Any downloadable file that doesn't simply contain human-readable, ASCII text. Typically it refers to a runnable program available for downloading, but it can also refer to pictures, sounds, or movies, among others. Most Usenet newsgroups have sub groups specifically for binaries; a posting in comp.sys.mac.comm might announce that a progam is available for downloading, but the binary (the file itself) would be found in comp.sys.mac.comm.binaries. Newsgroups such as alt.pictures.binaries contain files for download which are actually pictures. You will need a newsreader to download and decode thes files. SEE ALSO: binary numbers.
A problem-solving routine for human behaviour as it is exercised in the realm of networks and cyberspace. The first bionic codes were developed by Ebon Fisher based on a series of his theatrical experiments involving communication systems amongst audience members. Fisher's bionic codes have been formalized as a series of diagrams and statements which "float" in the infosphere in a variety of media.
A system of math that uses operators such as "and," "or," "not," "if...then," which permit computation. This system is named after George Boole, an English mathematician who introduced the logic in 1847.
On the Web you will come across the chance to use boolean logic when using a search engine. These operators, when used in conjuction with your keywords (for example: recipe AND chocolate AND cookies NOT walnuts) enable the search engine to retrieve more specific results from your query, thus producing recipes for chocolate chip cookies which do not contain walnuts. See the AltaVista Advanced Search Tips page for more examples of how to use boolean when searching.
A term which means the comparing of the way a Web page looks on one WWW browser as opposed to another. Usually this is done with Microsoft Internet Explorer (MIE) and Netscape Navigator, but can also refer to cross platform compatibilty, which is for example is the way a page renders or displays in Navigator on a Windows system as opposed to Navigator on a Mac. The reason these incompatibilities exist is due to the way a browser intreprets the Web page's code (HTML). The differences are usually very slight, however just enough to annoy some Web designers and sometimes even their clients to the point in which great time and energy is spent in making a Web site compatible with any browser on any type of system.
Browser compatibilty is also used in conjuction and should not be confused with the term browser support which refers to the abilty of a particular browser to even recognize and interpret certain HTML or other Web page codes at all (for example: Netscape Navigator 1.0 did not have the abilty to render a page layout in frames this feature did not come along until version 2.0, therefore it can be said that Navigator 1.0 did not "support" frames.
