| ActiveX control |
Internet Explorer’s equivalent of a plug-in. |
| Apache |
A common web server program used on commercial web servers. |
| Bandwidth |
The speed of the connection between one computer and
another, for example, 33.6 kb/s for a modem link, 64kb/s for a leased
line. |
| Bandwidth limit |
The amount of data a customer may have downloaded from
their web site. Normally listed daily or monthly, such as 50 MB/day.
This means that 50 visitors could each download 1 MB of data from your
web site, or 25 visitors 2 MB, etc. 1 MB of data is around 200 pages
of A4 text, or a smaller quantity of text and graphics. |
| Browser |
The software on a customer’s machine, which downloads
and displays web pages, such as Internet Explorer or Netscape. |
| Bulletin Board System (BBS) |
A computer, and associated software, which typically
provides electronic messaging services, archives of files, and any other
services or activities of interest to the bulletin board system's operator.
Although BBS's have traditionally been the domain of hobbyists, an increasing
number of BBS's are connected directly to the Internet, and many BBS's
are currently operated by government, educational, and research institutions |
| CGI / CGI-bin |
Common Gateway Interface. A program which runs on the
web server to interact with the viewer, such as an order form or an
animated menu. |
| Domain Name |
The name of a computer on the Internet such as www.madasafish.com |
| DNS or Domain Name Server |
This converts an address such as www.madasafish.com
into a series of numbers known as an IP (Internet Protocol) in the format
212.38.173.11 |
| E-Mail |
A system whereby a computer user can exchange messages
with other computer users (or groups of users) via a communications
network. Electronic mail is one of the most popular uses of the Internet. |
| Front Page Extensions |
Microsoft’s proprietary web-server add-ons. These
are not currently supported on Madasafish’s web servers |
| FTP |
File Transfer Protocol. The process of sending/uploading
files to-- and receiving/downloading files from other computers. To
do this you must first know the name of the file and the address of
the site where it is located (use Archie). Then you can go to that site
and ftp it. This will be with an FTP package such as WS_FTP or CuteFTP. |
| Frames |
Frames are used to break up Web pages so that one part
of the page can stay the same while another changes. |
| Homepage |
The main page of a website. |
| HTML |
HyperText Mark-up Language. Used to add formatting, images
and links to the text that makes up web pages, for example <h1>This
is a heading</h1> to generate a heading. |
| HTTP |
HyperText Transfer Protocol. The protocol used to move
data between web servers and web browsers. This is a standard, meaning
that any browser can receive pages from any server. |
| Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) |
- An emerging technology which is beginning to be offered
by the telephone carriers of the world. ISDN combines voice and digital
network services in a single medium, making it possible to offer customers
digital data services as well as voice connections through a single
"wire". |
| Internet |
The Internet is the largest internet in the world. It
is a three level hierarchy composed of backbone networks (e.g., NSFNET,
MILNET), mid-level networks, and stub networks. The Internet is a multiprotocol
internet. See also: backbone, mid-level network, stub network, transit
network, Internet Protocol, Corporation for Research and Educational
Networks, National Science Foundation. 2. - The world-wide network of
networks connected to each other. Resources can be shared with any computer
having access to a dedicated Internet connection. The Internet enables
electronic mail, web pages, file transfer, etc... |
| Internet Explorer |
A Browser written by Microsoft |
| Java |
A programming language often used to add functionality
to web pages. Java programs are downloaded from the server and run on
the viewer’s machine, displaying their output in the browser. |
| JavaScript |
A simple programming language which can included within
a web page, allowing interactive menus, animation etc. |
| JScript |
A programming language similar to JavaScript |
| Netscape Navigator |
A popular Browser |
| perl |
A programming language often used for writing CGIs. Perl
is available on the commercial web servers. |
| Ping |
A method of checking to see whether or not a particular
system is on-line. Some packages will send packets of data to test the
connection. |
| Plug-in |
A mini-program that runs within a browser to deal with
a particular type of content, such as video or 3D virtual reality files.
Normally free to download from the supplier of the file format in question. |
| POP Server (Post Office Protocol) |
One of two Internet mail server protocols. The POP server
receives and stores e-mail text files. When checking e-mail for new
messages received, the e-mail client (the e-mail program) logs onto
the POP server and asks to see the messages in a mailbox. |
| Real Audio |
A format for sounds on a web site that allows streaming.
Customers may purchase Real Audio streams on the commercial web servers. |
| Search Engine |
Search engines allow you to search the web
for a specific topic and web page (URL) |
| Server |
Can refer to both the computer that holds the data for
the web site, and the software, which displays the web pages to visitors. |
| Signature |
The three or four line message at the bottom of a piece
of email or a Usenet article which identifies the sender. Large signatures
(over five lines) are generally frowned upon. See also: Electronic Mail,
Usenet. |
| Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) |
One of two Internet mail server protocols. The SMTP
server sends e-mail text files. When sending e-mail, the e-mail client
(the e-mail program) contacts the SMTP server. The SMTP server moves
the e-mail to a POP server for storage. |
| SSI |
Server Side Includes. This allows you to store common
HTML code (for example, a button bar) on the server once only, and includes
it into other web pages. Not supported on Madasafish’s web servers. |
| SSL |
Secure Sockets Layer. An encryption method to allow credit
card numbers and other sensitive info to be passed safely across the
Internet. Not currently supported by Madasafish’s web servers. |
| Streaming |
Allows sounds to play as they download, rather than waiting
for the download to complete. Also allows ‘fast-forward’ and
‘rewind’ within the sound sample, without having to download
the ‘skipped’ parts. |
| telnet |
Allows you to access a unix shell (DOS-like commands)
on another machine. Customers have telnet access to the commercial web
servers for renaming, copying and other simple file operations. |
| URL |
Uniform Resource Locator. The web (or other Internet
resource) address, such as http://www.madasafish.com |
| Usenet |
A collection of thousands of topically named newsgroups
or discussion forums. |
| VBScript |
Another web page scripting language, with syntax similar
to Visual Basic. |
| Virtual server |
A computer or web site name dedicated to your web space,
rather than your login or directory name added to someone else’s
site. www.widgets.co.uk instead of www.madasafish.com/widgets. |
| WWW or World Wide Web |
An HTML-based, distributed information system created
by researchers at CERN in Switzerland. Users may create, edit or browse
HTML documents. |
| Website |
A specific address on the World Wide Web where pages
on a chosen subject are found |
| Web cache |
A machine accessible to many users which stores copies
of recently downloaded web pages. If these pages are requested again,
they are served locally rather than from the remote site, saving time
and bandwidth. |
| Web browser |
See Browser |
| Web proxy |
A machine that accepts requests for web pages and forwards
them on to the correct server. This allows machines without a direct
Internet connection to access the web. |