Glossary
Click on the words below to jump to an explanation for each the Website-related terms.
Back/Forward
Bandwidth
Blog
Bookmark/Favourites
Broadband
Browser
Cyberspace
Dial-up Connection
Document
Domain Name
Download
Ecommerce
Extension/File Extension
Favourites/Favorites
FAQ
Firewall
FTP
GIF
Home Page
Hosting
HTML
HTML Document
HTTP
Internet
JPEG
Keyword(s)
Links
MPEG
Network
Phrase
Protocol
Search Engine
URL
Web Browser
Web Document
Web Page
World Wide Web
Back/Forward
Buttons in most browsers' Tool Button Bar at the upper left of the window. BACK returns you to the document previously viewed. FORWARD goes to the next document, after you go BACK.
If it seems like the BACK button does not work, check if you are in a new browser window sometimes Web pages are programmed to open a new window when you click on some links.
Bandwidth
The range of transmission frequencies a network can use. The greater the 'bandwidth' the more information that can be transferred over that network at one time. The term bandwidth also broadly includes throughput, meaning the amount of data sent.
Blog
A blog is basically a diary or journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is " blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a " blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in cronological order with the most recent additions featured most prominantly.
Bookmark/Favourites
This is a way in browsers to store in your computer direct links to sites you wish to return to. Netscape, Mozilla, and Firefox use the term Bookmarks. The equivalent in Internet Explorer (IE) is called a " Favorite." To create a bookmark, click on BookmarkS or Favourites, then Add. Or left-click on and drag the little bookmark icon to the place you want a new bookmark filed. To visit a bookmarked site, click on Bookmarks or Favourites and select the site from the list.
Broadband
A general term for different types of high-speed, high-bandwidth connections to the Internet, including DSL and cable.
Browser
A type of software that allows you to view and navigate the Internet examples are Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Cyberspace
A term coined by William Gibson in his novel " Neuromancer" to refer to a near-future computer network where users mentally travel through matrices of data. The term is now used to describe the Internet and the other computer networks.
Dial-up Connection
This is a connection from your computer to a host computer, for example to browse the Internet, over standard telephone lines.
Document
When used in reference to the World Wide Web, a document is any file containing text, media or hyperlinks that can be transferred from an HTTP server to a client program.
Domain Name
The unique name given to every website. It is used to physically locate a website over the Internet. A domain name consists of three
different parts with each separated by a period (full stop/dot), e.g. www.sitepluswebservices.com.
Download
To copy something from a primary source to a more peripheral one, as in saving something found on the Web (currently located on its server) to diskette or to a file on your local hard drive.
Ecommerce
A way to do business - either wholly or partially - over the Internet or a network.
Extension or File Extension
In Windows, DOS and some other operating systems, one or several letters at the end of a filename. Filename extensions usually follow a period (full stop or dot) and indicate the type of file. For example, this.txt denotes a plain text file, that.htm or that.html denotes an HTML file. Some common image extensions are picture.jpg or picture.jpeg or picture.bmp or picture.gif
Favourites
In the Internet Explorer browser, a means to quickly get back to a URL you like, similar to Bookmarks.
FAQ
This is the acronym for Frequently Asked Questions. A common feature on the Internet, FAQs are files of answers to commonly asked questions. Read FAQs before wasting electrons asking obvious questions. Saves you from receiving flames.
Firewall
This term refers to security measures designed to protect a networked system from unauthorized or unwelcome access.
FTP
File Transfer Protocol is a protocol that allows the transfer of files from one computer to another. FTP is also the verb used to describe the act of transferring files from one computer to another.
GIF
This acronym stands for Graphic Interchange Format, a commonly used file compression format developed by CompuServe for transferring graphics files to and from online services, e.g. viewing images online.
Home Page
The document displayed when you first open your Web browser. Home Page can also refer to the first document you come to at a Web site.
Hosting
A term used for storing and maintaining files, email or domains on a server that is connected to the Internet.
HTML
An acronym for Hyper Text Mark-up Language, HTML is the language used to tag various parts of a Web document so browsing software will know how to display that document's links, text, graphics and attached media.
HTML Document
A document written in Hyper Text Mark-up Language.
HTTP
The abbreviation for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, HTTP is used to link and transfer hypertext documents.
Internet (upper case 'I')
The Internet consists of the entire interconnecting global network of computers. An " internet" (lower case i) is any computers connected to each other (a network), and are not part of the Internet unless they use specific protocols. An " intranet" is a private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software that you would find on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use. An intranet may be on the Internet or may simply be an internal network.
JPEG
The acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group, JPEG is an image compression format used to transfer colour photographs and images over computer networks. Along with GIF, it's one of the most common ways photos are moved over the Web.
Keywords
A word searched for in a search command, for example in Google. Keywords are searched in any order. Use spaces to separate keywords in simple keyword searching. To search keywords exactly as keyed (in the same order), see Phrase.
Links
These are the hypertext connections between Web pages, usually a button graphic or text (often underlined, different colour or bold to make it more visible). This is a synonym for hotlinks or hyperlinks.
MPEG
The acronym for Moving Pictures Expert Group, MPEG is an international standard for video compression and desktop movie presentation. A special viewing application is needed to run MPEG files on your computer.
Network
Group of computers or devices connected with each other. A network is used to transfer data within the devices.
Phrase
More than one KEYWORD, searched exactly as keyed (all terms required to be in documents, in the order keyed). Enclosing keywords in quotations " " forms a phrase in AltaVista and some other search tools. Sometimes a phrase is called a " character string."
Protocol
A set of standards that define how traffic and communications are handled by a computer or network routers.
Search Engine
This term refers to a program that helps users find information in text-oriented databases, such as Google or Yahoo.
URL
This is the abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator, the addressing system used in the World Wide Web and other Internet resources. The URL contains information about the method of access, the server to be accessed and the path of any file to be accessed. The URL of SitePlus Web Services is http://www.sitepluswebservices.com.
Web Browser
This is the software that allows a user to access and view HTML documents. Examples of Web browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mosaic, Cello and Lynx.
Web Document
An HTML document that is browsable on the Web.
Web Page
An HTML document that is accessible on the Web.
World Wide Web
Also known as WWW or W3, the World Wide Web is a hypertext-based Internet service used for browsing Internet resources.
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