over.
FDDI
(Fiber Distributed Data
Interface)
A standard for transmitting data on optical fiber cables at a
rate of around 100,000,000 bits-per-second (10 times as fast as Ethernet,
about twice as fast as T-3). [also see: Bandwidth
, Ethernet , T-1 , T-3]
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. Many sites do not
allow incoming Finger requests, but many do.
Fire Wall
A combination of hardware and
software that separates a LAN into two or more parts for security
purposes. [also see: Network
, LAN]
Flame
Originally, flame meant to carry
forth in a passionate manner in the spirit of honorable debate. Flames most
often involved the use of flowery language and flaming well was an art form.
More recently flame has come to refer to any kind of derogatory comment no
matter how witless or crude. [also see: Flame
War]
Flame War
When an online discussion
degenerates into a series of personal attacks against the debaters, rather
than discussion of their positions. A heated exchange. [also see: Flame]
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. Another,
sloppier meaning of gateway is to describe any mechanism for providing
access to another system, e.g. AOL might be called a gateway to the
Internet.
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. [also see: JPEG]
Gigabyte
1000 or 1024 Megabytes,
depending on who is measuring. [also see: 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, also known as WWW
(World Wide Web). There are still thousands of Gopher Servers on
the Internet and we can expect they will remain for a while. [also see: Client
, Server , WWW , Hypertext]
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.
Homepage
Several meanings. 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, e.g. “Check out so-and-so’s new Home Page.”
Another sloppier use of the term refers to practically any web page as a
“homepage,” e.g. “That web site has 65 homepages and none of them are
interesting.” [also see: Browser
, Web]
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. [also see: 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 Netscape
or Mosaic. [also see: Client
, Server , WWW]
HTTP (HyperText Transfer 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). [also see: 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.
IMHO
(In My Humble Opinion)
A
shorthand appended to a comment written in an online forum, IMHO indicates
that the writer is aware that they are expressing a debatable view, probably
on a subject already under discussion. One of many such shorthands in common
use online, especially in discussion forums.
[also see: BTW]
Internet
(Upper case I)
The vast
collection of inter-connected networks that all use the TCP/IP protocols and
that evolved from the ARPANET of the late 60’s and early 70’s.
The Internet now (July 1995) connects roughly 60,000 independent networks
into a vast global internet. [also see: internet]
internet
(Lower case i)
Any time
you connect 2 or more networks together, you have an internet - as in
inter-national or inter-state. [also see: Internet
, Network]
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. -- Note that an Intranet may not actually be an internet
-- it may simply be a network. [also see: internet
, Internet , Network]
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. [also see: Domain
Name , Internet , 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. [also see: Internet]
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. [also see: Applet]
JavaScript
JavaScript is a programming
language that is mostly used in web pages, usually to add features that make
the web page more interactive. When JavaScript is included in an HTML
file it relies upon the browser to interpret the JavaScript. When JavaScript
is combined with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and later versions of
HTML (4.0 and later) the result is often called DHTML.
JavaScript was invented by Netscape
and was going to be called "LiveScript", but the name was changed
to JavaScript to cash in on the popularity of Java. JavaScript and
Java are two different programming languages. [also see:
HTM,
Java]
JDK
(Java Development Kit)
A
software development package from Sun Microsystems that implements the basic
set of tools needed to write, test and debug Java applications and applets
[also see: Applet, Java]
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. [also see: GIF]
Kilobyte
A thousand bytes. Actually,
usually 1024 (2^10) bytes. [also see: Byte
, Bit]
LAN
(Local Area Network)
A
computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building or
floor of a building. [also see: Ethernet]
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. [also see: T-1
, T-3, DSL]
Listserv®
The most common kind of maillist,
"Listserv" is a registered trademark of L-Soft international, Inc.
Listservs originated on BITNET but they are now common on the Internet.
[also see: BITNET
, E-mail , Maillist]
Login
Noun or a verb. Noun: The
account name used to gain access to a computer system. Not a secret
(contrast with Password). -- Verb: The act of entering into a computer system, e.g. Login to the WELL
and then go to the GBN conference.
[also see: Password]
Maillist
(or Mailing List)
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
A million bytes.
Actually, technically, 1024 kilobytes. [also see: 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 (e.g. a Quicktime™ video file), and the method that should
be used to turn it back into its original form. -- Besides email software, the MIME standard is also universally used by Web Servers
to identify the files they are sending to Web Clients, in this way
new file formats can be accommodated simply by updating the Browsers’ list
of pairs of MIME-Types and appropriate software for handling each type. [also see: Browser
, Client , Server , Binhex
, UUENCODE]
Mirror
Generally speaking, “to
mirror” is to maintain an exact copy of something. Probably 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. [also see: FTP
, Web]
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.
MOO
(Mud, Object Oriented)
One of
several kinds of multi-user role-playing environments, so far only
text-based. [also see: MUD
, MUSE]
Mosaic
The first WWW browser
that was available for the Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX all with the same
interface. Mosaic really started the popularity of the Web. The source-code
to Mosaic has been licensed by several companies and there are several other
pieces of software as good or better than Mosaic, most notably, Netscape. [also see: Browser
, Client , WWW]
MUD
(Multi-User Dungeon or
Dimension)
A (usually text-based) multi-user simulation environment. Some
are purely for fun and flirting, others are used for serious software
development, or education purposes and all that lies in between. A
significant feature of most MUDs is that users can create things that stay
after they leave and which other users can interact with in their absence,
thus allowing a world to be built gradually and collectively.
[also see: MOO]
Netiquette
The etiquette on the Internet.
[also see: 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. [also see: Internet]
Netscape
A WWW Browser and the
name of a company. The Netscape (tm) browser was originally based on the Mosaic
program developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
(NCSA). -- Netscape has grown in features rapidly and is widely recognized as the best
and most popular web browser. Netscape corporation also produces web server
software.
Netscape provided major improvements in speed and interface over other
browsers, and has also engendered debate by creating new elements for the HTML
language used by Web pages -- but the Netscape extensions to HTML are not
universally supported. -- The main author of Netscape, Mark
Andreessen, was hired away from the NCSA
by Jim Clark, and they founded a company called Mosaic Communications and
soon changed the name to Netscape Communications Corporation. [also see: Browser
, Mosaic , Server , WWW]
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.
[also see: internet, Internet, Intranet]
Newsgroup
The name for discussion groups
on USENET. [also see: 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,
Nuntius, Internet Explorer, etc. to participate in newsgroups then
you are benefiting from an NNTP connection.
[also see: Newsgroup
, TCP/IP , USENET]
Node
Any single computer connected to
a network. [also see: Network
, Internet , internet]
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.
Password
A code used to gain access to a
locked system. Good passwords contain letters and non-letters and are not
simple combinations such as apple6. [also see: Login]
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.
The idea behind plug-in’s is that a small piece of software is loaded into
memory by the larger program, adding a new feature, and that users need only
install the few plug-ins that they need, out of a much larger pool of
possibilities. Plug-ins are usually created by people other than the
publishers of the software the plug-in works with.
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.
[also see: SLIP
, PPP]
Port
3 meanings. First and most
generally, a place where information goes into or out of a computer, or
both. E.g. the serial port on a personal computer is where a modem
would be connected.
On the Internet port often refers to a number that is part of a URL,
appearing after a colon (:) right after the domain name. Every
service on an Internet server listens on a particular port number on
that server. Most services have standard port numbers, e.g. Web servers
normally listen on port 80. Services can also listen on non-standard ports,
in which case the port number must be specified in a URL when accessing the
server, so you might see a URL of the form:
gopher://peg.cwis.uci.edu:7000/
shows a gopher server running on a non-standard port (the standard gopher
port is 70). -- Finally, port also refers to translating a piece of software to bring it
from one type of computer system to another, e.g. to translate a Windows
program so that is will run on a Macintosh. [also see: Domain
Name , Server , URL]
Portal
Usually used as a marketing term
to described a Web site that is or is intended to be the first place people
see when using the Web. Typically a "Portal site" has a catalog of
web sites, a search engine, or both. A Portal site may also offer email and
other service to entice people to use that site as their main "point of
entry" (hence "portal") to the Web.
Posting
A single message entered into a
network communications system. E.g. A single message posted to a newsgroup or message board.
[also see: Newsgroup]
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. [also see: IP
Number , Internet , SLIP , TCP/IP]
PSTN
(Public Switched Telephone
Network)
The regular old-fashioned telephone system.
RFC
(Request For Comments)
The
name of the result and the process for creating a standard on the Internet.
New standards are proposed and published on line, as a Request For Comments.
The Internet Engineering Task Force is a consensus-building body that
facilitates discussion, and eventually a new standard is established, but
the reference number/name for the standard retains the acronym RFC, e.g. the
official standard for e-mail is RFC 822.
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. [also see: 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. [also see: 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. [also see: Client, Network]
SLIP
(Serial Line Internet Protocol)
A standard for using a regular telephone line (a serial line) and a modem
to connect a computer as a real Internet site. SLIP is gradually
being replaced by PPP. [also see: Internet
, PPP]
SMDS
(Switched Multimegabit Data
Service)
A new standard for very high-speed data transfer.
SMTP
(Simple Mail Transfer 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. [also see: Client, Server]
SNMP
(Simple Network Management
Protocol)
A set of standards for communication with devices connected to
a TCP/IP network. Examples of these devices include routers,
hubs, and switches.
A device is said to be “SNMP compatible” if it can be monitored and/or
controlled using SNMP messages. SNMP messages are known as “PDU’s” -
Protocol Data Units. --
Devices that are SNIP compatible contain SNMP “agent” software to
receive, send, and act upon SNMP messages.
Software for managing devices via SNMP are available for every kind of
commonly used computer and are often bundled along with the device they are
designed to manage. Some SNMP software is designed to handle a wide variety
of devices. [also see: Network
, Router]
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. 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. [also see: Maillist
, USENET]
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. [also see: Browser, Server, Security
Certificate, URL]
Sysop
(System Operator)
Anyone
responsible for the physical operations of a computer system or network
resource. A System Administrator decides how often backups and maintenance
should be performed and the System Operator performs those tasks.
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.
[also see: Bandwidth, Bit, Byte, Ethernet, T-3]
T-3
A leased-line connection
capable of carrying data at 44,736,000 bits-per-second. [also see: 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. [also see: IP
Number, Internet, UNIX]
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
1000 gigabytes. [also see: Byte, Kilobyte]
Terminal
A device that allows you to send
commands to a computer somewhere else. At a minimum, this usually means a
keyboard and a display screen and some simple circuitry. Usually you will
use terminal software in a personal computer - the software pretends to be
(emulates) a physical terminal and allows you to type commands to a computer
somewhere else.
Terminal
Server
A special purpose computer that
has places to plug in many modems on one side, and a connection to a LAN
or host machine on the other side. Thus the terminal server does the
work of answering the calls and passes the connections on to the appropriate
node. Most terminal servers can provide PPP or SLIP
services if connected to the Internet. [also see: LAN
, Modem , Host , Node
, PPP , SLIP]
UDP
(User Datagram Protocol)
One
of the protocols for data transfer that is part of the TCP/IP suite
of protocols. UDP is a “stateless” protocol in that UDP makes no
provision for acknowledgement of packets received. [also see: TCP/IP]
UNIX
A computer operating system (the
basic software running on a computer, underneath things like word processors
and spreadsheets). UNIX is designed to be used by many people at the same
time (it is multi-user) 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.matisse.net/seminars.html
or telnet://well.sf.ca.us
or news:new.newusers.questions
etc.
The most common way to use a URL is to enter into a WWW browser program,
such as Netscape, or Lynx.
[also see: Browser
, WWW]
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. [also see: Newsgroup]
UUENCODE (Unix to Unix Encoding)
A
method for converting files from Binary to ASCII (text) so
that they can be sent across the Internet via e-mail. [also see: Binhex
, MIME]
Veronica (Very Easy Rodent Oriented
Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives)
Developed at the University of
Nevada, Veronica is a constantly updated database of the names of almost
every menu item on thousands of gopher servers. The Veronica database
can be searched from most major gopher menus. [also see: Gopher]
VPN
(Virtual Private Network)
Usually refers to a network in which some of the parts are connected
using the public Internet, but the data sent across the Internet is
encrypted, so the entire network is "virtually" private.
-- A typical example would be a
company network where there are two offices in different cities. Using the
Internet the two offices mereg their networks into one network, but encrypt
traffic that uses the Internet link.
[also see: Internet,
Network]
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.
[also see: Internet
, internet , LAN , Network]
Web
[See: WWW]
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. [also see:
Browser, FTP, Gopher, HTTP, Internet, Telnet, URL,
WAIS]
Zone File
The master files in a DNS entry
which shows where a site is located on a particular IP address or server.
 Return
to IPC Internet Services
|
