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| In this section we have put
together some of the common and not so common terms and terminology
used on the Internet. Here at ntl we believe in making things as easy
to use as possible. This glossary will help to de-mystify the jargon
used on the Internet. |
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This is another term for an ISP or Internet Provider. It might
be a provider that has its own POP (Point of Presence) on the Internet,
or it may be a company that has a telecommunication link to someone
else with a POP.
This is roughly the equivalent to the Applet from Java. It allows
a self-sufficient programme to be run within a Windows or Macintosh
network, which will perform simple tasks.
This is a physical device that is attached to a piece of computer
hardware or electronic interface. It allows this piece of hardware
or electronic interface to accommodate another piece of hardware
or electronic interface.
An Applet is a little programme that can be sent with a web page
to a user of the web page. They are Java programmes that can perform
interactive animations, immediate calculations, or simple tasks.
This is done without the user generating a request to the server,
so the action is performed more quickly.
This is the acronym for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network.
This network was the forerunner of the Internet. It was developed
in the late 60's and early 70's by the U.S. Government, as an experiment
in transferring information via a network rather than holding duplicate
information in several places.
American Standard Code for Information Technology. This is the
standard world-wide code used by computers to represent all the
upper and lower case Latin letters, numbers, punctuation, etc. Each
code is represented by a 7 digit binary number e.g. 0000000, and
there are 128 standard ASCII codes.
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This is a representation of the amount of information that can
be passed along a network. The amount of bandwidth will bear a relationship
on the speed at which the information can be sent along the network
as well as the amount of information sent. The larger the file being
transferred, the more space it will take and so it may be sent more
slowly. This is because there are usually no priorities over which
bit of information will be transferred, so everything tries to be
sent together. It is a bit like rush hour traffic trying to get
into a city. The more traffic on the road the slower it all moves.
Network Traffic is a common cry when information is being transmitted
slowly!
A banner can either be used to announce your own Company or personal
name or identity across your website, or it can be an advertising
image, that invites the user to download it to view another product.
This term is used in describing how fast a modem is. The baud
rate is the number of 'bits' the modem can send or receive per second.
In the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) the B-channel
is the bearer channel. It is the channel that carries the main data.
This can be in the form of data, digital voice, fax etc. Usually
in a leased ISDN line there will be 2 B (bearer) channels and 1
D (delta) channel. The D channel usually carries control and signalling
information. The usual ISDN line will be 2 x 64 Kbps B channels
and 1 x 16 Kbps D channel.
This stands for Binary digIT. This is the smallest unit of computerised
data. There are 8 bits in a 'byte', which is the usual way for a
computer to store data and execute instructions
Blind Carbon Copy. In e-mails you may wish to send a copy of e-mail
to someone, without the original addressee knowing that a copy has
been sent. In this case use the BCC option on your mail options
when selecting whom to send the e-mail to.
When you use a browser on the Internet, you may wish to keep the
links that you have found so that you can find them again easily.
In Netscape and some other browsers this is called a bookmark, in
Microsoft's Internet Explorer it is called 'favourite'.
This stands for Bits Per Second and is a measurement of how fast
data is moved from one place to another. A 56.6 modem can move 56,600
bits per second.
This is the software that sits on your PC. It is an application
programme provides a way to look at and interact with the Internet.
It uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to request the information
from web servers throughout the Internet and then shows it to the
user.
This is a collection data, usually 8 bits (the smallest unit of
data). It is the means by which computers store data and execute
commands.
A bit map is a way of defining a space in which a graphic is displayed,
it also defines the colour of each pixel or 'bit 'in the display.
A GIF (graphic image file) and JPEG (joint photographic experts
group) are examples of graphic image file types containing bit maps.
As there is colour information as well as the information regarding
the picture in these files they tend to be large.
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A cable modem is a device that allows you to connect your PC to
a local cable TV line and receive data at approximately 1.5Mbps.
This rate of transfer is far greater than the current 28.8Kbps and
56.6 Kbps telephone modems. A cable modem can be added to or integrated
with a set top box that turns your TV set into an Internet channel.
For PC attachment as well it is necessary to have the line split
so that part goes to the TV and part goes to the PC.
Cable TV is a way of providing TV viewing by transmitting the programmes
through cable rather than broadcasting from transmitters. It is
possible to transmit digital programmes through cable.
In PC terms a cache is a temporary store of information. In this
way the web pages that you browse are stored in the browser's cache
directory on your hard disk. In this way if you wish to return to
a page you have looked at recently, the browser will retrieve the
information from the cache, returning the page more quickly that
if the request was sent to the web server again.
Common Gateway Interface. This is a standard method for web browser
software to communicate information to the web server. It is often
in the form of a guest book or similar. The web server then sends
this information to a CGI script, which is a programme used for
processing the function that the user has activated. For example,
one CGI script may run a guest book, or server statistics etc.
This is the common name given to a directory on the web server
where CGI scripts are stored.
This is the name given to the user who is requesting something
from a server. (Client - Server) The Client is the user's PC, the
Server is based on the network that the PC is attached to. As far
as the Internet is concerned, the user or Client logs on to the
Internet and through their web browser makes requests of the Server,
in this case a web server.
A cookie is a piece of information sent by a web server to a web
browser. The web browser saves this information and sends it back
to the web server when the browser makes additional requests to
the server. Depending on the type of cookie used, and the browser's
settings, the browser may or may not accept the cookie. The cookie
may be saved for a long or short term.
Cookies may contain information such as login details, or registration
information. When the server receives a request that contains a
cookie, the server is able to use that information to speed up the
response to the request because a lot of information is stored in
the cookie about the user. For example the server may customise
what is sent back to the user dependant on details the user has
previously entered and which are stored in the cookie. Cookies are
usually set to expire after a predetermined period of time, and
are usually saved in a temporary file. If the browser software is
shut down before the expiry time of the cookie, they may be stored
on the hard disk of your PC, in a file often called cookies.
In the context of the Internet, a counter is programme that counts
how many people have visited the website, usually the home page.
Many sites include a counter that is visible to the browser, to
show how popular the site is. The counter can form part of the statistical
information run by a CGI script that logs and analyses requests
from browsers.
Cyberspace is the popular term used to describe the interconnectivity
of people (humans) through the medium of computers and telecommunications.
William Gibson is credited with inventing the term by using it in
his novel Neuromancer in 1984. It is up to you whether or not to
believe this.
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In the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) the D-channel
is the channel that carries control and signalling information.
The D stands for Delta. See B-channel.
The data transfer rate or just data rate, is the amount of digital
data that can be moved from one place to another in a given space
of time. This relates to the bandwidth that the data is travelling
down. In general the greater the bandwidth, the higher the transfer
speed.
This relates to telephone connections, in as much as a connection
is made when you 'dial up'. In the context of the Internet, access
to the Internet is often through 'dial up' as the user accesses
the Internet through a modem. Other options include leased lines
that are dedicated ISDN connections.
This is how computers store and use pieces of information. The
information is stored electronically as either positive or negative
states. So a positive state is depicted as the number 1, and the
negative state is depicted as the number 0. Any data stored or transmitted
digitally is represented by a string of 0's and 1's. Each of these
digits is referred to as a 'bit' and a string of 'bits' of specified
number are referred to as a 'byte'.
This is the unique identifier that points to your website. It
is the way that the actual address of your website or e-mail address,
which is numerical, is portrayed in an alpha format so that it is
understood more easily. Each domain name can point to only one address,
but a single address may have several domain names pointing at it.
So if you have acquired the domain names example.com, example.net
and example.co.uk, they can all point at your website that represents
your company or name 'Example'.
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This is the conducting of business over the Internet. This can
include not only buying and selling, but also providing customer
service, and collaborating with business partners. Many companies
are now exploiting the availability, convenience and the vast coverage
of the Internet, to increase the presence of their business in the
world of commerce. With the introduction of security on many browsers
and servers, it has been possible to improve the security of business
transactions over the Internet, opening the door for more companies
to offer their products directly for sale over the Internet.
ecommerce and ebusiness are often used interchangeably, although
ecommerce is usually used to denote the actual buying and selling
of goods over the Internet. For retail selling the term etailing
is sometimes used.
Electronic mail. These are messages usually quite short and with
abbreviations, sent by one person to another or to a group of people
who have access to computers and a network. The network can be an
Intranet within a company only, or via the Internet so available
across the world. This can be a faster and cheaper way of communicating
than by phone. It is necessary to know the e-mail addresses of the
people you are sending the message to in its entirety.
This word is sometimes used to describe the direct selling over
the Internet.
This is usually the capability written into a programme, usually
in an e-mail server, to handle the distribution, forwarding, and
receiving of e-mail in a network. For example an SMTP server at
your ISP (Internet Service Provider) acts as the electronic postmaster
by handling your ingoing and outgoing e-mail. It will forward your
outgoing messages to their destinations, and collect your ingoing
mail so that you can collect them from another server (POP3). The
POP3 server holds your messages until you request them to be sent
to your workstation.
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Frequently Asked Questions. This is usually a document in the
help section online that lists and answers the most common questions
on a particular subject. The FAQ's the help section for Internet
services, answers the common questions on setting up a website and
creating and managing an account with ntl for their Hosting package.
This is a combination of hardware and software that separates
two areas of network for security purposes. It is possible to have
a firewall that will provide a secure environment against malicious
attack from anybody on the Internet. It can also be used to control
access to and usage of the Internet by internal users.
At one time this would have meant having a heated and passionate
discussion. Nowadays in the context of the Internet it is used to
denote any kind of derogatory comment. For example flame e-mail
is frowned upon.
File Transfer Protocol. This is a common way of moving files between
two Internet sites. The FTP is a special way to login to another
Internet site for this purpose.
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It is a network point that acts as an entrance to another network.
In terms of routing in the context of the Internet, the network
consists of gateway nodes and host nodes. The computers that serve
content such as web pages are host nodes. The computers that control
traffic within the ISP are gateway nodes.
Graphic Interface Format. This is a common format for image files.
It is most often used for files that contain images with large areas
of the same colour. Files of the same image stored in GIF format
are often smaller than files stored in JPEG format. However GIF
format is not as good as JPEG for storing photographic images.
This is a measure of data. It corresponds to 1000 or 1024 megabytes
depending on who is doing the counting. This term is often used
when describing the capacity of a hard disk.
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This is the physical aspect of computers, telecommunications,
and other information technology devices. The term was first used
to differentiate between the physically visible electronic elements
of the device and the programme/application that made it do the
things you wanted to it to do. This second part is known as the
software.
This is the abbreviation for Hard Disk Drive
In e-mail the header is the part the message that tells you the
route that the message took to get to you, the originator, addressee
and other recipients etc.
In the context of the Internet, a hit means a single request from
a web browser for a single item from a web server. For a web browser
to display 1 page that contains 4 graphics in it, there will have
been 5 individual hits on the server, 1 for the html page, and 1
for each of the graphics.
This has two meanings. The first is the name given to the default
page your web browser uses when it first starts up. The second is
the name given the main page on a website belonging to a company,
organisation, or person.
This is the name given to any computer on a network that is the
storage point for services that are available to other computers
on the network. In some cases it may be common to have one host
machine that provides several services, e.g. WWW or USENET.
This is the business of housing and serving files for one or more
website. Using a hosting service allows anyone who wishes to have
an Internet presence with a website, but who does not want to have
their own web server the opportunity to go online. Virtual hosting
is where the hosting company implies that their services will be
transparent and that each website will have its own Domain Name
and e-mail addresses.
HyperText Markup Language. This is the language code used to create
Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web. HTML has code
placed around it that specifies how it will appear to the user.
It is also possible to specify that a word or a block of text is
linked to another file on the Internet.
HyperText Transfer Protocol. This is the protocol for moving hypertext
files across the Internet.
This is the shortened version of Hypertext Link. It is the means
by which a word or a phrase can be used to retrieve and display
other files over the Internet.
This is the name given to any text that contains links to other
text, documents, words or phrases. These can be selected by the
user and the selection will cause another document etc to be retrieved
and displayed.
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This can be used as a noun or as a verb.
As a noun it is either:
A user interface, where a user can communicate with and use a
computer or programme(s). Through the use of a set of dials, knobs,
buttons, keys, operating system commands, graphical display formats
and other devices provided by the computer or programme, the user
can make the programme or computer perform the functions required.
A graphical user interface provides the user a more pictorial way
of interacting with the technology.
Also as a noun, a programming interface is a set of statements,
functions, options etc as a way of expressing instructions for,
and data provided by, a programme for a programmer to use.
It is also the physical and logical arrangement that allows the
attachment of one device to another.
As a verb, it is used to mean communication with another person
or an object. In the context of computer hardware it means the physical
connection made between two or more pieces of equipment so that
they can communicate or work together effectively.
This is the short name given to Network Solution Inc. who are
Domain Name providers. They allocate COM, NET and ORG domains. If
you wish to register a domain name that ends in COM, NET or ORG,
you will need to contact them.
(upper case I) This is the name given to a vast network of computers
all connected together. The Internet was evolved from the ARPANet
in the late 60's and early 70's, and is now a huge store of information
across the world as well as being used as a means of contacting
people and for buying and selling.
This is a private network inside a company or organisation, that
allows for the transfer of information and contacting people within
the network.
Internet Protocol Number. Every computer that is on the Internet
will have a unique IP number. It is a unique number consisting of
4 parts separated by dots e.g. 143.123.677.3. Most computers are
known to us by their domain name not the IP number as it is easier
to remember.
Integrated Services Digital Network. This is a way of moving data
across ordinary telephone lines at faster speeds. It requires adapters
at both ends i.e. the user and the access provider.
Internet Service Provider. This is a company or organisation that
provides access to the Internet to individuals and other companies.
It may also provide other services such as website building and
hosting. An ISP has the telecommunication lines and equipment needed
to have a point-of-presence on the Internet. Large ISP interconnect
with each other through peering arrangements.
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Joint Academic Network. This is the main network for the University
system of academic and research computers. Operated by UKERNA (United
Kingdom Education and Research Networking Association) which is
a non-profit making organisation under contract from the Joint Information
Systems Committee (JISC) of the UK Higher Education Funding Councils.
Java is a network-orientated language in programming terms that
is specifically designed to cater for programmes that are going
to be downloaded from the Internet. Invented by Sun Microsystems,
it can be downloaded and run apparently without fear of viruses
or other harm to your computer. Applets are small Java programmes
that can run animation, calculators etc. on web pages.
Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPEG is the most common file
format used for photographic images, as opposed to GIF formats for
line art and simple logo art.
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This means kilobits per second. It is a measure of the rate of
transfer of data over a network
A measure of data, thousand bytes, or more properly 1024 bytes.
The measurements are usually
8 bits to a byte 1000 bytes to a kilobyte 1000 kilobytes to a
megabyte 1000 megabytes to a gigabyte 1000 gigabytes to a terabyte
Megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes are often used to describe
the size of a computer hard disk.
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It is the organisation of programmes into specific and separate
steps, defined by interfaces. The results of each step is transferred
to the next layer or programme to complete an overall function.
Local Area Network. This relates to a computer network that is
limited to a small area, perhaps one floor in a building or the
building itself.
This refers to a phone line that is leased for exclusive 24 hour,
7 day a week use, or exclusive use only when required depending
on the package that you have bought from your telecommunications
provider. High speed data connections require a leased line.
This can be used in two ways as a verb or as a noun. As a verb
it means to enter a computer system. As a noun it is the account
name used to gain access to a computer system.
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Metropolitan Area Exchange. MAE is now the service mark for MCI
WorldCom. This is a major centre in the United States for switching
traffic between ISP's. There are two major MAE's, MAE-East in Washington,
DC, and MAE-West in the San Jose, California area. MAE-East interconnects
with US ISP's and also ISP's in Europe. MAE-West interconnects ISP's
in Silicon Valley. These are considered NAP's (Network Access Points).
A MAE can be viewed as a giant local area network, the only ISP
device that can Interconnect with a MAE is a router or a computer
host.
Millions of bits per second. This is a measure of the rate of
transfer of data over a 'cable', either telephone or optical fibre.
In data communications a megabit is a million bits.
A million bytes, technically 1000 or 1024 kilobytes
Meta is a prefix usually meaning 'an underlying definition'. A
Meta Tag can be used as a tag that can be put at the top of your
web page which will show as a brief description of the page when
a user is searching for web pages.
I.E. is Microsoft's graphical World Wide Web browser that is provided
with Windows 95,98 and NT operating systems.
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. This is the standard for
attaching non-text files to a standard Internet mail message.
To mirror something is to keep an exact copy of it. It may be
used to refer to an arrangement where information is written to
more than one hard disk simultaneously. In the event that one disk
fails, the information is still available on the second.
It may also be used in the context of the Internet where mirror
sites are websites or FTP sites that maintain exact copies of information
generated elsewhere, to provide more widespread access.
Modulator/DEModulator. A modem changes (modulates) digital signals
from a computer to analogue signals for a conventional copper twisted
pair telephone line. The modem also works in the opposite direction
and demodulates an incoming analogue signal to a digital signal
for the computer to interpret.
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This is the term used for the Internet etiquette, the unwritten
rules for using the Internet.
Netscape is the name of one of the two most popular World Wide
Web Browsers, and also the name of a company, Netscape Communications.
Currently almost all Internet users either use Netscape's browser
or Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Whenever you connect 2 or more computers, you have a network.
Connect 2 or more networks together and you have an Internet.
A node is a connection point, either to redistribute data or the
end point for data being distributed over a network.
Nominet UK are a Domain Name provider for domain names ending
in UK, e.g. .co.uk
If you wish to register a Domain Name that has an ending .co.uk,
.org.uk, .ltd.uk, .plc.uk you must apply to Nominet UK.
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This is the term sometimes used to describe Online Service Providers,
as opposed to ISP's. Companies like AOL, America Online, term themselves
OSP's and sometimes have their own web browsers. The service distinctions
between OSP's and ISP's are becoming less distinct as ISP's offer
more and more services at competitive prices.
AKA fibre optic. This is the term used to describe the medium
and the technology associated with the transmission of information
as light pulses along a glass or plastic wire or fibre. Optical
fibre carries much more information than conventional copper wire.
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A packet is a unit of data that is routed between an addressee
and addresser on the Internet or any other packet switching network.
When information is sent from one place to another over the Internet
it is first divided into chunks or packets by the TCP (Transfer
Control Protocol) layer of the TCP/IP. Each packet is labelled.
The individual packets may travel different routes over the Internet,
but when they arrive at their destination they are reassembled into
the original information.
This is the name given to the method of moving information/data
around the Internet. All the data coming out of a machine is broken
into chunks or packets, each packet is labelled with the addressee
and the addresser. This means that chunks of data from many different
sources can mingle on the same lines, be sorted and distributed
over different routes, and still reach the correct destinations.
This means that many people can use the same lines at the same time.
In the context of the World Wide Web, a page is a file that is
written in HTML (HyperText Markup Language). If you think of a website
as a book, then there will be many pages that make up that book.
Each page is delivered to you to view as you request it by using
the buttons or links contained in each page. The first page you
usually see and request is the home page. Each page is an individual
HTML file with its own URL or web address. With frames, multiple
pages can be downloaded to the browser and presented on designated
sections of the screen at the same time.
This is a code used with a login to gain access to a locked system.
Some systems set minimum and maximum combinations of letters and
numbers.
In the context of the World Wide Web a path is defined in the
URL or web address as the means to find other computers and pieces
of information stored on them. In a network the path is the route
between two points or nodes.
This is an approach to marketing and selling goods and services
in which a prospect agrees in advance to be sent marketing information.
A good example of this is Opt-in e-mail, where Internet users sign
up to be sent information about goods and services that they are
interested in.
Packet Internet. To Ping an Internet address is to verify that
the address exists and can accept requests. Ping is used to test
that a host computer you are trying to reach is actually operating.
This is a piece of software usually quite small that adds features
to a larger piece of software. Plug-ins may provide animation features
to an existing programme for example.
Point of Presence or Post Office Protocol. There are two meaning
for this. The first Point of Presence, usually means a location
where a network can be connected to. This is often with dial up
phones. So when an ISP says that it has a POP in Cardiff, it means
that it has a local number in Cardiff and/or a place where leased
lines can connect to the ISP's network.
The second meaning is Post Office Protocol. This refers to the
way that e-mail software collects its mail from a mail server. When
you obtain an e-mail account you must also have a POP account that
stores your e-mail until your e-mail programme collects it. The
Current version is POP3.
In the context of the Internet, a Port often refers to a number
that is part of the URL, appearing after a colon in the address
after the domain name. Every service on an Internet server listens
on a particular port number on that server. For example web servers
normally listen on port 80. Services can also listen on non-standard
ports, in which case the port number must be specified in the URL
when accessing the server. The URL could look like this www://abcd.efg.co:81
A portal may either be used to describe a website that is the
first thing that a user sees when using the web, or as a gateway
or 'point of entry' to encourage the user to visit a particular
site.
In an organisation or company that uses the Internet, a proxy
server is a server that acts as the intermediary between a workstation
user and the Internet. This means that the enterprise can ensure
security, administrative control and caching service. A proxy server
is associated with or part of a gateway server that separates the
internal network from the Internet and a firewall server that protects
the enterprise network from intrusion.
Public Switched Telephone Network. This is the most well known
system by which ordinary telephones are connected to exchanges.
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Quicktime is a multimedia development storage and playback technology
package from Apple. It combines sound, text, animation, and video
in a single file. Quicktime files can be recognised by their file
extensions: qt, mov, and moov.
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A router is a computer or software package, which is dedicated
to handling the connection between 2 or more networks. A router
will spend all its time looking at the destination addresses of
the packets passing through them. Having checked the destination
addresses, the router will decide which route to send each packet
on. A router is located at any juncture of networks or gateway,
including each Internet Point-of-Presence. A router is often included
as part of a network switch.
This is an Internet encryption and authentication system. It is
included as part of the web browsers from Microsoft, and Netscape.
It is also part of Lotus Notes, Intuits Quicken and many other products
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This is the ability of an application or product to continue to
function as it is changed in size or volume. Typically the rescaling
is to make the application or product larger. It also means the
ability to take full advantage of the rescaling in terms of performance.
In computer terms a script is a programme or a sequence of instructions
that is carried out by another programme.
This is the information that is used by the SSL protocol to establish
a secure connection for monetary transactions over the Internet.
Security Certificates contain information about who it belongs
to, who it was issued by , a unique identifier, valid dates, and
an encrypted section for verifying the contents of the certificate.
This is a computer or a software package, which is capable of
providing a specific service to client software on other computers.
The term can be used to refer to a particular piece of software
or to the machine it is running on. For example you may have heard
people saying, "Our mail server is down today, our e-mail cannot
get out". A single computer running as a server may have several
different server packages on it allowing it to provide different
services to clients on a network.
This is the agreement between the user and the provider of a service
that specifies what services the provider will supply. This SLA
is usually provided in measurable terms.
This is a company or organisation that provides storage space
on a server for web pages. In a virtual web server the company or
organisation server allows a transparent system where the web pages
stored appear to the user as a separate web server.
Secure Electronic Transaction. This is a system for enabling secure
financial transactions on the Internet. Supported initially by MasterCard
and Visa as the financial institutions, and Microsoft, Netscape
and others as the Internet providers.
SET makes use of Netscape's Secure Sockets Layer, and Microsoft's
Secure Transaction Technology to conduct the transaction. The transaction
is conducted and verified using a combination of digital certificates
and digital signatures (unique identifiers) between the purchaser,
a vendor, and the purchaser's bank in a way that allows privacy
and confidentiality.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. This is the main protocol used
to send electronic mail on the Internet. SMTP is a set of rules
that decide how a programme sending e-mail and a programme receiving
e-mail should interact.
This is the word commonly used to describe an attempt to use a
networked communications facility (e-mail) in an inappropriate manner.
Using the facility as a broadcast medium and sending the same message
to a large number of people who have not requested the communication
is called spamming.
Secure Sockets Layer. This is a programme layer created by Netscape
to manage the security of message transmissions in a network. Netscape's
SSL uses public and private key encryption systems from RSA, which
also includes the use of a digital certificate.
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This is a computer that fills a specific service where it has
multiple modems on one side and a connection to a LAN or host on
the other. In this way the Terminal Server answers all the calls
over the modems and passes the connections on to the appropriate
node.
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The term given to transferring files from one computer system
to another, usually a larger system. The File Transfer Protocol
(FTP) is the Internet facility for uploading and downloading files.
Uniform Resource Locator. This is the usual means of specifying
the address of any resource on the Internet that is part of the
World Wide Web. The URL will contain the name of the protocol required
to access the resource, a domain name that identifies a specific
computer on the Internet, and a hierarchical description of a file
location on the computer.
A URL may be written like this
http://www.ntl.com/in-business/default.asp
http is the HyperText Transfer Protocol
www .ntl.com is the domain name of the specific computer requested
The specific file requested is /in-business
The default page is /default.asp
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This rather odd name is the term given to the method of marketing
by persuading websites or users to pass on a marketing message to
other sites or users. Other terms used to mean the same are: avalanche
marketing, buzz marketing, and cascade marketing.
This is where a Hosting supplier provides transparent web space
on a web server, so that the virtual web server appears to have
its own presence.
Generally in this context, virtual means something appearing to
have a physical presence when in fact it doesn't. Virtual Web Server
means the appearance of a web server, whereas in fact the web server
is within a physical web server.
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A webmaster is a person who has 1 of 2 roles or occasionally both.
They may create and manage the content, words and graphics, and
the organisation of a website. They may also (or it may be done
by someone else) manage the computer server and technical programming
aspects of a website.
A web server is a programme that serves the files that form web
pages to the web users. To do this it uses the client/server model
and the World Wide Web's HyperText Transfer Protocol.
A website is a collection of related files that includes a front
file usually called a home page. A Company, individual or organisation
tells you how to find and access their website by giving you the
address of their home page. The other pages in the website can be
accessed from the home page. A website is sometimes confused with
a web server. Whereas some websites may be so large as to need 1
or more web servers to manage it, many more websites will reside
in a web space providers web server with other websites.
World Wide Web or www, is all the users of the Internet that are
using the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). It has also been likened
to an embodiment of human knowledge, a universe of network accessible
information.
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Yahoo! is a directory of world wide websites organised in a hierarchical
list of topic categories.
Year 2K or Y2K is the name given to the possible problems that
may be encountered as the year clocks click over to 2000. This is
because some programmes may still depend on a date configuration
involving only the last 2 digits of the year.. The problem will
arise in such programmes when the date rolls over from '99' to '00'.
The programme logic may expect the date to get large not smaller
and '00' looks smaller than'99'. Also the programme may not be able
to cope with the possibility in logic terms that the date may mean
1900.
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This has two meanings 1. The term given to define a physical address
by alpha and/or numeric combinations. The term Zip is commonly used
in America. It is designed to make mail sorting and delivery more
efficient. 2. The term given to compressing a large file using a
Windows programme called WinZip. The zipped file may then be small
enough to be transported by e-mail or on floppy disk whereas before
it was too large. When the file reaches its destination it can be
'un-zipped' to allow it to be read by the recipient.
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