Glossary

Welcome to our Glossary. We created this repository to help the normal business person understand the various terms, jargon and buzzwords that we and others in our industry banter around.

If you have a term you don't understand, email it to us and we'll find the answer and most likely place it in our Glossary.

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  • AJAX
    1. (Asynchronous JavaScript And XML) A scripting technique for silently loading new data from the server. Although AJAX scripts commonly use the soon to be standardized XMLHttpRequest object, they could also use a hidden iframe or frame. An AJAX script is useless by itself. It also requires a DOM Scripting component to embed the received data in the document.
  • Apache
    1. The most common web server (or HTTP server) software on the Internet. Apache is an open-source application originally created from a series of changes ("patches") made to a web server written at the National Centre for Supercomputing Applications, the same place the Mosiac web browser was created. Apache is designed as a set of modules, enabling administrators to choose which features they wish to use and making it easy to add features to meet specific needs including handling protocols other than the web-standard HTTP.
  • Applet
    1. 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 common rule is that an applet can only make an Internet connection to the computer from which the applet was sent.
  • Application Server
    1. Server software that manages one or more other pieces of software in a way that makes the managed software available over a network, usually to a Web server. By having a piece of software manage other software packages it is possible to use resources like memory and database access more efficiently than if each of the managed packages responded directly to requests.
  • ASCII
    1. (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) This is the defacto 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.
  • ASP
    1. (Application Service Provider) An organisation (usually a business) that runs one or more applications on their own servers and provides (usually for a fee) access to others. Common examples of services provided this way include web-based software such as Calendar systems, Human Resources tools (timesheets, benefits, etc.), and various applications to help groups collaborate on projects.
  • ASP (2)
    1. (Active Server Pages) A specification developed by Microsoft for a dynamically created Web page that utilizes ActiveX scripting, usually VB script or Jscript code. When a Web browser requests an ASP page, the Web server generates a page with HTML code and sends it back to the browser. Commonly referred to as "ASP pages" (even though this is redundant), they are similar to CGI scripts but they enable Visual Basic programmers to work with familiar tools. Web sites using ASP pages are said to be in a dynamic environment, because they are database-driven, in terms of retrieving and updating content. That's in contrast to a static environment (one based solely on "flat HTML," which can only be changed by a Webmaster or author).
  • Backbone
    1. 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 non-backbone lines in a large network. See also: Network
  • Bandwidth
    1. How much stuff you can send through a connection. Usually measured in bits-per-second (bps.) A full page of English text is about 16,000 bits. A fast modem can move about 57,000 bits in one second. Full-motion full-screen video would require roughly 10,000,000 bits-per-second, depending on compression.
  • Blog
    1. (web BLOG) A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in chronological order with the most recent additions featured most prominently.
  • bps
    1. (Bits-Per-Second) A measurement of how fast data is moved from one place to another. A 56K modem can move about 57,000 bits per second.
  • Broadband
    1. Generally refers to connections to the Internet with much greater bandwidth than you can get with a modem. There is no specific definition of the speed of a "broadband" connection but in general any Internet connection using DSL or a via Cable-TV may be considered a broadband connection.
  • Browser
    1. A Client program (software) that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources. See also: Client, Server, URL, WWW BTW - (By The Way) A shorthand appended to a comment written in an online forum.
  • CGI
    1. (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.
  • CMS
    1. In the context of a Web site a CMS is a collection of tools designed to allow the creation, modification organisation and removal of information from a Web site. It is common for a CMS to require users to have no knowledge of HTML in order to create new Web pages.
  • Coldfusion
    1. CFML short for ColdFusion Markup Language, a proprietary markup language developed by Allaire for use with ColdFusion. CFML is a tag-based Web scripting language supporting dynamic Web page creation and Database access in a Web server environment. In the language, ColdFusion tags are embedded in HTML files. The HTML tags determine the page's layout while the CFML tags import content based on user input or the results of a database query. Files created with CFML have the file extension .cfm
  • Co-location
    1. 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.
  • Cookie
    1. 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 Browsers' 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 users' requests.
  • CSS
    1. (Cascading Style Sheet) A standard for specifying the appearance of text and other elements. CSS was developed for use with HTML in Web pages but is also used in other situations, notably in applications built using XPFE. CSS is typically used to provide a single "library" of styles that are used over and over throughout a large number of related documents, as in a website. A CSS file might specify that all numbered lists are to appear in italics. By changing that single specification the look of a large number of documents can be easily changed.
  • Cyberspace
    1. 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.
  • DHCP
    1. (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) DHCP is a protocol by which a machine can obtain an IP number (and other network configuration information) from a server on the local network.
  • DHTML
    1. (Dynamic HyperText Markup Language) DHTML refers to web pages that use a combination of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to create features such as letting the user drag items around on the web page, some simple kinds of animation, and many more.
  • DNS
    1. (Domain Name System) The Domain Name System is the system that translates Internet domain names into IP numbers. A "DNS Server" is a server that performs this kind of translation.
  • Domain Name
    1. 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. For example, the domain names: matisse.net, mail.matisse.net, workshop.matisse.net can all refer to the same machine, but each domain name can refer to no more than one machine. Usually, all of the machines on a given Network will have the same thing as the right-hand portion of their Domain Names (matisse.net in the examples above). 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.
  • Download
    1. Transferring data (usually a file) from a another computer to the computer you are using. The opposite of upload.
  • DSL
    1. (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 (however a DSL circuit is not a leased line. A common configuration of DSL allows downloads at speeds of up to 1.544 megabits (not megabytes) 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.


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