Web Terms |
|
|
Anchor A marker for the beginning or the end of a hypertext link. Anonymous FTP A method of using FTP without having an account on the server system. On systems offering an anonymous FTP service, the user names 'anonymous' and 'ftp' are recognized to allow access using the user's email address as a password. Attribute A parameter of an HTML, element, that modifies its effect. Authoring tool A program which partially automates the process of writing HTML. Body In reference to an HTML document, the main text part of the document: its content. Browser A program which sends requests for resources across networks and displays those resources when they are received. Another name for a Web client program. Button A screen-layout term, meaning a graphical representation of a button on an area of screen, clesigned to be 'clicked on' or otherwise selected, as a method of user input. CERN The European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva, Switzerlancl, where the Web was first developed. Has lent its name to one of the most popular Web server programs, which was developed there. CGI Common Gateway Interface. The standard interface between HTTP servers and external programs. Clickable image An image displayed on a screen, which when pointed at with a mouse or other pointing device, initiates some action on the computer. Client A program requesting information from a server program. In Webspeak the program that a person uses to browse the Web (also called browser). Client-Server architecture A basic concept used in computer networking, wherein servers retrieve information requested by clients, and clients display that information to the user. Container An HTML element that contains text. The term is also used in SGML, with the same meaning. Ezine Electronic Magazine; often only available online. FAQ Frequently Asked Question; the list of commonly asked questions new users may have and the answers provided. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) A standard Internet protocol which allows files to be transmitted from one computer to another across a network. Fill-out forms Often abbreviated to Forms. The main mechanism whereby Web sites elicit information from Web users. User-entered data is returned to the Web site encoded within a browser request. GIF Graphics Interchange Format. A standard graphics file format developed by CompuServe, Inc. GUI Graphical User Interface - pronounced "gooey"; a way of interacting with a system using icons and othervisual and audio aids. Head That part of a Web document, at the beginning, which contains metainformation about the document. Home page A Web page that is used as an individual user's starting point, i.e. the page that is fetched when the user starts his or her browser. It is also used to refer to the top level page of a server, although this is more correctly termed a Welcome Page. Host A computer attached to the Internet. HTML HyperText Markup Language. The markup language used for World Wide Web documents. HTTP HyperText Transfer Protocol. The Internet protocol that is used to allow Web clients to retrieve information from Web servers. Hypermedia Information presented in prose, sound, video, animation, static graphic, icons, and/or other formats connected by hyperlinks allowing access from one linked chunk of information directly to another. Hypertext Words or phrases in a document which when selected, usually by clicking with a mouse, are used as links which summon up other information. Image Map A form of clickable image in which different computer actions are initiated according to which area of the image is selected. Internet The global computer network of networks. When spelled with a lower case i, the term refers to an interconnected group of networks. IP Address Internet Protocol Address. A standardized method of identifying a particular computer connected to a network. The IP address is expressed as four numbers, separated by periods, each less than 256, and provides a unique identifier for evcry computer connected to a network, in much thc same way as postal addresses operate. JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group; also refers to the graphics file format developed by that body. Kiosk-mode browscr A browser program configured to allow user access only to a restricted range of Web documents. Listserv A program that administers an electronic mailing list . Mail List A list of email users who have similar interests and desire to recieve notices posted on a particular topic. Markup language A language specially designed for the processing, definition and presentation of text. MIME Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. An extension to the Internet mail standard, now often used to package multimedia resouces being transmitted across networks. MPEG Motion Pictures Experts Group; also refers to the format for files containing moving pictures developed by that group. Network A generic term for physically separate computers connected to each other by means of telecommunications hardware and software. Port A numeric identifier for an Internet service used to distinguish between different services offered by hosts. Web servers, for example, use port 80 by default. Network ports are unrelated to hardware ports, such as printer ports on PCs. PPP Point to Point Protocol. An Internet protocol for connecting computers over a serial line (telephone line). Protocol A standardized description of the messages that computer programs exchange to communicate with each other over the Internet to provide a particular service. Also used to refer to the service, such as FTP, HTTP, and so on. Resource An item of information provided on the Web. It was felt that other terms such as document, were too narrow to express the range of different media currently available, and likely to become available in the future . RFC Request For Comments. The name given to discussion and documentation papers for Internet standards. Server A software program that provides a service by responding to requests from other client programs. The term is also used to refer to the computer system on which the server program runs. SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol; the Internet electronic mail transfer protocol. Tag An HTML character sequence that starts an element, e.g., <head> TELNET A standard Internet protocol, providing a remote login service. URC Uniform Reource Citation. A new Internet addressing system, still under discussion, that will allow multiple copies of a resource to be identified. URI Uniform Resource Identifier. A standard means of addressing resources on the Web. See also URLs, URCs and URNs. URL Uniform Resource Locator. The current addressing scheme for resources on the Web, which gives the location of a particular copy of a resource. URN Uniform Resource Name. A new Internet addressing scheme, still under discussion, which will allow multiple copies of a resource to be identified. Virtual document A document which does not exist as a physical file, but which is generated in response to a request. WAIS Wide Area Information Service. A network information system allowing searching of documents. Welcome Page The introductory Web page for a Web server, also refered to as a home page. |
|
|
email: noblete@bath.noacsc.org Last updated: 04/01/04 |
|