Internet Basics

Terminology

animated GIF

web page graphic that combines several GIF graphics in one file and in a sequence.

animated GIF's are widely used on the Internet because they do not require a special player.

anonymous FTP sites

file transfer servers where you do not need a password to log on and access files. Sometimes you need to use the password "anonymous," hence the name.

bandwidth

the amount of data that can be transmitted in a given amount of time, typically expressed as bits per second (bps).

bit

a binary digit, the smallest unit of information, a one or a zero.

the smallest unit of electronic information, a bit an hold either of two variables, 0 or 1.

bookmarks

Netscape Navigator's method of marking and organizing web page addresses as links for later use.

browser

a software application used to access the World Wide Web and view web pages

byte

a unit of information containing eight bits, capable of representing an alphabetic character.

cyberspace

the non-physical space created by computers, such as the Internet.

DHTML

Dynamic HTML, allows page content to change in reaction to user input without communication with the originating server.

database

a collection of related information that can be searched.

domain name

names used in URL's and corresponding to one or more IP addresses. Domain names always carry a suffix, the top-level domain name such as com or edu. Domain names in a URL are case sensitive.

Domain Name Service (DNS)

Internet service that translates domain names into their numeric IP numbers

firewall

programming designed to prevent Internet users from accessing parts of an Internet server.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

a common protocol that facilitates transferring any type of electronic files over the Web.

gif or GIF

compressed graphics file format supported by all graphics Web browsers, the most common graphics file format used on the web.

gigabyte (GB)

unit of electronic information storage capable of holding 1,073,741,824 bytes.

home page

the web page that appears when you start Netscape Navigator, the index or default page of a particular web server, folder, or person's web site.

history list

a web browser's list of sites visited since launching the browser.

history window

a web browser feature with a list of sites visited, providing searchable data on each site, including title, URL, when first visited, when most recently visited, and how often visited.

host

a computer connected to a TCP/IP network, such as the Internet, with a unique IP address; a computer that stores resources or provides a service for other computers on a network.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) the protocol computers use to transmit

web documents between computers, identified by the prefix "http://" of the URL.

hypertext documents

electronic files containing links that can be selected to move to another part of the document or to another document altogether.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) programming language used to create

documents displayed by Web browsers, a logical language to format documents that can be universally understood on different computer platforms and by different web browsers.

imagemap

a single graphic that serves as more than one hyperlink.

Internet

a global network of computer networks that use standard protocols to exchange information, the largest network of computer networks.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

companies that sell access to the Internet to other users.

IP address

the numerical identifier for a computer connected to a TCP/IP network, such as the Internet. IP addresses consist of a set of four numbers from 0 - 255 and separated by periods. For example 199.104.230.26.

Java

the programming language developed by Sun Microsystems used forcreating applications that can be run over the Web, computer language designed to be run on any computer regardless of the operating system.

JavaScript

language developed by Netscape to add functionality andenhancements to Web pages.

jpg or JPEG

pronounced "jay-peg," a compressed graphics format supportedby all graphical web browsers, second of the most common image formats used on the web. The acronym stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group.

kilobyte, KB

unit of electronic storage capable of holding 1,024 bytes.

link

that portion of a hypertext document that allows for moving to another part of the document or to another document altogether.

location bar

identifies the address of the web page displayed in the browser window.

mailto link

a link in a web page that opens the default e-mail program and addresses a message to a specific address. The specified URL begins with "mailto:" followed by the e-mail address.

menu bar

groups commands by menu name, clicking a menu name opens a menu of commands or submenus.

META tags

HTML tags that provide information about a web page, such as author, keywords, description, character set and authoring program.

navigation buttons

tool bar buttons used to move among web pages, includes, Back, Forward and Home.

Portable Document Format (PDF) file format that captures formatting

information from various publishing programs and enables them to appear exactly as intended on other computers.

protocol

procedure or format a computer uses to transmit or exchange files, enabling computers of different platform types to communicate in a standardized fashion.

search engine

database software that retrieves information based upon query parameters.

server

computer that receives and fulfills requests to provide specific services on a network.

text link

a word or phrase in a hypertext document that is typically underlined and colored differently that functions, when selected, to move the browser to a different web page or a different place in the page.

thumbnail

a smaller version of a graphic, typically used inline with a link to the larger version to minimize the size of a web page.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) the standard suite of protocols used to

connect computers on the Internet and onintranets.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL) the address of a web page.

upload

to transfer a file from your computer to another computer.

web page

a hypertext document on the World Wide Web.

web server

a computer connected to the Internet that provides electronic files to other computers.

World Wide Web (WWW)

the network of HTML files stored on web servers and interlinked with hyperlinks, thereby creating a "web" of interlinked files.

zip files

a common compression format created by WinZip for Windows