Internet Glossary
1. Ajax
A way of including content in a web page in which javascript code in the web page fetches some data from a server and displays it without re-fetching (or refreshing) the entire surrounding page at the same time (hence the 'Asynchronous'). Often (but not always) the data fetched by the javascript code is in XML format. Ajax applications often update the Ajax content multiple times without the surrounding page needing to be updated even once.
2. Apache
The most popular web server (or HTTP server) software on the Internet. Apache is an open source Web server package, mostly used on Linux and Solaris platforms.
3. CGI
This stands for 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.
4. Cookie
This 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. Cookies might contain information such as login or registration information, online "shopping cart" information, user preferences, etc.
5. CSS
This stand for Cascading Style Sheet. A standard for specifying the appearance of text and other elements. 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 web site. 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.
6. Database
A collection of information stored oftentimes in a tabularized format. Examples: library catalogs, search engines, financial data, user data etc.
7. DHTML
This stands for 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.
8. DNS
This stands for Domain Name System. This is the system that translates Internet domain names into IP addreses (every website or domain name has an IP address). A "DNS Server" is a server that performs this kind of translation.
9. Domain Name
The unique name that identifies an Internet website. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots e.g antigravityinc.com. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right (the TLD) is the most general. A given machine may have more than one Domain Name but a given Domain Name points to only one machine. Domain names can have an optional www.
10. Download
Transferring data (usually a file) from a another computer (usually a server) to the computer you are are using. The opposite of upload.
11. FAQ
THis stands for Frequently Asked Questions. FAQs are documents that list and answer the most common questions on a particular subject. FAQs are usually written by people who have are of answering the same question over and over.
12. Firewall
A combination of hardware and software that separates a Network into two or more parts for security purposes.
13. FTP
This stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a way to login to another Internet site for the purposes of retrieving and/or sending files. Anonymous FTP allows you to connect to remote computers and to transfer publicly available computer files or programs.
14. GB
Gigabyte. A measurement of data storage space. Equal to a thousand (1024 to be exact) megabytes.
15. GIF
A common format for image files, especially suitable for images containing large areas of the same color. 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.
16. Host
Any computer on a network that is a repository for services available to other computers on the network. It is quite common to have one host machine provide several services, such as SMTP (email) and HTTP (web).
17. HTML
This stands for HyperText Markup Language. The coding language used to create Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web.
18. HTTP
This stand for HyperText Transfer Protocol. Abbreviation for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. Often this is the initial sequence of letters in a web address.
19. HTTPS
This stand for HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure. This is used to secure Web sites by using encrypted traffic to and from the user by means of Secure Socket Layer (SSL).
20. Hyperlink
A highlighted word or graphic in a document that, when clicked upon, takes the user to a related piece of information on the Internet. When the cursor passes over a link, it usually changes from an arrow to a pointing hand.
21. IMAP
This is Internet Message Access Protocol. This is an application layer Internet protocol that allows a local client to access e-mail on a remote server.
22. Intranet
A private internal network based on TCP/IP, usually for the information of staff within a business or an organisation.
23. J2EE
This stands for Java 2 Enterprise Edition. This is middleware written in Java used in critical, large-scale networked developments, such as electronic banking.
24. Java
Java is a network-friendly programming language invented by Sun Microsystems. It is often used to build large, complex systems that involve several different computers interacting across networks, for example transaction processing systems. Java is also used to create software with graphical user interfaces such as editors, audio players, web browsers, etc and for creating programs that run in small electronic devices, such as mobile telephones.
25. Javascript
JavaScript is a programming language that is mostly used in web pages, usually to add features that make the web page more interactive. When JavaScript is included in an HTML file it relies upon the browser to interpret the JavaScript. When JavaScript is combined with Cascading Style Sheets(CSS), and later versions of HTML (4.0 and later) the result is often called DHTML.
26. JPEG
This stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPEG is most commonly mentioned as a format for image files. JPEG format is preferred to the GIF format for photographic images as opposed to line art or simple logo art.
27. JSP
This stands for Java Server Pages. Java Server Pages - a scripting language based on Java for developing dynamic Web pages and sites. It is typically used on Solaris and Linux platforms.
28. KB
Kilobyte. A thousand bytes. Actually, usually 1024 bytes.
29. Linux
A widely used Open Source Unix-like operating system, on which the popular Apache web server normally runs.
30. Mashup
A web page or site made by automatically combining content from other sources, usually by using material available via RSS feeds and/or web services.
31. MB
Megabyte. Technically speaking, a million bytes, but to be exact, 1024 kilobytes.
32. Meta Tag
A specific kind of HTML tag that placed in the head of a web page which contains information not normally displayed to the user. Meta tags contain information about the page itself, hence the name ("meta" means "about this subject").
33. Open Source Software
Open Source Software is software for which the underlying programming code is available to the users so that they may read it, make changes to it, and build new versions of the software incorporating their changes. There are many types of Open Source Software, mainly differing in the licensing term under which (altered) copies of the source code may (or must be) redistributed.
34. Perl
This is Practical Extraction and Report Language. Perl is a programming language that is widely used for both very simple, small tasks and for very large complex applications.
35. PHP
PHP is a programming language used almost exclusively for creating software that is part of a web site (a web application). The PHP language is designed to be intermingled with the HTML that is used to create web pages. Unlike HTML, the PHP code is read and processed by the web server software (HTML is read and processed by the web browser software.)
36. Ping
To check if a server is running.
37. Plugin
A (usually small) piece of software that adds features to a larger piece of software.
38. PNG
PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics. PNG is a graphics format specifically designed for use on the World Wide Web. PNG enable compression of images without any loss of quality, including high-resolution images
39. Podcasting
A form of audio broadcasting using the Internet, podcasting takes its name from a combination of "iPod" and broadcasting.
40. Protocol
On the Internet "protocol" usually refers to a set of rules that define an exact format for communication between systems.
41. RSS
This means Rich Site Summary or RDF Site Summary or Real Simple Syndication. RSS is an XML-based summary of a web site, usually used for syndication and other kinds of content-sharing.
Most of these terms were copied fromhttp://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html.
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