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Dictionary
| 3-D |
In
computers, 3-D (three dimensions or three-dimensional) describes an
image that provides the perception of depth. When 3-D images are made
interactive so that users feel involved with the scene, the experience
is called virtual reality. You usually need a special plug-in viewer
for your Web browser to view and interact with 3-D images. Virtual
reality experiences may also require additional equipment.
3-D image creation can be viewed as a three-phase process of:
tessellation, geometry, and rendering. In the first phase, models are
created of individual objects using linked points that are made into a
number of individual polygons (tiles). In the next stage, the polygons
are transformed in various ways and lighting effects are applied. In
the third stage, the transformed images are rendered into objects with
very fine detail.
Popular products for creating 3-D effects include Extreme 3D, LightWave
3D, Ray Dream Studio, 3D Studio MAX, Soft Image 3D, and Visual Reality.
The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) allows the creator to
specify images and the rules for their display and interaction using
textual language statements. |
| |
| ACTIVE X |
ActiveX
is the name Microsoft has given to a set of "strategic" object-oriented
program technologies and tools. The main technology is the Component
Object Model (COM). Used in a network with a directory and additional
support, COM becomes the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM). The
main thing that you create when writing a program to run in the Active X
environment is a component, a self-sufficient program that can be run
anywhere in your ActiveX network (currently a network consisting of
Windows and Macintosh systems). This component is known as an Active x
control. ActiveX is Microsoft's answer to the Java technology from Sun
Microsystems. An ActiveX control is roughly equivalent to a Java
applet.
If you have a Windows
operating system on your personal computer, you may notice a number of
Windows files with the "OCX" file name suffix. OCX stands for "Object
Linking and Embedding control." Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) was
Microsoft's program technology for supporting compound documents such
as the Windows desktop. The Component Object Model now takes in OLE as
part of a larger concept. Microsoft now uses the term "ActiveX control"
instead of "OCX" for the component object.
One of the main advantages of a component is that it can be re-used by
many applications (referred to as component containers). A COM
component object (Active X control) can be created using one of several
languages or development tools, including C++ and Visual Basic, or
Power Builder, or with scripting tools such as VB Script.
Currently, ActiveX controls run in Windows 95/98/NT and in Macintosh.
Microsoft plans to support ActiveX controls for UNIX. |
| |
| ADDRESS |
The
location of an Internet resource. An email address may take the form of
alias@username.abacusasansol.com A web address looks something like
http://www.abacusasansol.com |
| |
| ADN |
(Advanced Digital Network) -- Usually refers to a 56Kbps leased-line. |
| |
| ADSL |
ADSL
(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is a technology for transmitting
digital information at high bandwidths on existing phone lines to homes
and businesses. ADSL is asymmetric in that it uses most of the channel
to transmit downstream to the user and only a small part to receive
information from the user. ADSL simultaneously accommodates analog
(voice) information on the same line. ADSL is generally offered at
downstream data rates from 512 Kbps to about 6 Mbps. A form of ADSL,
known as Universal ADSL or G.Lite, has been initially approved as a
standard by the ITU.
ADSL was
specifically designed to exploit the one-way nature of most multimedia
communication in which large amounts of information flow toward the
user and only a small amount of interactive control information is
returned. Several experiments with ADSL to real users began in 1996. In
1998, wide-scale installations began in several parts of the U.S. ADSL
and other forms of DSL are expected to become more widely available in
1999 and 2000. With ADSL (and other forms of DSL), telephone companies
are competing with cable companies and their cable modem services.
|
| |
| ANCHOR |
Either
the starting point or destination of a hyperlink. The letters at the
top of this page are all anchors - clicking one takes you to another
part of this page. |
| |
| ANONYMOUS FTP |
Using
the Internet's File Transfer Protocol (FTP), anonymous FTP is a method
for giving users access to files so that they don't need to identify
themselves to the server. Using an FTP program or the FTP command
interface, the user enters "anonymous" as a user ID. Usually, the
password is defaulted or furnished by the FTP server. Anonymous FTP is
a common way to get access to a server in order to view or download
files that are publicly available.
If someone tells you to use anonymous FTP and gives you the server
name, just remember to use the word "anonymous" for your user ID.
Usually, you can enter anything as a password. |
| |
| APPLET |
An
applet is a little application program. Prior to the World Wide Web,
the built-in writing and drawing programs that came with Windows were
sometimes called "applets." On the Web, using Java, the object-oriented
programming language, an applet is a small program that can be sent
along with a Web page to a user. Java applets can perform interactive
animations, immediate calculations, or other simple tasks without
having to send a user request back to the server. |
| |
| ARCHIVE |
1)
An archive is a collection of computer files that have been packaged
together for backup, to transport to some other location, for saving
away from the computer so that more hard disk storage can be made
available, or for some other purpose. An archive can include a simple
list of files or files organized under a directory or catalog structure
(depending on how a particular program supports archiving).
On personal computers with the Windows operating system, WinZip is a
popular program that lets you create an archive (a single file that
holds a number of files that you plan to save to another medium or send
someone electronically) or extract the files. WinZip also compresses
the files that are archived, but compression is not required to create
an archive. A Win Zip archive has the file name suffix ".zip".
In UNIX-based operating systems, the tar (tape archive) utility can be
used to create an archive or extract files from one. On mainframe
operating systems such as IBMs MVS and OS/390, procedures for archiving
or backing up files are often automated as a daily operation.
2) On Web sites as well as in libraries, an archive is a collection of
individual publications that are often cataloged or listed and made
accessible in some way. Magazines, journals, and newspapers with Web
sites sometimes refer to their back issues as an archive.
3) Web and FTP sites that provide software programs that can be
downloaded sometimes refer to the list of downloadable files as an
archive or as archives. |
| |
| ARJ |
Allows
the user to store one or more files in a compressed format in an
archive file. This saves space both in the compression and in the
saving of disk sector clusters. Particularly strong compressing
databases, uncompressed graphics files, and large documents. Named
after the creator, American programmer Robert Jung. |
| |
| ARPANET |
(Advanced
Research Projects Agency Network) -- The precursor to the Internet.
Developed in the late 60's and early 70's by the US Department of
Defense as an experiment in wide-area-networking that would survive a
nuclear war. |
| |
| ASCII |
ASCII
is the most common format for text files in computers and on the
"Internet". In an ASCII file, each alphabetic, numeric, or special
character is represented with a 7-bit binary number (a string of seven
0s or 1s). 128 possible characters are defined.
UNIX and DOS-based operating systems (except for Windows NT) use ASCII
for text files. Windows NT uses a newer code, Unicode. IBMs System 390
servers use a proprietary 8-bit code called EBCDIC. Conversion programs
allow different operating systems to change a file from one code to
another.
ASCII was developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). |
| |
| ASP |
An
Active Server Page (ASP) is an HTML page that includes one or more
scripts (small embedded programs) that are processed on a Microsoft Web
server before the page is sent to the user. An ASP is somewhat similar
to a server-side include or a common gateway interface (CGI)
application in that all involve programs that run on the server,
usually tailoring a page for the user. Typically, the script in the Web
page at the server uses input received as the result of the user's
request for the page to access data from a database and then builds or
customizes the page on the fly before sending it to the requestor.
ASP is a feature of the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS),
but, since the server-side script is just building a regular HTML page,
it can be delivered to almost any browser. You can create an ASP file
by including a script written in VBScript or JScript in an HTML file or
by using ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) program statements in the HTML
file. You name the HTML file with the ".asp" file suffix. Microsoft
recommends the use of the server-side ASP rather than a client-side
script, where there is actually a choice, because the server-side
script will result in an easily displayable HTML page. Client-side
scripts (for example, with JavaScript) may not work as intended on
older browsers. |
| |
| ASPI |
Advanced Scsi Programming Interface. |
| |
| ATX |
ATX
is an industry-wide open specification for a desktop computer's
motherboard. The most current version (December, 1996) is Specification
2.0.
ATX improves the
motherboard design by taking the small AT motherboard that has been an
industry standard and rotating by 90 degrees the layout of the
microprocessor and expansion slots. This allows space for more
full-length add-in cards. A double-height aperture is specified for the
rear of the chassis, allowing more possible I/O arrangements for a
variety of devices such as TV input and output, LAN connection, and so
forth. The new layout is also intended to be less costly to
manufacture. Fewer cables will be needed. The power supply has a
side-mounted fan, allowing direct cooling of the processor and cards,
making a secondary fan unnecessary. Version 2.0 incorporates
improvements suggested by chassis and power supply vendors.
Almost all major computer manufacturers, including IBM, Compaq, and
Apple are building desktops with ATX motherboards. IBM is using ATX in
both Intel and Power PC platforms. |
| |
| AUTHENTICATION |
A
security measure for checking a user's identity (user ID). Some Web
sites require a user's identity to be authenticated before they can
enter. This is usually done with a password and or username. |
| |
| AUTO
RESPONDER |
An
auto responder is a computer program that automatically returns a
prewritten message to anyone who submits email to a particular Internet
address, whether an individual or a Web site. Autoresponders are widely
used by Web sites for the purpose of responding to visitor comments and
suggestions in a preliminary way and, in cases where traffic is heavy,
as the sole way to communicate with user inquiries.
Publishers of ezines and other online email newsletters typically use
an autoresponder to respond to people who subscribe or cancel their
subscriptions. |
| |
| BACKBONE |
A backbone is a larger transmission line that carries data gathered from smaller lines that interconnect with it.
1) At the local level, a backbone is a line or set of lines that local
area networks connect to for a wide area network connection or within a
local area network to span distances efficiently (for example, between
buildings).
2) On the Internet or other wide area network, a backbone is a set of
paths that local or regional networks connect to for long-distance
interconnection. The connection points are known as network nodes or
telecommunication data switching exchanges (DSEs).
|
| |
| BANDWIDTH |
The
bandwidth of a transmitted communications signal is a measure of the
range of frequencies the signal occupies. The term is also used in
reference to the frequency-response characteristics of a communications
receiving system. All transmitted signals, whether analog or digital,
have a certain bandwidth. The same is true of receiving systems.
Generally speaking, bandwidth is directly proportional to the amount of
data transmitted or received per unit time. In a qualitative sense,
bandwidth is proportional to the complexity of the data for a given
level of system performance. For example, it takes more bandwidth to
download a photograph in one second than it takes to download a page of
text in one second. Large sound files, computer programs, and animated
videos require still more bandwidth for acceptable system performance.
Virtual reality (VR) and full-length three-dimensional audio/visual
presentations require the most bandwidth of all.
In digital systems, bandwidth is data speed in bits per second (bps).
Thus, a modem that works at 57,600 bps has twice the bandwidth of a
modem that works at 28,800 bps. In analog systems, bandwidth is defined
in terms of the difference between the highest-frequency signal
component and the lowest-frequency signal component. Frequency is
measured in cycles per second (hertz). A typical voice signal has a
bandwidth of approximately three kilohertz (3 kHz); an analog
television (TV) broadcast video signal has a bandwidth of six megahertz
(6 MHz) -- some 2,000 times as wide as the voice signal. |
| |
| BAUD |
Baud
was the prevalent measure for data transmission speed until replaced by
a more accurate term, bps (bits per second). One baud is one electronic
state change per second. Since a single state change can involve more
than a single bit of data, the bps unit of measurement has replaced it
as a better expression of data transmission speed.
The measure was named after a French engineer, Jean-Maurice-Emile
Baudot. It was first used to measure the speed of telegraph
transmissions. |
| |
| BBS |
A
BBS (bulletin board system) is a computer that can be reached by
computer modem dialling (and, in some cases, by Telnet) for the purpose
of sharing or exchanging messages or other files. Some BBSs are devoted
to specific interests; others offer a more general service. The
definitive BBS List says that there are 40,000 BBSs world-wide.
Among special interests represented on BBSs are dentistry, law, guns,
multi-player games, Druidic practices, and information for the
disabled. A significant number of BBS sites offer "adult-oriented" chat
and images that can be downloaded. Many BBSs are free; some charge a
membership or use fee.
Essentially, a bulletin board system is a host computer that is
accessible by dial-up phone (you need to know the phone number) or, at
some sites, via Telnet. Since calling a bulletin board system can
involve long-distance charges, you may want to try starting with some
in your area.
Bulletin board systems originated and generally operate independently
of the Internet. However, many BBSs have Web sites. And many Internet
access providers have bulletin board systems from which new Internet
users can download the necessary software to get connected.
BBSs have their own culture and jargon. A sysop is the person who runs
the site (many BBSs are on small home computers that have simply added
the necessary software to keep track of files and users). |
| |
| BINHEX |
BinHex
is a utility for converting (encoding) Macintosh files into files that
will travel well on networks either as files or email attachments. Like
Uuencode, BinHex encodes a file from 8-bit binary or bit-stream
representation into a 7-bit ASCII set of text characters. The recipient
must decode it at the other end. Older email utilities sometimes cant
handle binary transmissions so text encoding ensures that a
transmission will get to an older system. BinHex specifically handles
both resource and data forks in Macintosh files (which Uuencode
doesnt). BinHex files have a suffix of ".hqx". (Earlier versions have
the suffix ".hex".)
Netscape
and possibly other Web browsers as well as some popular email
applications (including Eudora) include BinHex encoding and decoding
capability. Otherwise, you can download a BinHex utility for use in
either the Macintosh, Windows, or other systems. (In Eudora, when
writing a note you want to be transmitted in BinHex, look for the
little box set to a default of "MIME" and change it to "BinHex".) |
| |
| BIOS |
BIOS
(basic input/output system) is the program a personal computers
microprocessor uses to get the computer system started after you turn
it on. It also manages data flow between the computers operating system
and attached devices such as the hard disk, video adapter, keyboard,
mouse, and printer.
BIOS is an
integral part of your computer and comes with it when you bring it
home. (In contrast, the operating system can either be preinstalled by
the manufacturer or vendor or installed by the user.) BIOS is a program
that is made accessible to the microprocessor on an erasable
programmable read-only memory (EPROM) chip. When you turn on your
computer, the microprocessor passes control to the BIOS program, which
is always located at the same place on EPROM.
When BIOS boots up (starts up) your computer, it first determines
whether all of the attachments are in place and operational and then it
loads the operating system (or key parts of it) into your computers
random access memory RAM from your hard disk or diskette drive.
With BIOS, your operating system and applications are freed from having
to understand exact details (such as hardware addresses) about the
attached input/output devices. When device details change, only the
BIOS program needs to be changed. Sometimes this change can be made
during your system setup. In any case, neither your operating system or
any applications you use need to be changed.
Although BIOS is theoretically always the intermediary between the
microprocessor and I/O device control information and data flow, in
some cases, BIOS can arrange for data to flow directly to memory from
devices (such as video cards) that require faster data flow to be
effective.
|
| |
| BIT |
A
bit is the smallest unit of data in a computer. A bit has a single
binary value, either 0 or 1. Although computers usually provide
instructions that can test and manipulate bits, they generally are
designed to store data and execute instructions in bit multiples called
bytes. In most computer systems, there are eight bits in a byte. The
value of a bit is usually stored as either above or below a designated
level of electrical charge in a single capacitor within a memory
device.
Half a byte (four bits)
is called a nibble. In some systems, the term octet is used for an
eight-bit unit instead of byte. In many systems, four eight-bit bytes
or octets form a 32-bit word. In such systems, instruction lengths are
sometimes expressed as full-word (32 bits in length) or half-word (16
bits in length).
In telecommunication, the bit rate is the number of bits that are transmitted in a given time period, usually a second.
|
| |
| BLUE SCREEN (of death) |
The
blue screen of death is a rather terrifying display image containing
white text on a blue background that is generated by Windows operating
systems when the system has suddenly terminated with an error. The
system is locked up and must be restarted. The blue screen may include
some hexadecimal values from a memory dump that may help determine what
caused the crash.
The blue
screen of death can strike anywhere. At the Comdex trade show,
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates encountered the blue screen during a
demonstration of Windows 98. (He had a spare computer standing by.) |
| |
| BODY |
In email terms, the part of the message containing the most textual content, sandwiched between the Header and the Signature. |
| |
| BOOKMARK |
Using
a World Wide Web browser, a bookmark is a saved link to a Web page that
has been added to a list of saved links. When you are looking at a
particular Web site or home page and want to be able to quickly get
back to it later, you can create a bookmark for it. You can think of
your browser as a book full of (millions of ) Web pages and a few
well-placed bookmarks that you have chosen. The list that contains your
bookmarks is the "bookmark list" (and sometimes it is called a
"hotlist").
Netscape and some other browsers use the bookmark idea. Microsofts Internet Explorer uses the term "favourite." |
| |
| BOT |
A
bot (short for "robot") is a program that operates as an agent for a
user or another program or simulates a human activity. On the Internet,
the most ubiquitous bots are the programs, also called spiders or
crawlers, that access Web sites and gather their content for search
engine indexes.
A chatterbot is
a program that can simulate talk with a human being. One of the first
and most famous chatterbots (prior to the Web) was Eliza, a program
that pretended to be a psychotherapist and answered questions with
other questions.
Red and Andrette are two examples of programs that can be customized to
answer questions from users seeking service for a product. Such a
program is sometimes called a virtual representative or a virtual
service agent.
Shopbots are programs that shop around the Web on your behalf and
locate the best price for a product you're looking for. There are also
bots such as OpenSesame that observe a user's patterns in navigating a
Web site and customize the site for that user. |
| |
| BPS |
In
data communications, bits per second (abbreviated bps) is a common
measure of data speed for computer modems and transmission carriers. As
the term implies, the speed in bps is equal to the number of bits
transmitted or received each second. The duration d of a data bit, in
seconds, is inversely proportional to the digital transmission speed s
in bps:
d = 1/s
Larger units are sometimes used to denote high data speeds. One kilobit
per second (abbreviated Kbps in the U.S.; kbps elsewhere) is equal to
1,000 bps. One megabit per second (Mbps) is equal to 1,000,000 bps or
1,000 kbps.
Computer modems for twisted-pair telephone lines usually operate at
speeds between 14.4 and 57.6 kbps. The most common speeds are 28.8 and
33.6 kbps. So-called "cable modems," designed for use with TV cable
networks, can operate at more than 100 kbps. Fibreoptic modems are the
fastest of all; they can send and receive data at many Mbps.
The bandwidth of a signal depends on the speed in bps. With some
exceptions, the higher the bps number, the greater is the nominal
signal bandwidth. (Speed and bandwidth are, however, not the same
thing.) Bandwidth is measured in standard frequency units of kilohertz
(kHz) or megahertz (MHz).
Data speed is sometimes specified in terms of baud, which is a measure
of the number of times a digital signal changes state in one second.
Baud, sometimes called the "baud rate," is almost always a lower figure
than bps for a given digital signal. The terms are often used
interchangeably, even though they do not refer to the same thing. If
you hear that a computer modem can function at "33,600 baud" or "33.6
kilobaud," you can be reasonably sure that the term is being misused,
and the figures actually indicate bps.
|
| |
| BRB |
Abbreviations of Be Right Back, commonly used online or on IRC. |
| |
| BROWSER |
A
browser is an application program that provides a way to look at and
interact with all the information on the World Wide Web. The word
"browser" seems to have originated prior to the Web as a generic term
for user interfaces that let you browse text files online. By the time
the first Web browser with a graphical user interface was invented
(Mosaic, in 1992), the term seemed to apply to Web content, too.
Technically, a Web browser is a client program that uses the Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to make requests of Web servers throughout the
Internet on behalf of the browser user. A commercial version of the
original browser, Mosaic, is in use. Many of the user interface
features in Mosaic, however, went into the first widely-used browser,
Netscape Navigator. Microsoft followed with Internet Explorer. Today,
these two browsers are highly competitive and the only two browsers
that the vast majority of Internet users are aware of. Although the
online services, such as America Online, Compuserve, and Prodigy,
originally had their own browsers, virtually all now offer the Netscape
or Microsoft browser. Lynx is a text-only browser for UNIX shell and
VMS users. Another recently offered browser is Opera. |
| |
| BTW |
Meaning by the way, a shorthand form to a comment written in an online forum, such as the newsgroups or IRC (chat) |
| |
| BYTE |
In
most computer systems, a byte is a unit of information that is eight
bits long. A byte is the unit most computers use to represent a
character such as a letter, number, or typographic symbol (for example,
"g", "5", or "?"). A byte can also hold a string of bits that need to
be used in some larger unit for application purposes (for example, the
stream of bits that constitute a visual image for a program that
displays images).
In some
computer systems, four bytes constitute a word, a unit that a computer
processor can be designed to handle efficiently as it reads and
processes each instruction. Some computer processors can handle
two-byte or single-byte instructions.
A byte is abbreviated with a "B". (A bit is abbreviated with a small
"b".) Computer storage is usually measured in byte multiples. For
example, an 820 MB hard drive holds a nominal 820 million bytes - or
megabytes - of information. Byte multiples are based on powers of 2 and
commonly expressed as a "rounded off" decimal number. For example, one
megabyte ("one million bytes") is actually 1,048,576 (decimal) bytes.
(Confusingly, however, some hard disk manufacturers and dictionary
sources state that bytes for computer storage should be calculated as
powers of 10 so that a megabyte really would be one million decimal
bytes.)
Some language scripts require two bytes to represent a character. These are called double-byte character sets (DBCS).
According to Fred Brooks, an early hardware architect for IBM, project
manager for the OS/360 operating system, and author of The Mythical
Man-Month, Dr. Werner Buchholz originated the term byte in 1956 when
working on IBM's STRETCH computer.
|
| |
| CABLE MODEM |
A
cable modem is a device that enables you to hook up your PC to a local
cable TV line and receive data at about 1.5 Mbps. This data rate far
exceeds that of the prevalent 28.8 and 56 Kbps telephone modems and the
up to 128 Kbps of ISDN and is about the data rate available to
subscribers of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) telephone service. A cable
modem can be added to or integrated with a set-top box that provides
your TV set with channels for Internet access. In most cases, cable
modems are furnished as part of the cable access service and are not
purchased directly and installed by the subscriber.
A cable modem has two connections: one to the cable wall outlet and the
other to a PC or to a set-top box for a TV set. Although a cable modem
does modulate between analog and digital signals, it is a much more
complex device than a telephone modem. It can be an external device or
it can be integrated within a computer or set-top box. Typically, the
cable modem attaches to a standard 10Base-T Ethernet card in the
computer.
All of the cable modems attached to a cable TV company coaxial cable
line communicate with a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) at the
local cable TV company office. All cable modems can receive from and
send signals only to the CMTS, but not to other cable modems on the
line. Some services have the upstream signals returned by telephone
rather than cable, in which case the cable modem is known as a
telco-return cable modem.
The actual bandwidth for Internet service over a cable TV line is up to
27 Mbps on the download path to the subscriber with about 2.5 Mbps of
bandwidth for interactive responses in the other direction. However,
since the local provider may not be connected to the Internet on a line
faster than a T-1 at 1.5 Mpbs, a more likely data rate will be close to
1.5 Mpbs. |
| |
| CGI |
The
common gateway interface (CGI) is a standard way for a Web server to
pass a Web user's request to an application program and to receive data
back to forward to the user. When the user requests a Web page (for
example, by clicking on a highlighted word or entering a Web site
address), the server sends back the requested page. However, when a
user fills out a form on a Web page and sends it in, it usually needs
to be processed by an application program. The Web server typically
passes the form information to a small application program that
processes the data and may send back a confirmation message. This
method or convention for passing data back and forth between the server
and the application is called the common gateway interface (CGI). It is
part of the Web's HTTP protocol.
If you are creating a Web site and want a CGI application to get
control, you specify the name of the application in the URL that you
code in an HTML file. This URL can be specified as part of the FORMS
tags if you are creating a form. For example, you might code:
<FORM METHOD=POST ACTION=http://www.mybiz.com/cgi-bin/formprog.pl>
and the server at "mybiz.com" would pass control to the CGI application
called "formprog.pl" to record the entered data and return a
confirmation message. (The ".pl" indicates a program written in Perl
but other languages could have been used.)
The common gateway interface provides a consistent way for data to be
passed from the user's request to the application program and back to
the user. This means that the person who writes the application program
can makes sure it gets used no matter which operating system the server
uses (PC, Macintosh, UNIX, OS/390, or others). It's simply a basic way
for information to be passed from the Web server about your request to
the application program and back again. |
| |
| CGI-BIN |
The most common name of a directory on a web server in which CGI programs are stored.
The “bin” part of “cgi-bin” is a shorthand version of “binary”, because
once upon a time, most programs were referred to as “binaries”. In real
life, most programs found in cgi-bin directories are text files --
scripts that are executed by binaries located elsewhere on the same
machine. |
| |
| CHAP |
CHAP
(Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol) is a more secure
procedure for connecting to a system than the Password Authentication
Procedure (PAP). Heres how CHAP works:
1.After the link is made, the server sends a challenge message to the
connection requestor. The requestor responds with a value obtained by
using a one-way hash function.
2.The server checks the response by comparing calculation of the expected hash value.
3.If the values match, the authentication is acknowledged; otherwise the connection is usually terminated.
At any time, the server can request the connected party to send a new
challenge message. Because CHAP identifiers are changed frequently and
because authentication can be requested by the server at any time, CHAP
provides more security than PAP. RFC1334 defines both CHAP and PAP. |
| |
| CHAT/IRC/ACRONYMNS |
ADN Any day now
AFAIK As far as I know
AFK Away from keyboard
ARE Acronym-rich environment
A/S/L? Age/sex/location?
B4N Bye for now
BAK Back at the keyboard
BBIAB Be back in a bit
BBL Be back later
BEG Big evil grin
BFN Bye for now
BG Big grin
BIOYIOP Blow it out your I/O port
BL Belly laughing
BOTEC Back-of-the-envelope calculation
BRB Be right back
BTA But then again...
BTW By the way
BWTHDIK But what the heck do I know...?
CU See you
CUL See you later
CUL8ER See you later
CYA Cover your ass
CYO See you online
DBA Doing business as
DFLA Disenhanced four-letter acronym (that is, a TLA)
DIKU Do I know you?
DITYID Did I tell you I'm distressed?
DQMOT Don't quote me on this
EG Evil grin
EMFBI Excuse me for butting in
EOM End of message
EOT End of thread (meaning: end of discussion)
ETLA Extended three-letter acronym (that is, an FLA)
F2F Face to face
FAQ Frequently-ask question(s)
FISH First in, still here
FLA Four-letter acronym
FMTYEWTK Far more than you ever wanted to know
FOMCL Falling off my chair laughing
FUD Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt
FWIW For what it's worth
FYI For your information
G Grin
GA Go ahead
GAL Get a life
GD&R Grinning, ducking, and running
GIWIST Gee, I wish I'd said that
GMTA Great minds think alike
GOL Giggling out loud
GTRM Going to read mail
HAND Have a nice day
HTH Hope this helps
IAC In any case
IANAL I am not a lawyer (but)
IC I see
IHA I hate acronyms
IIRC If I recall/remember/recollect correctly
ILU or ILY I love you
IM Immediate message
IMHO In my humble opinion
IMing Chatting with someone online usually while doing other things such as playing trivia or other interactive game
IMNSHO In my not so humble opinion
IMO In my opinion
IOW In other words
IPN I'm posting naked
IRL In real life (that is, when not chatting)
IYSWIM If you see what I mean
JBOD Just a bunch of disks (like RAID, etc.)
JIC Just in case
JK Just kidding
KOTC Kiss on the cheek
KWIM? Know what I mean?
L8R Later
LD Later, dude
LDR Long-distance relationship
LLTA Lots and lots of thunderous applause
LOL Laughing out loud
LRF Little Rubber Feet (the little pads on the bottom of displays and other equipment)
LTM Laugh to myself
LTNS Long time no see
LTR Long-term relationship
LULAB Love you like a brother
LULAS Love you like a sister
MorF Male or female
MOSS Member of the same sex
MOTOS Member of the opposite sex
MUSM Miss you so much
NIFOC Naked in front of computer
NP or N/P No problem
NRN No response necessary
OIC Oh, I see
OLL Online love
OTF Off the floor
OTOH On the other hand
OTTOMH Off the top of my head
PANS Pretty awesome new stuff (as opposed to "POTS")
PCMCIA People can't master computer industry acronyms
PDA Public display of affection
PEBCAK Problem exists between chair and keyboard
PIBKAC Problem is between keyboard and chair
PITA Pain in the ass
PMFJIB Pardon me for jumping in but...
::POOF:: Goodbye (leaving the room)
POTS Plain old telephone service
PU That stinks!
RL Real life (that is, when not chatting)
ROR Raffing out roud (Engrish for "laughing out loud")
ROTFL (or ROFL) Rolling on the floor laughing
ROTFLMAO Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off
ROTFLMAOWPIMP Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off while peeing in my pants
ROTFLMBO Rolling on the floor laughing my butt off
RPG Role-playing games
RSN Real soon now
RYO Roll your own (write your own program; derived from cigarettes rolled yourself with tobacco and paper)
S4L Spam for life (what you may get when you become someone's customer or client)
SF Surfer-friendly (low-graphics Web site)
SO Significant other
SOMY Sick of me yet?
STW Search the Web
TAFN That's all for now
TANSTAAFL There ain't no such thing as a free lunch
TFH Thread from hell (a discussion that just won't die and is often irrelevant to the purpose of the forum or group)
TGIF Thank God it's Friday
THX Thanks
TIA Thanks in advance (used if you post a question and are expecting a helpful reply)
TLA Three-letter acronym
TLK2UL8R Talk to you later
TMI Too much information
TOPCA Til our paths cross again (early Celtic chat term)
TPTB The powers that be
TTFN Ta-Ta for now
TTT Thought that, too (when someone types in what you were about to type)
TTYL Talk to you later
TU Thank you
UW You're welcome
VBG Very big grin
WDALYIC Who died and left you in charge?
WFM Works for me
WIBNI Wouldn't it be nice if
WT? What/who the ?
WTG Way to go!
WTGP? Want to go private?
WU? What's up?
WUF? Where are you from?
WYSIWYG What you see is what you get
YMMV Your mileage may vary. |
| |
| CLI |
Caller
Line Identification this is the number that you are ringing from, if
you are making a call to the Internet, many free internet service
providers will need you to produce your CLI (show the number you are
ringing from). If your number is witheld you will not be able to
connect. Try adding 1470 before the number you are dialling to
unwithold your CLI. |
| |
| CLIENT |
A
client is the requesting program or user in a client/server
relationship. For example, the user of a Web browser is effectively
making client requests for pages from servers all over the Web. The
browser itself is a client in relationship with the computer that is
getting and returning the requested HTML file. The computer handling
the request and sending back the HTML file is a server. |
| |
| CLIENT SERVER PROTOCOL |
A
communication protocol between networked computers in which the
services of one computer (the server) are requested by the other (the
client). |
| |
| COLOCATION |
Colocation
(sometimes spelled "co-location" or "collocation") is the provision of
space for a customers telecommunications equipment on the service
providers premises. For example, a Web site owner could place the sites
own computer server on the premises of the Internet service provider
(ISP). Or an ISP could place their network router on the premises of
the company offering switching services with other ISPs. The
alternative to colocation is to have the equipment and the demarcation
point located at the customers premises. |
| |
| COMPRESSED |
Data
files available for download from the Internet are typically compacted
in order to save server space and reduce transfer times. Typical file
extensions for compressed files include zip (DOS/Windows) and tar
(UNIX). |
| |
| COOKIE |
The
most common meaning of “Cookie” on the Internet 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.
Depending on the type of Cookie used, and the Browser's settings, the
Browser may accept or not accept the Cookie, and may save the Cookie
for either a short time or a long time.
Cookies might contain information such as login or registration
information, online “shopping cart” information, user preferences, etc.
When a Server receives a request from a Browser that includes a Cookie,
the Server is able to use the information stored in the Cookie. For
example, the Server might customize what is sent back to the user, or
keep a log of particular user's requests.
Cookies are usually set to expire after a predetermined amount of time
and are usually saved in memory until the Browser software is closed
down, at which time they may be saved to disk if their “expire time”
has not been reached.
Cookies do not read your hard drive and send your life story to the
FBI, but they can be used to gather more information about a user than
would be possible without them. |
| |
| CSS |
A
cascading style sheet (CSS) is a Web page style sheet derived from
multiple sources with a defined order of precedence where the
definitions of any style element conflict. The Cascading Style Sheet,
level 1 (CSS1) recommendation from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C),
which is implemented in the latest versions of the Netscape and
Microsoft Web browsers, specifies the possible style sheets or
statements that may determine how a given element is presented in a Web
page.
CSS gives more control
over the appearance of a Web page to the page creator than to the
browser designer or the viewer. With CSS, the sources of style
definition for a given document element are in this order of
precedence:
The STYLE attribute on an individual element tag
The STYLE element that defines a specific style sheet containing style
declarations or a LINK element that links to a separate document
containing the STYLE element. In a Web page, the STYLE element is
placed between the TITLE statement and the BODY statement.
An imported style sheet, using the CSS @import notation to
automatically import and merge an external style sheet with the current
style sheet
Style attributes specified by the viewer to the browser
The default style sheet assumed by the browser
In general, the Web page creator's style sheet takes precedence, but
it's recommended that browsers provide ways for the viewer to override
the style attributes in some respects. Since it's likely that different
browsers will choose to implement CSS1 somewhat differently, the Web
page creator must test the page with different browsers. |
| |
| CU |
Abbreviation of see you, commonly used online or on IRC. |
| |
| CYBERPUNK |
Cyberpunk
is a sensibility or belief that a few outsiders, armed with their own
individuality and technological capability, can fend off the tendencies
of traditional institutions to use technology to control society. The
term, combining "cyber" and punk, possibly originated in 1980 with
Bruce Bethkes short story, "Cyberpunk." An editor of Isaac Asimovs
Science Fiction Magazine, Gardner Dozois, is credited with associating
the word with a literary movement that includes the science fiction of
William Gibson and Neal Stephenson.
The alt.cyberpunk. FAQ lists several categories of groups associated with cyberpunk:
Hackers, who represent the best kind of cyberpunk
Crackers, who attempt to break into computer systems
Phreaks, who attempt to break into telephone systems
Cypher-punks, who attempt to break codes and foil security systems
Additional groups include "transhumans," who attempt to exploit
technology to increase life expectancy and human potential and
"extropians," a kind of libertarian group that believes in something
called "spontaneous order." The writer of the alt.cyberpunk.
FAQ indicates that some people believe cyberpunk to be (intrinsically)
indefinable and that anyone claiming to be a "cyberpunk" will likely be
laughed off their Usenet newsgroup. |
| |
| CYBERSPACE |
Term
originated by author William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer the word
Cyberspace is currently used to describe the whole range of information
resources available through computer networks, most commonly used to
describe the Net |
| |
| DAEMON |
A
daemon (pronounced DEE-muhn) is a program that runs continuously and
exists for the purpose of handling periodic service requests that a
computer system expects to receive. The daemon program forwards the
requests to other programs (or processes) as appropriate. Each server
of pages on the Web has an HTTPD or Hypertext Transfer Protocol daemon
that continually waits for requests to come in from Web clients and
their users.
In mythology, a daemon, according to Webster's, was "an attendant power or spirit."
Daemon can be confused with demon, which has a different but similar
meaning. The New Hackers Dictionary says that a daemon is a program
that runs by itself directly under the operating system whereas a demon
is part of a larger application program.
|
| |
| DAT |
DAT
(Digital Audio Tape) is a standard medium and technology for the
digital recording of audio on tape at a professional level of quality.
A DAT drive is a digital tape recorder with rotating heads similar to
those found in a video deck. Most DAT drives can record at sample rates
of 44.1 KHz, the CD audio standard, and 48 KHz. DAT has become the
standard archiving technology in professional and semi-professional
recording environments for master recordings. Digital inputs and
outputs on professional DAT decks allow the user to transfer recordings
from the DAT tape to an audio workstation for precise editing. The
compact size and low cost of the DAT medium makes it an excellent way
to compile the recordings that are going to be used to create a CD
master.
As an archival medium, DAT is an alternative to consider along with:
Digital Data Storage (DDS1 through DDS3)
Optical disk
VHS tape |
| |
| DHCP |
DHCP
(Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is a protocol that lets network
administrators manage centrally and automate the assignment of Internet
Protocol (IP) addresses in an organisations network. Using the
Internets set of protocols (TCP/IP), each machine that can connect to
the Internet needs a unique IP address. When an organisation sets up
its computer users with a connection to the Internet, an IP address
must be assigned to each machine.
Without DHCP, the IP address must be entered manually at each computer
and, if computers move to another location in another part of the
network, a new IP address must be entered. DHCP lets a network
administrator supervise and distribute IP addresses from a central
point and automatically sends a new IP address when a computer is
plugged into a different place in the network.
DHCP uses the concept of a "lease" or amount of time that a given IP
address will be valid for a computer. The lease time can vary depending
on how long a user is likely to require the Internet connection at a
particular location. It is especially useful in education and other
environments where users change frequently. Using very short leases,
DHCP can dynamically reconfigure networks in which there are more
computers than there are available IP addresses.
DHCP supports static addresses for computers containing Web servers that need a permanent IP address.
DHCP is an alternative to another network IP management protocol, BOOTP
(Bootstrap Protocol). DHCP is a more advanced protocol, but both
configuration management protocols are commonly used. Some
organisations use both protocols, but understanding how and when to use
them in the same organisation is important. Some operating systems,
including Windows NT, come with DHCP servers. A DHCP or BOOTP client is
a program that is located in (and perhaps downloaded to) each computer
so that it can be configured. |
| |
| DIAL UP CONNECTION |
A connection to the Internet via phone and modem. Connection types include PPP and SLIP. |
| |
| DIALUP |
'Dialup Access' or a 'Dialup Account' is when a modem is used to gain access to the Internet via a network. |
| |
| DIGERATI |
The
digital version of literati, it is a reference to a vague cloud of
people seen to be knowledgeable, hip, or otherwise in-the-know in
regards to the digital revolution. |
| |
| DIRECT CONNECTION |
A connection made directly to the Internet - much faster than a dial-up connection. |
| |
| DIRECTORY |
A directory is, in general, an approach to organizing information, the most familiar example being a telephone directory.
1) On the World Wide Web, a directory is a subject guide, typically
organized by major topics and subtopics. The best-known directory is
the one at Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com). Many other sites now use a
Yahoo-like directory including major portal sites.
2) In computer file systems, a directory is a named group of related
files that are separated by the naming convention from other groups of
files.
I.E: C:\
OR C:\WINDOWS\ |
| |
| DISCUSSION GROUP |
A
particular section within the USENET system typically, though not
always, dedicated to a particular subject of interest. Also known as a
newsgroup. |
| |
| DLL |
In
computers, a dynamic link library (DLL) is a collection of small
programs, any of which can be called when needed by a larger program
that is running in the computer. The small program that lets the larger
program communicate with a specific device such as a printer or scanner
is often packaged as a DLL program (usually referred to as a DLL file).
The advantage of DLL files is
that, because they don't get loaded into random access memory (RAM)
together with the main program, space is saved in RAM. When and if a
DLL file is needed, then it is loaded and run. For example, as long as
a user of Microsoft Word is editing a document, the printer DLL file
does not need to be loaded into RAM. If the user decides to print the
document, then the Word application causes the printer DLL file to be
loaded and run.
A DLL file is often given a ".dll" file name suffix. DLL files are
dynamically linked with the program that uses them during program
execution rather than being compiled with the main program. The set of
such files (or the DLL) is somewhat comparable to the library routines
provided with programming languages such as C and C++. |
| |
| DNS |
The
domain name system (DNS) is the way that Internet domain names are
located and translated into IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. A domain
name is a meaningful and easy-to-remember "handle" for an Internet
address.
Because maintaining a
central list of domain name/IP address correspondences would be
impractical, the lists of domain names and IP addresses are distributed
throughout the Internet in a hierarchy of authority. There is probably
a DNS server within close geographic proximity to your access provider
that maps the domain names in your Internet requests or forwards them
to other servers in the Internet. |
| |
| DOMAIN NAME |
The
unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names always have
2 or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most
specific, and the part on the right is the most general. A given
machine may have more than one Domain Name but a given Domain Name
points to only one machine. For example, the domain names:
breathepro.com
mail.breathepro.com
relay.breathepro.com
can all refer to the same machine, but each domain name can refer to no more than one machine.
Usually, all of the machines on a given Network will have the same
thing as the right-hand portion of their Domain Names (breathepro.com
in the examples above). It is also possible for a Domain Name to exist
but not be connected to an actual machine. This is often done so that a
group or business can have an Internet email address without having to
establish a real Internet site. In these cases, some real Internet
machine must handle the mail on behalf of the listed Domain name.
|
| |
| DOS |
The
first personal computer DOS, called PC-DOS, was developed for IBM by
Bill Gates and his new Microsoft Corporation. He retained the rights to
market a Microsoft version, called MS-DOS. PC-DOS and MS-DOS are almost
identical and most users have referred to either of them as just "DOS."
DOS was (and still is) a non-graphical line-oriented command-driven
operating system, with a relatively simple interface but not overly
"friendly" user interface. Its prompt to enter a command looks like
this:
C:\>
The first Microsoft Windows operating system was really an application
that ran on top of the MS-DOS operating system. Today, Windows
operating systems continue to support DOS (or a DOS-like user
interface) for special purposes by emulating the operating system.
In the 1970s before the personal computer was invented, IBM had a
different and unrelated DOS (Disk Operating System) that ran on smaller
business computers. It was replaced by IBMs VSE operating system. |
| |
| DOWNLOAD |
The
process of copying data file(s) from a remote computer to a local
computer. The opposite action is upload where a local file is copied to
a server. |
| |
| E-COMMERCE |
E-commerce
(electronic commerce or EC) is the buying and selling of goods and
services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. In practice,
this term and a new term, "e-business," are often used interchangeably.
For online retail selling, the term e-tailing is sometimes used.
E-commerce can be divided into:
E-tailing or "virtual storefronts" on Web sites with online catalogs, sometimes gathered into a "virtual mall"
The gathering and use of demographic data through Web contacts
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), the business-to-business exchange of data
email and fax and their use as media for reaching prospects and
established customers (for example, with newsletters)
Business-to-business buying and selling The security of business
transactions |
| |
| EMAIL |
Email
(electronic mail) is the exchange of computer-stored messages by
telecommunication. (Some publications spell it email; we prefer the
currently more established spelling of email.) Email messages are
usually encoded in ASCII text. However, you can also send non-text
files, such as graphic images and sound files, as attachments sent in
binary streams. Email was one of the first uses of the Internet and is
still the most popular use. A large percentage of the total traffic
over the Internet is email. Email can also be exchanged between online
service users and in networks other than the Internet, both public and
private.
Email can be
distributed to lists of people as well as to individuals. A shared
distribution list can be managed by using an email reflector. Some
mailing lists allow you to subscribe by sending a request to the
mailing list administrator. A mailing list that is administered
automatically is called a list server.
Email is one of the protocols included with the Transport Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols. A popular
protocol for sending email is SMTP and a popular protocol for receiving
it is POP3. Both Netscape and Microsoft include an email utility with
their Web browsers.
|
| |
| EMOTICONS |
On
the Internet in email, chatting, and posted messages, an emoticon
(sometimes referred to as a "smiley") is a short sequence of keyboard
letters and symbols, usually emulating a facial expression, expressing
a feeling that supplements the message. Most of these emoticons use
several symbols to create a small face with an expression such as a
smile, wink, or turned-down mouth.
One of our contributors says that to read these you can either tilt your head or turn the monitor on its side.
:-) Smile
;-) Smile with a wink
:<}) User with moustache, smiling
:-|| Mad
:-( Sad
%*@:-( Hung over
>:) Perplexed look
.) Keeping an eye out for you
8:-) Glasses on forehead
8:] Normal smiling face of a gorilla
0:-) Angel
:V) Duck
3:-o Cow
_8-(|) Homer Simpson
|:-)= Abe Lincoln
*<:-) Santa Claus
:)-) Scuba diver
:-{} User with heavy lipstick
>:-< Mad
*#:-) Scotsman wearing his Scottish tam
%-^ User is another Picasso
#-) User partied all night
<:I Dunce
:-| "Have an ordinary day!" Smiley
:}{: Kisses (stolen from June bug)
oooo(0) (0)oooo Toes
(-_-) Secret smile
#.-o "Oh, nooooooo Mr. Bill!!!" |
| |
| ETHERNET |
Ethernet
is the most widely-installed local area network technology. Now
specified in a standard, IEEE 802.3, Ethernet was originally developed
by Xerox and then developed further by Xerox, DEC, and Intel. An
Ethernet LAN typically uses coaxial cable or special grades of twisted
pair wires. The most commonly installed Ethernet systems are called
10BASE-T and provide transmission speeds up to 10 Mbps. Devices are
connected to the cable and compete for access using a Carrier Sense
Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol.
Fast Ethernet or 100BASE-T provides transmission speeds up to 100
megabits per second and is typically used for LAN backbone systems,
supporting workstations with 10BASE-T cards. Gigabit Ethernet provides
an even higher level of backbone support at 1000 megabits per second (1
gigabit or 1 billion bits per second).
|
| |
| FAQ |
The
FAQ (pronounced FAk) or list of "frequently-asked questions" (and
answers) has become a feature of the Internet. The FAQ seems to have
originated in many of the Usenet groups as a way to acquaint new users
with the rules. Today, there are thousands of FAQs on the World Wide
Web.
To see the range and
variety of topics for which FAQs have been written, go to Yahoo or any
major search engine, and enter "faq" or "faqs" in the search entry box.
To find a FAQ on a subject of interest (for example, hedgehogs), enter
"faq and hedgehogs"(without the quotes). Also note that the number of
subjects on which you will NOT find is FAQ is also large. The most
useful FAQs are often found at a Web site you |
| |
| FAX |
Sometimes
called "telecopying," a fax is the telephonic transmission of
scanned-in printed material (text or images), usually to a telephone
number associated with a printer or other output device. The original
document is scanned with a fax machine, which treats the contents (text
or images) as a single fixed graphic image, converting it into a
bitmap. In this digital form, the information is transmitted as
electrical signals through the telephone system. The receiving fax
machine reconverts the coded image and prints a paper copy of the
document.
Almost all modems
manufactured today are capable of sending and receiving fax data.
Fax/modem software generates fax signals directly from disk files or
the screen. Even if a document is text only, it is treated by the
computer as a scanned image and is transmitted to the receiver as a
bitmap. Faxing a message online works well if the recipient wants only
to read the message. However, if the document requires editing, it must
be converted into ASCII text by an OCR (optical character recognition)
program, or it must be retyped manually into the computer. A more
efficient method of sending documents that require modification is
through the email system. Email files are already ASCII text so they
can be edited immediately in any text editor or word processing
program.
The Internet now provides a new and cheaper way to send faxes in some
cases. A number of free and commercial companies provide arrangements
for using the Internet rather than the public telephone system for most
or part of the path to the fax point. Some services also provide the
ability to broadcast a fax to multiple addresses. We ourself offer
Fax2email services.
|
| |
| FDDI |
Fibre
Distributed Data Interface is a standard for transmitting data through
optical fibre cables at a rate of around 100 million bps. |
| |
| FILE EXTENSION |
1)
In computer operating systems, a file name extension is an optional
addition to the file name in a suffix of the form ".xxx" where "xxx"
represents a limited number of alphanumeric characters depending on the
operating system. (In Windows 3.1, for example, a file name extension
or suffix can have no more than three characters, but in Windows 95, it
can have more.) The file name extension allows a files format to be
described as part of its name so that users can quickly understand the
type of file it is without having to "open" or try to use it. The file
name extension also help/s an application program recognize whether a
file is a type that it can work with.
2) In programming, an extension is a file containing programming that
serves to extend the capabilities of or data available to a more basic
program. Extensions are sometimes required to be stored in a separate
extensions file so that they are easy to locate. When installing
software, you may be instructed to take one or more steps related to
installing extensions (or these steps may automatically be done for
you). |
| |
| FINGER |
Finger
is a program that tells you the name associated with an email address.
It may also tell you whether they are currently logged on at their
system or their most recent logon session and possibly other
information, depending on the data that is maintained about users on
that computer. Finger originated as part of BSD UNIX.
To finger another Internet user, you need to have the finger program on
your computer or you can go to a finger gateway on the Web and enter
the email address. The server at the other end must be set up to handle
finger requests. A ".plan" file can be created for any user that can be
fingered. Commonly, colleges, universities, and large corporations set
up a finger facility. Your own Internet access provider may also set up
information about you and other subscribers that someone else can
"finger." (To find out, enter your own email address at a finger
gateway.) |
| |
| FIREWALL |
A
firewall is a set of related programs, located at a network gateway
server, that protects the resources of a private network from users
from other networks. (The term also implies the security policy that is
used with the programs.) An enterprise with an intranet that allows its
workers access to the wider Internet installs a firewall to prevent
outsiders from accessing its own private data resources and for
controlling what outside resources its own users have access to.
Basically, a firewall, working closely with a router program, filters
all network packets to determine whether to forward them toward their
destination. A firewall also includes or works with a proxy server that
makes network requests on behalf of workstation users. A firewall is
often installed in a specially designated computer separate from the
rest of the network so that no incoming request can get directly at
private network resources.
There are a number of firewall screening methods. A simple one is to
screen requests to make sure they come from acceptable (previously
identified) domain names and IP addresses. For mobile users, firewalls
allow remote access in to the private network by the use of secure
logon procedures and authentication certificates.
A number of companies make firewall products. Features include logging
and reporting, automatic alarms at given thresholds of attack, and a
graphical user interface for controlling the firewall. |
| |
| FLAME |
Originally,
flame meant to carry forth in a passionate manner in the spirit of
honourable debate. Flames most often involved the use of flowery
language and flaming well was an art form. More recently flame has come
to refer to any kind of derogatory comment no matter how witless or
crude. |
| |
| FLAME WAR |
When
an online discussion degenerates into a series of personal attacks
against the debaters, rather than discussion of their positions. A
heated exchange. |
| |
| FREEWARE |
Freeware
is programming that is offered at no cost. However, it is copyrighted
so that you cant incorporate its programming into anything you may be
developing. The least restrictive "no-cost" programs are open to copy
programs in the public domain. These include a number of small UNIX
programs. When reusing public domain software in your own programs, its
good to know the history of the program so that you can be sure it
really is in the public domain. |
| |
| FTP |
FTP
(File Transfer Protocol), a standard Internet protocol, is the simplest
way to exchange files between computers on the Internet. Like the
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which transfers displayable Web
pages and related files, and the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP),
which transfers email, FTP is an application protocol that uses the
Internets TCP/IP protocols. FTP is commonly used to transfer Web page
files from their creator to the computer that acts as their server for
everyone on the Internet. Its also commonly used to download programs
and other files to your computer from other servers.
As a user, you can use FTP with a simple command line interface (for
example, from the Windows MS-DOS Prompt window) or with a commercial
program that offers a graphical user interface. Your Web browser can
also make FTP requests to download programs you select from a Web page.
Using FTP, you can also update (delete, rename, move, and copy) files
at a server. You need to log on to an FTP server. However, publicly
available files are easily accessed using anonymous FTP.
Basic FTP support is usually provided as part of a suite of programs
that come with TCP/IP. However, any FTP client program with a graphical
user interface usually must be downloaded from the company that makes
it.
|
| |
| FUZZY LOGIC |
Fuzzy
logic is an approach to computing based on "degrees of truth" rather
than the usual "true or false" (1 or 0) Boolean logic on which the
modern computer is based. The idea of fuzzy logic was first advanced by
Dr. Lotfi Zadeh of the University of California at Berkeley in the
1960s. Dr. Zadeh was working on the problem of computer understanding
of natural language. Natural language (like most other activities in
life and indeed the universe) is not easily translated into the
absolute terms of 0 and 1. (Whether everything is ultimately
describable in binary terms is a philosophical question worth pursuing,
but in practice much data we might want to feed a computer is in some
state in between and so, frequently, are the results of computing.)
Fuzzy logic includes 0 and 1 as extreme cases of truth (or "the state
of matters" or "fact") but also includes the various states of truth in
between so that, for example, the result of a comparison between two
things could be not "tall" or "short" but ".38 of tallness."
Fuzzy logic seems closer to the way our brains work. We aggregate data
and form a number of partial truths which we aggregate further into
higher truths which in turn, when certain thresholds are exceeded,
cause certain further results such as motor reaction. A similar kind of
process is used in artificial computer neural networks and expert
systems. |
| |
| FYI |
FYI
(pronounced EFF-WAI-AI) is an abbreviation for "For your information,"
and is often used in forwarding email or printed material to colleagues
or friends. It usually means that information is simply being shared
and that no immediate action is required or expected. |
| |
| GATEWAY |
A
gateway is a network point that acts as an entrance to another network.
On the Internet, in terms of routing, the network consists of gateway
nodes and host nodes. The computers of network users and the computers
that serve content (such as Web pages) are host nodes. The computers
that control traffic within your companys network or at your local
Internet service provider (ISP) are gateway nodes.
In the network for an enterprise, a computer server acting as a gateway
node is often also acting as a proxy server and a firewall server.
Gateways also involve the use of routers and switches.
|
| |
| GIF |
A
GIF (the original and preferred pronunciation is DJIF) is one of the
two most common file formats for graphic images on the World Wide Web.
The other is the JPEG.
On the
Web and elsewhere on the Internet (for example, bulletin board
services), the GIF has become a de facto standard form of image. The
LZW compression algorithm used in the GIF format is owned by Unisys and
companies that make products that exploit the algorithm (including the
GIF format) need to license its use from Unisys. In practice, Unisys
has not required users of GIF images to obtain a license, although
their licensing statement indicates that it is a requirement. Unisys
says that getting a license from them does not necessarily involve a
fee.
Technically, a GIF uses the 2D raster data type, is encoded in binary,
and uses LZW compression. There are two versions of the format, 87a and
89a. Version 89a (July, 1989) allows for the possibility of an animated
GIF, which is a short sequence of images within a single GIF file. A
GIF89a can also be specified for interlaced presentation.
A patent-free replacement for the GIF, the PNG format, has been
developed by an Internet committee and major browsers support it or
soon will. Meanwhile, many GIF downloaders and Web site builders on the
Web continue to be ignorant of or indifferent to the requirement to get
a license from Unisys for the use of their algorithm.
|
| |
| GIGABYTE |
A
gigabyte (pronounced GIG-a-bite with hard Gs) is a measure of computer
data storage capacity and is "roughly" a billion bytes. A gigabyte is
two to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824 in decimal notation. |
| |
| GOPHER |
Gopher
is an Internet application protocol in which hierarchically-organized
file structures are maintained on servers that themselves are part of
an overall information structure. Gopher provided a way to bring text
files from all over the world to a viewer on your computer. Popular for
several years, especially in universities, Gopher was a step toward the
World Wide Webs Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). With hypertext
links, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), and the arrival of a
graphical browser, Mosaic, the Web quickly transcended Gopher. Many of
the original file structures, especially those in universities, still
exist and can be accessed through most Web browsers (because they also
support the Gopher protocol). Gopher was developed at the University of
Minnesota, whose sports teams are called "the Golden Gophers."
Although most Gopher browsers and files are text-based, Gopher
browsers, notably HyperGopher, were developed that displayed graphic
images (GIF and JPEG files) that were included in Gopher file
directories. |
| |
| HACKER |
Hacker
is a term used by some to mean "a clever programmer" and by others,
especially journalists or their editors, to mean "someone who tries to
break into computer systems."
1) Eric Raymond, compiler of The New Hacker's Dictionary, defines a
hacker as a clever programmer. A "good hack" is a clever solution to a
programming problem and "hacking" is the act of doing it. Raymond lists
five possible characteristics that qualify one as a hacker, which we
paraphrase here:
A person who enjoys learning details of a programming language or system
A person who enjoys actually doing the programming rather than just theorizing about it.
A person capable of appreciating someone else's hacking.
A person who picks up programming quickly.
A person who is an expert at a particular programming language or system, as in "UNIX hacking"
Raymond deprecates the use of this term for someone who attempts to
crack someone else's system or otherwise uses programming or expert
knowledge to act maliciously. He prefers the term cracker for this
meaning.
2) Journalists or their editors almost universally use hacker to mean
someone who attempts to break into computer systems. Typically, this
kind of hacker would be a proficient programmer or engineer with
sufficient technical knowledge to understand the weak points in a
security system. |
| |
| HELPER APPLICATION |
A
program allowing you to view multimedia files that your web browser
cannot handle internally, such as images, audio and video files. The
file must be downloaded before it will be displayed/played. Plug-ins
allow you to actually view the file over the Internet without
downloading first. |
| |
| HIT |
A
hit is a single file request in the log of a Web server. A request for
an HTML page with three graphic images will result in four hits in the
log: one for the HTML file and one for each of the graphic image files.
While a hit is a meaningful measure of how much traffic a server
handles, it can be a misleading indicator of how many pages are being
looked at. Instead, advertising agencies and their clients look at the
number of pages delivered and ad impressions or views. |
| |
| HOMEPAGE |
Several
meanings. Originally, the web page that your browser is set to use when
it starts up. The more common meaning refers to the main web page for a
business, organization, person or simply the main page out of a
collection of web pages, e.g. “Check out so-and-so's new Home Page.” |
| |
| HOST |
The term "host" is used in several contexts, in each of which it has a slightly different meaning:
1) On the Internet, the term "host" means any computer that has full
two-way access to other computers on the Internet. A host has a
specific "local or host number" that, together with the network number,
forms its unique Internet Protocol address. If you use PPP to get
access to your access provider, you have a unique IP address for the
duration of any connection you make to the Internet and your computer
is a host for that period. In this context, a "host" is a node in a
network.
2) In IBM and perhaps other mainframe computer environments, a host is
a mainframe computer (which is now usually referred to as a "large
server"). In this context, the mainframe has intelligent or "dumb"
workstations attached to it that use it as a host provider of services.
(This does not mean that the host only has "servers" and the
workstations only have "clients." The server/client relationship is a
programming model independent of this contextual usage of "host.")
3) In other contexts, the term generally means a device or program that
provides services to some smaller or less capable device or program. |
| |
| HTML |
HTML
(Hypertext Markup Language) is the set of "markup" symbols or codes
inserted in a file intended for display on a World Wide Web browser.
The markup tells the Web browser how to display a Web pages words and
images for the user. The individual markup codes are referred to as
elements (but many people also refer to them as tags).
HTML is a standard recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
and adhered to by the major browsers, Microsofts Internet Explorer and
Netscapes Navigator, which also provide some additional non-standard
codes. The current version of HTML is HTML 4. However, both Internet
Explorer and Netscape implement some features differently and provide
non-standard extensions. Web developers using the more advanced
features of HTML 4 may have to design pages for both browsers and send
out the appropriate version to a user. Significant features in HTML 4
are sometimes described in general as dynamic HTML. What is sometimes
referred to as HTML 5 is an extensible form of HTML called XHTML.
|
| |
| HTTP |
The
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the set of rules for exchanging
files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files)
on the World Wide Web. Relative to the TCP/IP suite of protocols (which
are the basis for information exchange on the Internet), HTTP is an
application protocol.
Essential
concepts that are part of HTTP include (as its name implies) the idea
that files can contain references to other files whose selection will
elicit additional transfer requests. Any Web server machine contains,
in addition to the HTML and other files it can serve, an HTTP daemon, a
program that is designed to wait for HTTP requests and handle them when
they arrive. Your Web browser is an HTTP client, sending requests to
server machines. When the browser user enters file requests by either
"opening" a Web file (typing in a Uniform Resource Locator or URL) or
clicking on a hypertext link, the browser builds an HTTP request and
sends it to the Internet Protocol address indicated by the URL. The
HTTP daemon in the destination server machine receives the request and,
after any necessary processing, the requested file is returned. |
| |
| HUB |
In
general, a hub is the central part of a wheel where the spokes come
together. The term is familiar to frequent fliers who travel through
airport "hubs" to make connecting flights from one point to another. In
data communications, a hub is a place of convergence where data arrives
from one or more directions and is forwarded out in one or more other
directions. A hub usually includes a switch of some kind. (And a
product that is called a "switch" could usually be considered a hub as
well.) The distinction seems to be that the hub is the place where data
comes together and the switch is what determines how and where data is
forwarded from the place where data comes together. Regarded in its
switching aspects, a hub can also include a router.
1) In describing network topologies, a hub topology consists of a
backbone (main circuit) to which a number of outgoing lines can be
attached ("dropped"), each providing one or more connection ports for
devices to attach to. For Internet users not connected to a local area
network, this is the general topology used by your access provider.
Other common network topologies are the bus network and the ring
network. (Either of these could possibly feed into a hub network, using
a bridge.)
2) As a network product, a hub may include a group of modem cards for
dial-in users, a gateway card for connections to a local area network
(for example, an Ethernet or a Token Ring), and a connection to a T-1
line (the main line in this example). |
| |
| HYPERTEXT |
Hypertext
is the organization of information units into connected associations
that a user can choose to make. An instance of such an association is
called a link or hypertext link. (And the highlighted word "link" in
the previous sentence is an example of a hypertext link.)
Hypertext was the main concept that led to the invention of the World
Wide Web, which is, after all, nothing more (or less) than an enormous
amount of information content connected by an enormous number of
hypertext links. |
| |
| ICMP |
ICMP
is a message control and error-reporting protocol between a host server
and a gateway to the Internet. ICMP uses Internet Protocol (IP)
datagrams, but the messages are processed by the IP software and are
not directly apparent to the application user. |
| |
| IMAP |
IMAP
(Internet Message Access Protocol) is a standard protocol for accessing
email from your local server. IMAP (the latest version is IMAP4) is a
client/server protocol in which email is received and held for you by
your Internet server. You (or your email client) can view just the
heading and the sender of the letter and then decide whether to
download the mail. You can also create and manipulate folders or
mailboxes on the server, delete messages, or search for certain parts
or an entire note. IMAP requires continual access to the server during
the time that you are working with your mail.
A less sophisticated protocol is POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3). With
POP3, your mail is saved for you in your mail box on the server. When
you read your mail, all of it is immediately downloaded to your
computer and no longer maintained on the server.
IMAP can be thought of as a remote file server. POP can be thought of as a "store-and-forward" service.
POP and IMAP deal with the receiving of email from your local server
and are not to be confused with SMTP, a protocol for transferring email
between points on the Internet. You send email with SMTP and a mail
handler receives it on your recipient's behalf. Then the mail is read
using POP or IMAP. |
| |
| IMHO |
In
My Humble Opinion -- A shorthand appended to a comment written in an
online forum, IMHO indicates that the writer is aware that they are
expressing a debatable view, probably on a subject already under
discussion. One of many such shorthand's in common use online,
especially in discussion forums and chat areas. |
| |
| INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY INFOBAHN |
The
terms were coined to describe a possible upgrade to the existing
Internet through the use of fiber optic and/or coaxial cable to allow
for high speed data transmission. This highway does not exist - the
Internet of today is not an information superhighway. |
| |
| iNTERNET |
Lower case i Any time you connect 2 or more networks together, you have an internet - as in inter-national or inter-state. |
| |
| INTERNET |
The
Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," is a worldwide system of
computer networks - a network of networks in which users at any one
computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other
computer (and sometimes talk directly to users at other computers). It
was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the
U.S. government in 1969 and was first known as the ARPANet. The
original aim was to create a network that would allow users of a
research computer at one university to be able to "talk to" research
computers at other universities. A side benefit of ARPANets design was
that, because messages could be routed or rerouted in more than one
direction, the network could continue to function even if parts of it
were destroyed in the event of a military attack or other disaster.
Today, the Internet is a public, cooperative, and self-sustaining
facility accessible to hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
Physically, the Internet uses a portion of the total resources of the
currently existing public telecommunication networks. Technically, what
distinguishes the Internet is its use of a set of protocols called
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). Two recent
adaptations of Internet technology, the intranet and the extranet, also
make use of the TCP/IP protocol.
For many Internet users, electronic mail (email) has practically
replaced the Postal Service for short written transactions. Electronic
mail is the most widely used application on the Net. You can also carry
on live "conversations" with other computer users, using IRC (Internet
Relay Chat). More recently, Internet telephony hardware and software
allows real-time voice conversations.
The most widely used part of the Internet is the World Wide Web (often
abbreviated "WWW" or called "the Web"). Its outstanding feature is
hypertext, a method of instant cross-referencing. In most Web sites,
certain words or phrases appear in text of a different color than the
rest; often this text is also underlined. When you select one of these
words or phrases, you will be transferred to the site or page that is
relevant to this word or phrase. Sometimes there are buttons, images,
or portions of images that are "clickable." If you move the pointer
over a spot on a Web site and the pointer changes into a hand, this
indicates that you can click and be transferred to another site.
Using the Web, you have access to millions of pages of information. Web
"surfing" is done with a Web browser, the most popular of which are
Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. The appearance of a
particular Web site may vary slightly depending on the browser you use.
Also, later versions of a particular browser are able to render more
"bells and whistles" such as animation, virtual reality, sound, and
music files, than earlier versions. |
| |
| INTRANET |
An
intranet is a private network that is contained within an enterprise.
It may consist of many | |
