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Glossary of Terms
Access Provider
The entity that connects you to the Internet. Access providers, also
known as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), provide your link to the
Internet.
Application
Sometimes known as a client or an "app", it is a program that
performs a specific function. FTP, Mail, Gopher, Mosaic, and Telnet
clients are the most common examples of Internet applications.
Article
A posting in a newsgroup.
ASCII
American Standards for Computer Information Interchange. This is the
organization that sets the standard for the codes used to create
characters in computers.
Bandwidth
This refers to the difference (measured in Hz), between the highest
and lowest frequencies of a transmission. Most people loosely refer to
bandwidth as the amount of data that can be transferred over a
network connection.
BCC
Blind Carbon Copy. A field in an email package that is used to address
a message to another person. The original recipient of the message
will not see that it was also sent to a BCC.
Bookmark
A stored location of information. Setting a bookmark allows you to go
directly to the location rather than typing it.
Boolean Search
Strategy
Boolean searching allows you to use the AND, OR, AND NOT, or BUT
NOT operators to produce sophisticated searches. In order to do this
effectively you should use parentheses to group like terms together.
Browser
A program used to access locations on the World Wide Web. Examples
of such programs are Netscape, Internet Explorer and Mosaic.
CC
Carbon Copy. A text field in an email program that allows you to send
a copy of the message to another person. The original recipient of the
message will see that you sent the Carbon Copy.
Data Encryption
Key (DEK)
Much like an actual key used for locking and re-opening doors, DEK's
are used for the encryption and decoding of message text, sometimes
in the form of a digital signature.
Dedicated Line
A communications line that is used solely for computer connections. If
you buy an additional phone line for your modem, that is a dedicated
line. There other types of dedicated lines (such as T3s and T1s) that
are used for larger network entities.
Dialup
A widely used method of accessing the Internet. A dialup connection
uses regular phone lines to connect one computer to another via
modem.
Domain Name
Service (DNS)
The DNS is a static, hierarchical name service used with TCP/IP hosts,
and is housed on a number of servers on the Internet. Basically, it
maintains a database for figuring out and finding (or resolving) host
names and IP addresses on the Internet. This allows users to specify
remote computers by host names rather than numerical IP addresses.
Download
The process of transferring computer files from another location to
your own location.
Electronic Mail
(Email)
A method used by which computer users can exchange messages with
each other over a network. Email is probably the most widely used
communications tool on the Internet. One of email's advantages is its
ability to be forwarded and replied to easily. If an email is badly
received by a group or a user, the sender is likely to get "flamed".
Email
Electronic Mail allows you to write letters or notes on your computer
and send them electronically. Many different organizations have been
using different electronic mail programs internally for years, and the
many online services such as CompuServe were originally designed to
provide email connection to anyone else subscribing to that service.
Internet email allows you to send mail to anyone in the world on the
Internet.
Email Address
Your email address is made up of several parts. By convention,
addresses use lowercase letters with no spaces. The first part of the
address, the username, identifies a unique user on a server. The "@"
(pronounced "at") separates the username from the host name.
FAQ
Acronym for "Frequently Asked Questions". FAQ's are widely available
on the Internet and usually take the form of large, instructional text
files. They are written on a wide variety of topics, and are usually the
most up-to-date source for specialized information.
File Transfer
Protocol (FTP)
The most widely-used way of downloading and uploading (getting and
putting) files across an Internet connection. The File Transfer Protocol
is a standardized way to connect computers so that files can be shared
between them easily. There is a set of commands in FTP for making
and changing directories, transferring, copying, moving, and deleting
files. Formerly, all FTP connections were text based, but graphical
applications are now available that make FTP commands as easy as
dragging and dropping. Numerous FTP clients exist for a number of
platforms.
Freenet:
A network system made up of community-based bulletin board
systems with email information, services, interactive communications,
and conferencing. They are usually funded and operated by individuals
or organizations much like public television. Freenet providers are part
of the National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN), a Clevelandbased organization that works to make computer services as freely
available as public libraries.
Freeware
Software created by programmers where no payment is expected.
FTP
File Transfer Protocol. The communication program used to access files
in a directory on remote computers.
HTML
Hypertext Mark-up Language, which is used to create pages on the
World Wide Web.
HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The methodology by which links are
created on the World Wide Web.
Hyperlinks
Phrases or text on an WWW home page that are linked to other pages
of information.
Hypertext
A type of text that allows embedded “links” to other documents.
Clicking on or selecting a hypertext link displays another document or
section of a document. Most World Wide Web documents contain
hypertext.
Internet
A large, uncontrolled, unadministered, anarchic cyberstate that will
soon take over the world. Basically it is just everyone’s computers
hooked together. It is not a corporation, organization, or entity in
itself. When you connect to the Internet, you actually become part of
it. Always capitalized, the word Internet can also be referred
colloquially as the “Net”.
Internet Service
Provider (ISP)
An ISP is a company that maintains a network that is linked to the
Internet via a dedicated communication line, usually a high-speed link
known as a T1. An ISP offers use of its dedicated communication lines
to companies or individuals that cannot afford the $1,300 a month for
a direct connection. Using a modem, you can dial up to a service
provider whose computers will connect you to the Internet, typically
for a fee.
JPEG
File format, Joint Photographers Expert Group.
LAN
Acronym for “Local Area Network”. LANs are now commonplace in
most businesses, allowing users to send email and share resources
such as files, printers, modems, etc. Currently most larger companies
are connection their LANs to the Internet, allowing users to connect to
resources within or outside the LAN.
Listservs
An automated mailing list distribution system. Listservs exist for a
multitude or professional, educational, and special interest groups.
Nettiquette
The combination of the words “Net” and “etiquette”, this refers to the
proper behaviour on a network, and more generally the Internet. The
key element in ettiquette is remembering that actual people are on the
other end of a computer connection, and offensive comments or
actions are just as offensive even if you cannot see your recipient.
News Reader
The software package that can access the newsgroup feature. For
example, Trumpet News is a newsreader package.
NewsGroup
A discussion group on the Internet.
Search Engine
A program built into a database to search for terms or words contained
within that database.
Shareware
Software created by programmers that is offered for testing. Payment
is expected if you continue to use the software longer than a specified
period of time.
Signature
An ASCII text file that can be automatically attached to the bottom of
a piece of email or newsgroup posting that identifies the sender. Many
signatures (or “sigs”) use symbols and characters to create images or
words to make the sig more interesting.
Undeliverable Mail
Mail that has been returned due to incorrect addressing in the To:
section of an email message.
Universal Resource
Locator (URL)
More commonly referred as URL, the Universal Resource Locator refers
to the entire address that is recognized “universally” as the address for
an Internet resource. Each resource on the Internet has a unique URL.
URL’s begin with letters that identify the resource type, such as http,
ftp, gopher, etc. These types are followed by a colon and two slashes.
Next, the computer’s name is listed, followed by the directory and
filename of the remote resource.
UnZip
The process of decompressing a file to make it ready for installation on
your computer.
Web Browser
Software needed to navigate through the web. For example, Netscape
and Mosaic are Web Browsers.
World Wide Web
(WWW or W3)
The “Web” is a collection of online documents houses on Internet
servers around the world. The concept of the Web was created by
researchers at CERN in Switzerland. Web documents are written or
“coded” in HTML. To access these documents, you have to use a Web
browser, such as Netscape or Mosaic. When these browsers access (or
hit) a page, the server uses the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to
send the document to your computer.
Zipped File
A file that has been subject to the process of compression in the .zip
format. It makes the file smaller so that you spend less time online
transferring. There are a number of other compression formats, such
as the .tar format which stands for tape archive, for different
platforms.
Zipping
The process of compressing, in the .zip compression format, a file or
files for storage or transmission to another site.
Source: MasterTrak™, Exploring the Internet Courseware 7100. © CCI Computer Courseware
International Inc. February 1997.