Download Technology Chapter 23: Computer and Internet Communication

Technology
Chapter 23: Computer and Internet Communication—Terms and Definitions
Backbones: fiber-optic communication lines built by large communications companies to connect
regions in their systems.
Browser: a software program that acts as an interface between a user and the World Wide Web.
Central processing unit: the heart of a computer.
Dedicated access: a system in which a subscriber’s computer is directly connected to the Internet at
all times.
Dial-up access: a system in which computers are connected to the Internet through a modem.
Domain name: the address of a site on the Internet.
Electronic commerce: a type of commerce involving selling products and services over the Internet.
External storage devices: devices on which data can be stored outside the basic computer circuitry.
Hyperlinks: connections between one web page and other pages and web sites through urls.
Hypertext markup language: a type of coding that tells a receiving computer how a page should
look.
Input devices: devices that allow an operator to enter data into a computer’s operating system.
Internet: interconnected networks of computers that share information.
Internet access: the way a computer is connected to the Internet.
Internet protocol address: the identifying number assigned to each computer connected to the
Internet.
Internet service provider: a company that forms a network into which home computers are
connected.
Links: connections between one web page and other pages and web sites through urls.
Local area network: a system used in a single building or site to connect several personal
computers or workstations to a central server.
Memory: a major part of a computer where data and operating instructions are stored.
Network access points: points that allow a customer of one company to connect with a customer of
another company.
Networks: connections through which computers can communicate with other computers.
Output devices: devices on which data can be viewed.
Page: a text file someone creates to share information or ideas.
Point of presence: a connection point that lets local users access a company’s network.
Random-access memory: memory that can be read or changed by both the computer and the user.
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Read-only memory: memory that can be read by the computer, but cannot be changed.
Routers: specialized computers that determine how to send information from one computer to
another.
Search engines: special sites on the Internet that operate on the principle of key words.
Server: a special computer used to store programs and data for a network.
Uniform resource locator: a code that is a method of naming documents or sites on the World
Wide Web.
Wide area network: a type of computer network that covers large geographic areas.
World wide web: a computer-based network of information resources.
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.