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Active Server Pages (ASP) - Microsoft technology created to allow easy combination of HTML, JavaScript and ActiveX.
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange - World-wide standard for the code numbers assigned to each key on the keyboard. ASCII text does not include formatting and therefore can be exchanged and read by most computer systems. Applet A small embedded Java program used in HTML pages.
Application Service Provider (ASP) - This is a company that provides remote access to applications, typically over the Internet. ASPs are used when an organization finds it more cost effective to have someone else host their applications than to do it themselves. The applications served up can be as simple as access to a remote fileserver, or as complex as running a word processor through your browser. The ASP provides the servers, network access, and applications to be used usually for a monthly or yearly subscription fee.
Backbone - Major pathways within a network formed by a high-speed line or series of connections.
Bandwidth - The amount of data, measured in bits-per-second, you can send through a connection.
Baud - The number of bits that can be sent or received per second through a modem.
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.
Bit (Binary DigIT) - The smallest unit of computerized data. A single digit number in base-2, in other words, either a 1 or a zero. Bandwidth is usually measured in bits-per-second.
Bps (Bits-Per-Second) - The measurement of speed data is moved from one place to another. A 28.8 modem can move 28,800 bits per second.
Browser - Software that is used to look at the Internet. (Netscape, Internet Explorer, AOL)
Byte - A set of Bits that represent a single character. Usually there are 8 or more Bits in a Byte.
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.
CGI-BIN - The most common name of a directory on a web server in which CGI programs are stored.
ColdFusion - This is a server side extension developed by Allaire that allows documents similar to HTML, usually with the .cfm extension, to be parsed and run on a webserver. ColdFusion allows web designers to embed database calls into HTML-like documents and gives easier access to database servers than by using standard CGI calls.
Co-location - A server that belongs to one person or group physically located on an Internet-connected network that belongs to another person or group.
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.
Cyberspace - Cyberspace is currently used to describe the whole range of information resources available through computer networks.
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.
Domain Name - The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. The prefix is the most specific, and the suffix is the most general. Omnera.comDHTML - Stands Dynamic Hypertext Mark-up Language. DHTML is an HTML extension that allows web pages to react to the end users' input, such as displaying a web page based on the type of browser or computer end users are viewing a page with.
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).
Ethernet - A very common method of networking computers in a LAN.
Extensible Markup Language (XML) - XML is a standard created by the W3C. It is a language with many similarities to HTML. What XML adds is the ability to define custom tags, such as, and define the meaning of those tags within the XML document itself. Thus the term "extensible." You can extend the XML language easily. XML will become more and more common as more browsers and Web servers support the XML standard.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) - FAQs are documents that list and answer the most common questions on a particular subject.
Fire Wall - A combination of hardware and software that separates a LAN into two or more parts for security purposes.
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.
Gateway - A hardware or software set-up that translates between two dissimilar protocols.
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.
Gigabyte - 1000 or 1024 Megabytes, depending on who is measuring.
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.
Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) - Created in 1994, this is an versatile embedded scripting language that can be placed into HTML documents, and as long as the Web server supports it, it can be used to generate HTML pages by contacting accessing a database. PHP code is executed on the server, and offers an alternative to CGI or SSI calls, or the use of Allaire's Cold Fusion embedded server-side scripting language.
Identity - The distinguishing character or personality of an individual or company.
Interface - This is a connection point that allows for interaction between hardware / software and other hardware / software or a person.
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.
internet (Lower case i) - Any time you connect 2 or more networks together, you have an internet - as in inter-national or inter-state.
Internet Explorer - Web browser from Microsoft.
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
IP Number (Internet Protocol Number) - Sometimes called a dotted quad. A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots, e.g. 212.445.123.2 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.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) - A way to move more data over existing regular phone lines.
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.
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.
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.
Kilobyte - A thousand bytes. Actually, usually 1024 (2^10) bytes.
LAN (Local Area Network) - A computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building or floor of a building.
Login - Noun: The account name used to gain access to a computer system. Verb: The act of entering into a computer system.
Megabyte - A million bytes. Actually, technically, 1024 kilobytes.
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.
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.
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.
Mouse-over - See Roll-over
Nav - Short for navigation. A series of primary buttons within a web site that lead users to the different sections.
Netiquette - The etiquette on the 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).
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.
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 virtue7. A good password might be: Ez$livin
Pixel (picture element) - The smallest dot that a computer can display at a particular resolution. Screen size is often referred to in pixels: 800 x 600, for example. This means that the screen is 800 pixels across and 600 pixels vertically.
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.
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. Post Office Protocol refers to the way e-mail software such as Eudora gets mail from a mail server.
Port - 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.
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.
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.
Roll-over - A function in a web site that highlights a specific section of the page, when the user rolls his or her mouse over a targeted location.
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.
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.
Spam (or Spamming) - An inappropriate attempt to use a mailing list, 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.
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.Sub Nav - Short for Sub Navigation. A series of secondary navigational buttons within the primary navigation that lead users deeper into a web site.
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.
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.
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.
Terabyte - 1000 gigabytes.
UNIX - A computer operating system (the basic software running on a computer, underneath things like word processors and spreadsheets).
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.omnera.com
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.
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.
WAN (Wide Area Network) - Any internet or network that covers an area larger than a single building or campus.
WWW -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.