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
A
Applet
A small Java program that can be embedded in an HTML page. Applets differ from full 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 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.

Archie

Derived from the word archive, Archie, is an Internet-based service that allows you to locate files that can be downloaded via FTP. 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 60s and early 70s by the US Department of Defence as an experiment in wide-area-networking that would survive a nuclear war.
ASCII
(pronounced "Ask-ee") American Standard Code for Information Exchange, An international standard in which numbers, letters, punctuation marks, symbols and control codes are assigned numbers from 0 to 127. Easily transferred over networks, ASCII is a plain, unadorned text without style or font specifications.
Asynchronous Connection
The type of connection a modem makes over a phone line, this connection is not synchronised by a mutual timing signal or clock.
AU Sounds
This is an audio format developed for Sun workstations and often used to distribute sound clips via the Web.
Authoring Software
This term refers to software that enables the creation of multimedia or hypertext documents and presentations.
Avatar
This term refers to an interactive representation of a human in a virtual reality environment.
 
B
Backbone
A high-speed line or series of connections that forms a major pathway within a network.
Bandwidth
The range of transmission frequencies a network can use. The greater the bandwidth the more information that can be transferred over that network at one time. Usually measured in bits-per-second. A 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.
Baud
A unit of speed in data transmission, or the maximum speed at which data can be sent down a channel. Baud is often equivalent to bits 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). Named after J. M. E. Baudot (died 1903).
BBS
Bulletin Board System - A computerised 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 BBSs around the world, most are very small, running on a single PC with 1 or 2 phone lines. Some are very large.
Binhex
BINary HEXadecimal - A method for converting binary, non-text files (non-ASCII) into ASCII. This is needed because Internet e-mail can only handle ASCII.
Bit
Binary DigIT - A single digit number in base-2, in other words, either a 1 or a zero. The smallest unit of computerised data. Eight bits is equivalent to a byte. The speed at which bits are transmitted or bit rate is usually expressed as bits per second or bps.
Broadband
A transmission method in which the networks range of transmission frequencies is divided into separate channels and each channel is used to send a different signal. Broadband is often used to send different types of signals simultaneously.
BITNET
Because Its Time NETwork - A network of educational sites separate from the Internet, but e-mail is freely exchanged between BITNET and the Internet. BITNET machines are usually mainframes running the VMS operating system, and the network is probably the only international network that is shrinking.
Bps
Bits-Per-Second - The rate at which data is moved from one place to another. A 28.8 modem can move 28,800 bits per second.
Browser
A client software that allows you to navigate information databases; examples are Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator and NCSA Mosaic.
Byte
The number of bits used to represent a character. Usually there are 8 Bits in a Byte.
 
C
CD-ROM
Compact Disk-Read Only Memory; an optical disk from which information may be read but not written.
CD-R or Compact Disk-Recordable
Refers to computer peripheral disk drives that allow the user to record content on to a blank compact disk.
Certificate Authority
An issuer of Security Certificates used in SSL connections.
CGI
Common Gateway Interface - A standard that describes how a Web Server and another software on the same machine communicate. Any software can be a CGI program if it handles input and output according to the CGI standard.
cgi-bin
The most common name of a directory on a web server in which CGI programs are stored.
Client
A computer that has access to services over a computer network. The computer providing the services is a server.
Client-Server Architecture
An information-passing scheme that works as follows: a client program, such as Mosaic, sends a request to a server. The server takes the request, disconnects from the client and processes the request. When the request is processed, the server reconnects to the client program and the information is transferred to the client. This architecture differs from traditional Internet databases where the client connects to the server and runs the program from the remote site.
Configuration
This is a general-purpose computer term that can refer to the way you have your computer set up. It is also used to describe the total combination of hardware components that make up a computer system and the software settings that allow various hardware components of a computer system to communicate with one another.
Cookie
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. Cookies typically contain information such as login or registration information, online shopping cart information, user preferences, etc.
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.
Cyberspace
A term coined by William Gibson in his novel "Neuromancer" to refer to a near-future computer network where users mentally travel through matrices of data. The term is now used to describe the Internet and the other computer networks.
 
D
Dial-up Connection
The most popular form of Internet connection for the home user, this is a connection from your computer to a host computer over standard telephone lines.
DNS
Domain Name Server - refers to a database of Internet names and addresses which translates the names to the official Internet Protocol numbers and vice versa.
Document
In reference to the World Wide Web, a document is any file containing text, media or hyperlinks that can be transferred from an HTTP server to a client program.
Download
To transfer to your computer a copy of a file that resides on another computer.
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. For example, tarn-web.com or neurobiz.com
 
E
EDI
Electronic Data Interchange - This system allows linked computers to conduct business transactions such as ordering and invoicing over telecommunications networks.
E-mail
Electronic Mail Messages, usually text, sent from one person to another via computer.
Ethernet
A 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.
 External Viewer
A program used for presenting graphics, audio and video files. Programs that allow the viewing of GIF and JPEG files and the hearing of AU files fall into this category.
 
F
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions - A common feature on the Internet, FAQs are files of answers to commonly asked questions. Read FAQs before wasting electrons asking obvious questions. Saves you from receiving flames.
Firewall
This term refers to security measures designed to protect a networked system from unauthorised or unwelcome access. Typically it is a combination of hardware and software that separates a LAN into two or more parts.
 FTP
File Transfer Protocol -A 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.
 
G
GIF
Graphic Interchange Format - a commonly used file compression format developed by CompuServe for transferring graphics files to and from online services.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.
Gopher
A menu-oriented tool used to locate online resources developed at the University of Minnesota. It has now been largely supplanted by Hypertext, also known as WWW (World Wide Web). There are however, still thousands of Gopher Servers on the Internet.
Gigabyte
1000 or more precisely, 1024 Megabytes.
 
H
Hit
In terms of 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 measure activity of a web site.
Home Page (or Homepage)
The main web page of a web site.
Host
Any computer on a network that is a repository for services available to other computers on the network.
Hotlists
Lists of frequently used Web locations and URLs. Also call favourites.

HTML

hypertext Mark-up Language - The coding language used to create Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web. HTML files are viewed using a World Wide Web Client Program, such as Internet Explorer or Netscape. It works or all supports, PC, Macintosh or mainframe computers
HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol - This is used to link and transfer hypertext documents.
Hypertext
The system that allows documents to be cross-linked in such a way that the reader can explore related documents by clicking on a highlighted word or symbol.
 
I
IAB
Internet Architecture Board - the council that makes decisions about Internet standards.
Internet
The vast collection of inter-connected networks that all use the TCP/IP protocols and that evolved from the ARPANET of the late 60s and early 70s.
Internet Explorer
Microsoft's WWW browser which has become the most popular taking the lead from Netscape's Navigator
Intranet
A private network inside a company or organisation that uses the same kinds of software that you would find on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use.
IP
Internet Protocol - refers to the set of communication standards that control communications activity on the Internet.
IP Number
Internet Protocol Number - A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots, e.g. 143.165.201.1 Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP number. Most machines also have one or more Domain Names that are easier for people to remember.
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 - a telecommunications standard that uses digital transmission technology to support voice, video and data communications applications over regular telephone lines. 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 organisation that provides access to the Internet in some form, this can be free or payable.
 
J
Java
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.
Java Script
Java Script is a programming language that is mostly used in web pages, usually to add features that make the web page more interactive. When Java Script is included in an HTML file it relies upon the browser to interpret the Java Script. When Java Script is combined with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and later versions of HTML (4.0 and later) the result is often called DHTML. Java Script was invented by Netscape and was named Java Script to benefit from the popularity of Java. Java Script and Java are two different programming languages.
JPEG
Joint Photographic Experts Group - an image compression format used to transfer colour photographs and images over computer networks. Along with GIF, it's one of the most common ways photos are moved over the Web.  JPEG format is preferred to the GIF format for photographic images as opposed to line art or simple logo art.
 
K
Kilobyte
A thousand bytes. Actually, usually 1024 (210) bytes.
 
L
LAN
Local Area Network - A computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building or floor of a building. It usually uses the Ethernet protocol.
Links
These are the hypertext connections between Web pages. This is a synonym for hotlinks or hyperlinks.
Login
The account name used to gain access to a computer system. Not a secret (contrast with Password). Also the act of entering into a computer system.
 
M
Mailing List or Maillist
A 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.
Megabyte
A million bytes. Actually, 1024 kilobytes.
MIME
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions - A standard for attaching non-text files to standard Internet mail messages. When non-text files are sent using the MIME standard they are converted (encoded) into text. Generally speaking the MIME standard is a way of specifying both the type of file being sent (e.g. a JPEG graphics file), and the method that should be used to turn it back into its original form. Besides e-mail 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.
Mirror sites
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.
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 with the same interface developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications in Urbana-Champaign, Ill. Mosaic really started the popularity of the Web. This has now been supplanted by Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.
MPEG
Moving Pictures Expert Group is an international standard for video compression and desktop movie presentation. A special viewing application is needed to run MPEG files on your computer.
MUD
Multi-User Dimension - A (usually text-based) multi-user simulation environment. Some are purely for fun, others are used for serious software development, or education purposes. 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.
 
N
 NCSA
National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois.
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.
Netscape Navigator
A WWW browser based on the original Mosaic program developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). Netscape has grown rapidly in features and, with Microsoft Internet Explorer, is one of the most popular web browsers today.
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.
NFS
Network File System - a protocol suite developed and licensed by Sun Microsystems that allows different makes of computers running different operating systems to share files and disk storage.
NIC
Network Information Center - is an organisation responsible for supplying information for component networks that comprise the Internet.  
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 software such as Netscape or Internet Explorer, etc. to participate in newsgroups then you are benefiting from an NNTP connection.
Node
Any single computer connected to a network.
 
P
Packet Switching
The method used to move data around on the Internet. In packet switching, 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 in both upper and lower case.
Plug-in
A piece of software that adds features to a larger piece of software. Common examples are plug-ins for the Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. 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
Post Office Protocol - The way certain e-mail software such as Microsoft Outlook and 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.
Port
A place where information goes into or out of a computer, or both. eg. 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 catalogue of web sites, a search engine, or both. A Portal site may also offer e-mail 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.
PPP
Point to Point Protocol - A protocol that allows a computer to use a regular telephone line and a modem to make TCP/IP connections and thus be on the Internet.
Protocol
A set of standards that define how traffic and communications are handled by a computer or network routers.
 
Q
QuickTime
This is a digital video standard developed for Apple Macintosh computers but now also available on PCs. Special viewing applications are needed to run QuickTime movies.
 
R
Router
A special-purpose computer that handles the connection between 2 or more networks. Routers look at the destination addresses of the packets passing through them and deciding which route to send them on.
 
S
 Security Certificate
A piece of information 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.
Search Engine
This term refers to a program that helps users find information in text-oriented databases.
Server
A computer that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. A single server machine could have several different server software packages running on it, thus providing many different servers to clients on the network.
Shareware
This term refers to software that is freely available on public networks and BBSs. After trying the software, users are asked to remit a small amount to the software developer, if they wish to continue to use it.
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.
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 e-mail is sent and received by clients and servers using SMTP.
Spam (or Spamming)
An inappropriate use of a mailing list, or USENET or other networked communications facility by sending the same unsollicited message to a large number of people. The term comes from a famous Monty Python sketch which featured the word spam repeated over and over.
SQL
Structured Query Language - A specialised programming language for sending queries to databases. Most larger 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 is used mostly in communications between web browsers and web servers. URLs that begin with https indicate that an SSL connection will be used. Each side encrypts what it sends using information from both its own and the other sides Certificate, ensuring that only the intended recipient can decrypt 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.
 
T
 T-1
A high performance data-line connection capable of carrying data at 1,544,000 bits-per-second. That is still not fast enough for full-screen, full-motion video, which requires 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 very high performance data-line connection capable of carrying data at 44,736,000 bits-per-second. This is more than enough for full-screen, full-motion video.
Tags
These are formatting codes used in HTML documents. Tags indicate how parts of a document will appear when displayed by browsing software.
TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol - This is the basic 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.

Telnet

Telnet allows a network user on one computer to log on to a computer at a distant location in order to use the software programs or data files on the distant computer. One of the most common uses of Telnet today is to access on-line library catalogues at universities around the world.
Terabyte
1000 gigabytes.
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.
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.
TIFF
Tagged Image File Format - a graphic file format developed by Aldus and Microsoft. Mosaic supports the viewing of TIFF images.
 
U
UNIX
A computer operating system. 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 typical URL is https://tarn-web.com/english/tarnwebframes.htm or telnet://well.sf.ca.us or news:new.newusers.questions
USENET
A world-wide system of discussion groups, with comments passed among hundreds of thousands of machines. Only about half of the USENET machines are on the Internet. USENET is completely decentralised, with over 10,000 discussion areas, called newsgroups.
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.
 
V
 Veronica
Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerised 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.
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 merge their networks into one network, but encrypt traffic that uses the Internet link.
 
W
 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.
Web Browser
Software that allows a user to access and view HTML documents. Examples include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator and Mosaic.
Web Document
An HTML document that is browsable on the Web.
Webmaster
The person in charge of administrating a World Wide Web site.
Web Page
An HTML document that is accessible on the Web.
WWW
World Wide Web - Specifically the universe of hypertext servers (HTTP servers) which are the servers that allow text, graphics, sound files, etc. to be mixed together. Sometimes also refers to the whole constellation of resources that can be accessed using Gopher, FTP, HTTP, telnet, USENET, WAIS and some other tools.
 
 ÓChantal Moret & Mike Briley 1999-2006