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Mantex - Internet Glossary Category: Technical and IT > Internet Date & country: 13/09/2007, UK Words: 146

PC card
Short for PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. It is a standard-sized module used in laptops for memory expansion and other peripherals, including modem cards.

PCI
Peripheral Component Interconnect. A type of connector on computer motherboards, used for expansion or adapter cards.

PDF
Portable Document Format - a file format developed by Adobe Systems for capturing formatted page layouts for distribution. Requires the proprietary Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is now given away free of charge.

PHP
A scripting language used for developing dynamic Web pages and sites. It is typically used on Solaris and Linux platforms.

Plug-in
An extra bit of software which has to be added to a Web browser before a certain type of file can be viewed. Recent browsers come with the most popular plug-ins pre-installed.

Portal
A Web site that acts as a doorway or introduction to many other Web sites that are sometimes grouped into categories [Yahoo is a famous example].

Posts
Email messages sent to a mailing list or Usenet newsgroup to be read by subscribers or others on the Internet.

Program
Used as a noun - a series of instructions which tell a computer what to do. Used as a verb - the act of writing or revising a program.

Public domain software
Shareware programs that are free to use and modify, as the author has relinquished control over the code.

RAM
Random Access Memory. A computer's working memory, where programs store information when they are running. The bigger it is, the less time your computer will have to wait to get data from the hard disk drive.

Registry
A large, constantly changing file in Windows 95, containing details of how your computer is set up, and all the programs stored on the hard disk.

RFC
Request for Comments. Online documents that have to do with technical standards for the Internet.

Scandisk
A Windows utility that checks the integrity of data stored on a hard disk drive, identifies problems, and where possible puts them right.

Scanner
A machine that scans a printed image, such as a photograph or a page of text, and turns it into a file that can be displayed and manipulated on a computer.

SCSI
Small Computer System Interface [pronounced 'Scuzzy']. A high speed data interface that uses a card, which plugs into an ISA [integrated system architecture] socket on the computer motherboard. SCSI cards that use PCI slots are also available.

Search engine
An online service which can trawl through the contents of the Web (Websites, newsgroups, email addresses) looking for specific phrases or words. The engine asks you for keywords and then provides a list of web sites that contain your chosen words. Clicking on the listed web sites will take you to the relevant web page.

Sectors
Hard disk drives are split into tracks and sectors, which is a way for the computer to identify where particular files or pieces of data are stored.

SGML
Standard Generalised Markup Language - a meta-language that provides a comprehensive set of syntax rules for marking up the structure of documents and data. [HTML is a subset of SGML.]

Shareware
Software programs that you can try before you buy. If you decide to use a program, you should send a payment to the author or publisher.

Signature file
Return address information such as name, telephone number, and email address that users put at the bottom of email messages. Known as a 'sig'.

SLIP or PPP
Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) or Point to Point Protocol (PPP) Internet connections. Both allow a computer to connect to the Internet using a modem and telephone line. Users then navigate the Internet using software on their own computer. This is in contrast to using a Dialup Internet Connection, where a user is forced to navigate the Net using a text-based set of menus.

SOAP
Simple Object Access Protocol - which provides a way for applications to communicate with each other using XML.

Spam
Slang for posting the same message to multiple newsgroups - frowned on by most people on the Internet.

SQL
Structured Query Language - a standard language for talking to databases.

SSL
Secure Socket Layer - secures Web sites with encrypted traffic to and from the site user (see HTTPS).

Streaming
A technology for delivering audio or video files so that they can be heard or seen whilst downloading, without having to wait for the complete file.

Style sheet
A template or a file which defines the layout of a document or a series of documents.

Telnet
Allows users remote access to computers, most often at libraries, universities, and government agencies.The remote computer thinks you are using its own keyboard.

Templates
A ready-prepared document layout. Many word-processors have simple pre-formed letterheads, fax headers, memos, and invoices. To customise them for your own needs, you simply change the sample text.

Text-based Internet account
The user must use Unix commands to navigate the Internet.

Unix
A computer operating system which allows multiple clients to access one host at the same time.

URL
Uniform Resource Locater. This is the (rather clumsy) name for the address of any resource on the Internet. You type the URL into your browser, and are taken to that address.

Usenet newsgroups
More than 17,000 topic-oriented message bases that can be read and posted to. Also called newsgroups.

UUencode
A means of translating binary data so that it can be sent as an ASCII file across the Internet. (You need a decoder to convert it back into its native format at the other end.

Veronica
A computer program that helps users find what they are looking for on gopher servers around the world. Instead of looking through menus, Veronica allows users to enter keywords to locate the gopher site that holds the information they want.

Virtual
A computer-generated environment.

Virus
A special type of program which is designed for malicious purposes. It spreads by attaching itself to other programs and then carrying out unwanted and often damaging operations.

VRML
Virtual Reality Modelling Language. This is a file format which allows you to create 3D graphics for the Internet.

WAIS
Wide Area Information Servers These servers allow users to conduct full-text keyword searches in documents, databases, and libraries connected to the Internet. Pronounced 'Ways'.

Wizard
A self-activating program that guides you through a simple set-up routine for a particular feature or application.

World Wide Web
A revolutionary browsing system that allows point-and-click navigation of the Internet. The Web is a spiderweb-like interconnection of millions of pieces of information located on computers around the world. Web documents use hypertext, which incorporates text and graphical links to other documents and files on Internet-connected computers.

XML
Extensible Markup Language - a new standard for marking up documents and data. It is based on SGML, but with a reduced feature set that is more appropriate for distribution via the Web. XML allows authors to create customised tags not available in HTML.

XSL
Extensible Style Language - a system for controlling the presentation of XML documents and structured data.

Zipping
The process of compressing a file so it takes up less space. There are two types of Zip files, normal (which require a program to extract them) and self-executing that open up automatically. PKZip and WinZip are popular zipping and unzipping programs.

E-commerce
Performing business transactions on the Internet - which may include the use of credit cards, 'shopping trolleys', forms, and secure servers.

J2EE
Java 2 Enterprise Edition. Middleware written in Java used in critical, large-scale networked developments, such as electronic banking.