Internet glossary

From ADSL to VRML Rose Vines provides a complete glossary of Internet terms.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W

A
Active Server Pages: Web pages that contain either Visual Basic or Jscript program code. When a browser requests an ASP page, the Web server generates an HTML page on the fly and sends it back to the browser.

ActiveX: A technology which provides tools for linking desktop applications to the World Wide Web. ActiveX controls are small programs which can be run by Web browsers.

ADSL: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. An emerging technology that supports high-speed data connections.

applet: A diminutive of 'application' or 'app'. An applet is a small, single-function program.

Archie: A rather antiquated program that lets you search for files on the Internet.

bandwidth: The amount of data that can be transmitted over a network connection at any one time.

baseband: Digital data transmission in which each wire carries one signal at a time. Computer communications generally uses baseband transmission.

BBS: Bulletin Board System. An electronic message centre. You can dial into a BBS, view messages left by others and leave your own messages and replies.
bps: Bits per second, the standard measure of data transmission speeds.

broadband: Digital data transmissions in which each wire can carry several signals simultaneously. Cable TV is an example of broadband transmission.

broadcast: To send the same information to more than one receiver simultaneously. Used both in e-mail and fax systems.

browser: Short for Web browser, a software application used to locate and display Web pages.

CDF: Channel Definition Format. Developed by Microsoft, CDF allows Web developers to create push content.

CGI: Common Gateway Interface. CGI programs allow Web servers to interact dynamically with users. For example, when you type information into a form on a Web page, a CGI program can be used to process and store the information you enter.

cookie: A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file called cookie.txt. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and to prepare customised Web pages for them.

cyberspace: The non-physical world created within computer systems. When you're connected to the Internet, for example, you are "in cyberspace".

DNS: Domain Name System, an Internet service which converts domain names into IP addresses. Humans use domain names on the Internet (such as www.microsoft.com) because they're easy to remember; but the actual computer addresses for computer systems on the Internet consists of strings of numbers, called IP addresses. The DNS converts the address you type into an IP address.

domain name: A name that identifies an IP address, such as www.rivernetwork.org or www.pcuser.com.au. Every domain name has a suffix that indicates which top-level domain it belongs to. Top-level domains include com, org, edu, net, gov, mil and the various country domains (such as au for Australian sites).

download: To copy information from a remote computer to your computer. When you connect to the Web, you're constantly downloading Web pages and files to your computer system.

e-mail address: A unique name that identifies an e-mail recipient. E-mail addresses take the form username@hostname. An example is pcuser@acp.com.au, which is pronounced pcuser at acp dot com dot au. Note that e-mail addresses, unlike URLs (Internet addresses), are not case sensitive.

emoticon: Emotion icon (also known as a smiley), used in e-mail and online conversations to convey tone and mood along with the words. Emoticons consist of a series of punctuation characters that depict an emotion, usually evident when you tilt your head to the left to look at the emoticon. The most famous emoticon is the smiley :-) which indicates the writer is happy or their tone is jocular.

Eudora: A popular e-mail program.

Extranet: An Intranet that is partially accessible to authorised outsiders.

finger: A Unix program that lets you find out information about the owner of an e-mail address. The finger lets you know if the user is currently logged on, and on some systems will tell you the user's real name, the time and date of the last time they were connected, and other information which the user has made available about themselves.

firewall: A system designed to prevent unauthorised access to or from a private network.

flame: A vicious e-mail message or newsgroup post in which the author attacks another online participant for some real or imagined transgression.

FTP: File Transfer Protocol. A method for transmitting files across the Internet. Often called Anonymous FTP, because users are given restricted access to other computers without being required to identify themselves before downloading files.

gopher: An early database system used to store information on the Internet. Information in gopher servers (called gopher space) can be retrieved using search tools such as Veronica and Jughead.

host: A computer attached directly to the Internet. Users on client machines can connect to hosts to transfer information.

HTML: Hypertext Markup Language, the authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web.

HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol, the underlying method used to format and transmit information on the World Wide Web.

hyperlink: An element (piece of text, graphic image) in a document that links to another place in the same document or to an entirely different document. When you click on a hyperlink, the link's destination is displayed.

hypermedia: The combination of hypertext and multimedia elements (sound, video, graphics) in an online document.

hypertext: Text that allows embedded links to other documents. Clicking on a hypertext link displays the destination text or document. The World Wide Web is made up of hypertext documents.

Intranet: A Web site or group of Web sites belonging to an organisation and accessible only to the organisation's employees or those authorised.

IP: Internet Protocol. A protocol which specifies the format of packets of information (also known as datagrams) and the addressing scheme used to send the packets across a network. IP is usually combined with another protocol, TCP, which is used to establish a virtual connection between the source of the information and the packet's destination.

IP Address: Internet Protocol Address. Every resource on a TCP/IP: network (such as the Internet) has a unique, 32-bit identifying address, written as four numbers separated by full stops ('dots'). The Internet uses a system of registered IP addresses, called Internet addresses, to avoid duplicates.

IRC: Internet Relay Chat. A system for online conversations.

ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network. A technology which transmits voice, video and data over digital telephone lines. Most ISDN lines provide two lines at once, called B channels, each offering transmission rates of 64Kbps. You can use one line for voice and the other for data, or use both lines for data to boost your data transmission to 128Kbps.

ISP: Internet Service Provider. ISPs maintain a dedicated communication line to the Internet; users dial in to the ISP, which then connects them to the Internet via a (hopefully) high-speed dedicated communications line.

JavaBeans: Javabeans are small reusable software objects created in Java.

JavaScript: A scripting language which shares many of the features of Java, and which can be used to add dynamic content to Web sites.

JPG: A graphics file format which can compress graphics to a fraction of their size. JPG uses 'lossy compression', which means that the higher the degree of compression, the more detail is lost from the image. JPG images are frequently used on Web pages because their small size reduces download time.

listserv: An automated mailing list server.

mailing list server: A server that manages mailing lists for groups of users.

Majordomo: An automated mailing list server.

Mbone: Multicast backbone. A new extension to the Internet designed to support two-way transmission of data between multiple sites.

Mbps: Megabits per second -- millions of bits per second. A measure of data transfer speed.

MIME: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. Internet e-mail systems can normally only handle plain, unformatted text. MIME is a specification which allows formatted messages, sound, graphics, audio and video files to be sent over the Internet as e-mail. Web browsers also support various MIME types, allowing them to display files that are not in HTML format.

mirror site: A site which contains an exact replica of the contents of another site. Due to the popularity of some sites, mirrors are created to reduce congestion when many people try to access them at the same time.

modem: Modulator-demodulator. A modem is used to transmit digital data (from your computer) across analogue phone lines. When you send information from your computer, the modem at your end converts the digital data to analogue form. At the receiving end, another modem reconverts the data into digital form and passes it to the remote computer.

multicast: To transmit a message to a select group of recipients. Contrast this with broadcasting, which involves sending a message to everyone connected to a network.

network: Two or more computer systems linked together.

newbie: A new user on the Internet or an online service. Often used derogatorily.

newsgroup: An online discussion group on a particular topic.

newsreader: An application that lets you read and reply to messages posted on Internet newsgroups.

online: Connected to a computer communications system.

PING: Packet Internet Gopher. A program used to time the response of an Internet connection. A PING sends a request to an Internet host and waits for a reply (called a PONG).

Plug-in (or inline plug-in). A program that `plugs into' and extends the capabilities of recent Web browsers (such as Netscape Navigator 2.0 or later and Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or later) in a specific way. For example, plug-ins can allow your browser to play audio or video clips, animations or even business applications on certain Web sites. There are currently more than 160 plug-ins available.

POP: Post Office Protocol. A protocol used to retrieve e-mail from a mail server. There are three versions: POP, POP2 and the most recent, POP3.

PoP: Point of Presence, a location where you can get dial-up access to a network. ISPs often provide many PoPs so users can gain Internet access with a local call, instead of having to call their ISP long distance.

post: To place a message on a newsgroup or BBS.

PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol. One of the most popular methods for dial-up connections to the Internet.

protocol: A set of rules which allows different parts of a computer network to 'talk' to one another. Because the Internet consists of an incredibly varied collection of hardware, it uses a whole series of protocols which enable the diverse parts to talk to one another. In technical terms, a protocol contains a formal description of the message formats and rules two computers must adopt in order to exchange information.

public-domain software: Any program that is not copyrighted, and is thus available for free use by anyone. (Note that 'freeware' is copyrighted software that is free.)

push: Information which is sent without being requested. Generally on the Web, information is 'pulled'; that is, it is requested from a Web server by the user's browser. Push information is sent directly to a user's screen without the need for a specific request. Once you subscribe to a push service, customised information will be downloaded to your computer automatically.

SET: Secure Electronic Transactions, a developing standard that will make credit card transactions on the Internet as secure as ordinary offline transactions.

shareware: Software which you can try out without payment. If you continue to use the software, you are honour-bound to pay the author the requested fee.
Shocked: A Web page which incorporates Macromedia's Shockwave technology. Shocked pages can contain animation, interactive elements and sound.

SLIP: Serial Line Internet Protocol, a method for dial-up connection to the Internet. SLIP is older and simpler than PPP. Unlike PPP, SLIP can't work on a local area network.

SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, a protocol for sending e-mail messages between servers. SMTP transfers mail from server to server; users then use POP to transfer their messages from the server to their own ('client') computer.

S/MIME: Secure/MIME, a new version of MIME that supports message encryption.

snail mail: Normal postal mail. So called because of its general sloth in comparison to e-mail, which is often delivered within seconds.

spam: Electronic junk mail.

spider: A program that automatically fetches Web pages. Spiders are used to deliver pages to search engines, which then use an indexing program to process the pages.

SSL: Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents via the Internet. SSL is used by many businesses for commercial online transactions, including online shopping. Web pages that require an SSL connection have addresses starting with https: instead of http:.

streaming: A technique for transferring data so that the data can be displayed (or played, if it is a music file) as it is transmitted, without the need for the whole file to first be downloaded. Streaming is most often used with 'rich data' such as sound, video and animation, which take up a lot of space and thus take a long time to transfer.

surf: To move from place to place on the Internet, usually using a Web browser.

sysop: System Operator. Someone who manages a BBS or online service.

T3: A dedicated phone connection supporting high speed transmission up to 45Mbps. A T3 line consists of 672 individual channels, each with a capacity of 64Kbps.

TCP/IP: Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, the collection of communications protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP uses several protocols, the two main ones being TCP and IP.

Telnet: An application that lets you log on remotely to a Unix computer, and act as if you're working from a terminal connected directly to the computer. You need a valid username and password to connect to a computer in this way.

thread: A message and all its replies in an online discussion.

traffic: The amount of information being handled by a communications system. During times of heavy traffic on the Internet, you'll notice your connections slow.

upload: To send information from your computer to a remote computer.

URL: Uniform Resource Locator, the address used to identify documents and other resources on the Internet. URLs consist of two parts, the first denoting which protocol to use to transfer the document and the second specifying the IP address or domain name of where the resource is located. For example, addresses beginning with http:// use the Hypertext Transfer Protocol for transmission -- the default protocol for the World Wide Web, Addresses beginning with ftp:// use the File Transfer Protocol for transmission. For instance: ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/iesetup.exe is the address of an executable file (iesetup.exe) at Microsoft's domain, which is downloadable using FTP. Another is http://www.pcuser.com.au. This is the address of the home page at PC User's World Wide Web site which is downloadable using the HTTP protocol.

Usenet: A collection of several thousand online discussion groups, accessible by newsreader software. The Usenet groups are a subset of the various newsgroups available on the Internet.

Veronica: A search engine which lets you search all gopher sites for files and directories.

VRML: Virtual Reality Modeling Language, a specification for displaying three-dimensional objects on the World Wide Web.

Web page: A document on the World Wide Web.

Web server: A computer that stores Web pages and delivers them to Web browsers on request.

Web site: A location on the World Wide Web, consisting of at least one page (the home page) and possibly many pages.

webcasting: Broadcasting information via the World Wide Web. Instead of surfing to a site, webcast material is pushed directly to users screens.

whois: An Internet program that lets you obtain information about an Internet domain or host.

World Wide Web: A collection of online documents stored on Internet servers around the globe. The documents are written in a language called HTML that supports links to other documents. Users can view the documents using a Web browser, and can jump from document to document by clicking on the links contained in the documents. The Web is only a part of the Internet -- some Internet servers perform functions other than being Web servers. For example, mail servers store and handle e-mail; news servers store and handle newsgroups.

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All text © 1997 Australian Consolidated Press - PC User Magazine