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Welcome to the
Technology Center
DICTIONARY OF INTERNET TERMS
Permission is granted to use this glossary, with credit to Internet
Literacy Consultants, for non-commercial educational purposes,
provided
that the content is not altered including the retention of the
copyright
notice and this statement. For permission to use it in other ways, or
to
suggest changes and additions, please contact us by telephone or
e-mail.: admin@matisse.net, +1.415.469.8271
ADN
(Advanced Digital Network) -- Usually refers to a 56K/bps
leased-line.
Archie
A tool (software) for finding files stored on anonymous FTP
sites. You need to know the exact file name or a sub-string of it.
ARPANet
(Advanced Research Projects Administration 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.
See also: Internet (uppercase I)
Anonymous FTP
SeeFTP
ASCII
(American Standard Code for Information Interchange) -- this is the
de facto world-wide standard for the code numbers used by computers to
represent all the upper and lower-case latin letters, numbers,
punctuation, etc. There are 128 standard ASCII codes each of which can
be represented by a 7 digit binary number: 0000000 through 1111111
BBS
(Bulletin Board System) -- A computerized meeting and announcement
system that allows people to carry on discussions, upload and download
files, and make announcements without the people being connected to the
computer at the same time. There are many thousands (millions?) of
BBS's around the world, most are very small, running on a single IBM
clone PC with 1 or 2 phone lines. Some are very large and the line
between a BBS and a system like CompuServe gets crossed at some point,
but it is not clearly drawn.
Bit
(Binary DigIT) -- A single digit number in base-2, in other words,
either a 1 or a zero. The smallest unit of computerized data.
Bandwidth is usually measured in bits-per-second.
See also Bandwidth, Byte, Kilobyte, and Megabyte
BITNET
(Because It's Time Network) -- A network of educational
sites separate from the Internet, but e-mail is freely exchanged
between BITNET and the Internet. Listservs, the most popular
form of e-mail discussion groups, originated on BITNET.
BITNET machines are IBM VMS machines, and the network is
probably the only international network that is shrinking.
Backbone
A high-speed line or series of connections that forms a major
pathway within a network. The term is relative as a backbone in a small
network will likely be much smaller than many non-backbone lines
in a large network.
Bandwidth
How much "stuff" you can send through a connection. Usually
measured in bits-per-second. A full page of english text is about
16,000 bits. A fast modem can move about 15,000 bits in one second.
Full-motion full-screen video would require roughly 10,000,000
bits-per-second, depending on compression.
See also: 56K, Bit, T-1
Binhex
(BINary HEXadecimal) -- a method for converting non-text files
(non-ASCII) into ASCII. This is needed because Internet e-mail
can only handle ASCII.
See also: ASCII
Browser
A client program (software) that is used to look at various
kinds of Internet resources.
See also: Client, URL, WWW
Byte
A set of Bits that represent a single character. Usually there are
8 or 10 bits in a Byte, depending on how the measurement is being
made.
Client
A software program that is used to contact and obtain data from a
Server software program on another computer, often across a
great distance. Each Client program is designed to work with one
or more specific kinds of Server programs, and each
Server requires a specific kind of Client.
See also: Server
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.
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. Usually, all of the machines on a
given network will have the same thing as the right-hand portion
of their Domain Names, e.g.
gateway.gbnetwork.com
mail.gbnetwork.com
www.gbnetwork.com
and so on. 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 e-mail 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.
See also: IP Number.
E-mail
(Electronic Mail) -- Messages, usually text, sent from one person
to another via computer. E-mail can also be sent automatically to a
large number of addresses (Mailing List)
See also: Listserv, Maillist
Ethernet
A very common method of networking computers in a LAN.
Ethernet will handle about 10,000,000 bits-per-second and can be used
with almost any kind of computer.
See also: Bandwidth, LAN
FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions) -- FAQs are documents that list and
answer the most common questions on a particular subject. There are
hundreds of FAQs on subjects as diverse as Pet Grooming and
Cryptography. FAQs are usually written by people who have tired of
answering the same question over and over.
FDDI
(Fiber Distributed Data Interface) -- A standard for transmitting
data on optical fiber cables at a rate of around 100,000,000
bits-per-second (10 time as fast as Ethernet, about twice as
fast as T-3 )
See also: Bandwidth, Ethernet, T-1, T-3.
FTP
(File Transfer Protocol) -- A very common method of moving files
between two Internet sites. FTP is a special way to login to
another Internet site for the purposes of retrieving and/or sending
files. There are many Internet sites that have established publicly
accessible repositories of material that can be obtained using FTP, by
logging in using the account name "anonymous", thus these sites are
called "anonymous ftp servers".
Finger
An Internet software tool for locating people on other Internet
sites. Finger is also sometimes used to give access to non-personal
information, but the most common use is to see if a person has an
account at a particular Internet site. Many sites do not allow incoming
Finger requests, but many do.
Gopher
A widely successful method of making menus of material available
over the Internet. Gopher is a Client and Server style
program, which requires that the user have a Gopher Client
program. Although Gopher spread rapidly across the globe in only a
couple of years, it is being largely supplanted by Hypertext,
also known as WWW (World Wide Web). There are still thousands of
Gopher Servers on the Internet and we can expect they will
remain for a while.
See also: Client, Server,
WWW, Hypertext
Host
Any computer on a network that is a repository for services
available to other computers on the network. It is quite common
to have one host machine provide several services, such as WWW
and USENET
See also: Node, Network
HTML
(HyperText Markup Language) -- The coding language used create
Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web. HTML
looks a lot like old-fashioned typesetting code, where you surround a
block of text with codes that indicate how it should appear,
additionally, in HTML you can specify that a block of text, or a word,
is "linked" to another file on the Internet. HTML files are meant to be
viewed using a World Wide Web Client program, such as
Mosaic.
See also: HTTP, Hypertext, Mosaic, WWW
HTTP
(HyperText Transport Protocol) -- The protocol for moving
hypertext files across the Internet. Requires a HTTP
client program on one end, and an HTTP server program on
the other end. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World
Wide Web (WWW).
See also: Client, Server,
WWW
Hypertext
Generally, any text that contains "links" to other documents -
words or phrases in the document that can be chosen by a reader and
which cause another document to be retrieved and displayed.
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 shorthands in common use online,
especially in discussion forums.
IP Number
Sometimes called a "dotted quad". A unique number consisting of 4
parts separated by dots, e.g.165.113.245.2 Every machine
that is on the Internet has a unique IP number - if a machine does not
have an IP number, it is not really on the Internet. Most machines also
have one or more Domain Names that are easier for people to
remember.
See also: Domain Name, Internet
IRC
(Internet Relay Chat) -- Basically a huge multi-user live chat
facility. There are a number major IRC servers around the world
which are linked to each other. Anyone can create a "channel" and
anything that anyone types in a given channel is seen by all others in
the channel. Private channels can (and are) created for multi-person
"conference calls".
ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) -- Basically a way to move
more data over existing regular phone lines. ISDN is only slowly
becoming available in the USA but where it is available, it can provide
speeds of 64,000 bits-per-second over a regular phone line at almost
the same cost as a normal phone call.
Internet (upper case I)
The vast collection of inter-connected networks that all use the
TCP/IP protocols and that evolved from the ARPANET of the late
60's and early '70s. The Internet now (Nov. 1994) connects roughly
30,000 independent networks into a vast global internet.
See also: internet (lower case i)
internet (lower case i)
Any time you connect 2 or more networks together, you have
an internet - as in inter-national or inter-state.
Kilobyte
A thousand bytes. Actually, usually, 1024 (2^10) bytes.
See also: Byte", Bit
LAN
(Local Area Network) -- A computer network limited to the immediate
area, usually the same building or floor of the building.
Leased-line
Refers to a phone line that is rented for exclusive 24-hour,
7-days-a-week use from your location to another location. The highest
speed data connections require a leased line.
See also: 56K, T-1, T-3
Listserv
The most common kind of maillist , Listservs originated on
BITNET but they are now common on the Internet
See also: BITNET, E-mail,
Maillist
Login
Noun or a verb. Noun: The account name used to gain access to a
computer system. Not a secret (contrast with Password)
Verb:
The act of entering into a computer system, e.g. "Login to the WELL and
then go to the GBN conference."
See also: Password
Megabyte
A million bytes. A thousand kilobytes.
See also: Byte, Bit, Kilobyte
MOO
(Mud, Object Oriented) -- one of several kinds of multi-user
role-playing environments, so far only text-based.
See also: MUD, MUSE
MUD
(Multi-User Dungeon or Dimension) -- A (usually text-based)
multi-user simulation environment. Some are purely for fun and
flirting, others are used for serious software development, or
education purposes and all that lies in between. A significant feature
of most MUDs is that users can create things that stay after they leave
and which other users can interact with in their absence, thus allowing
a "world" to be built gradually and collectively.
See also: MOO, MUSE
MUSE
One kind of MUD - usually with little or no violence.
See also: MOO, MUD
Maillist (or Mailing List)
A (usually automated) system that allows people to send
e-mail to one address, whereupon their message is copied and
sent to all of the other subscribers to the maillist. In this way,
people who have many different kids of e-mail access can participate in
discussions together.
Modem
(MOdulator, DEModulator) -- a device that you connect to your
computer and to a phone line, that allows the computer to talk to other
computers through the phone system. Basically, modems do for computers
what a telephone does for humans.
Mosaic
The best known and most widespread WWW browser or
client software. The source-code to Mosaic has been licensed by
several companies and there are several other pieces of software as
good or better than Mosaic.
See also: Browser, Client,
WWW
NIC
(Network Information Center) -- Generally, any office that handles
information for a network. The most famous of these on the Internet is
the InterNIC, which is where new domain names are registered.
Network
Any time you connected 2 or more computers together so that they
can share resources you have a computer network. Connect 2 or more
networks together and you have an internet.
See also: Internet, internet
Newsgroups
The name for discussion groups on Usenet .
See also: Usenet
Node
Any single computer connected to a network .
See also: Network, Internet, internet
Packet Switching
The method used to move data around on the Internet . In
packet switching, all the data coming out of a machine is broken up
into chunks, each chunk has the address of where it came from and where
it is going. This enables chunks of data from many different sources
to co-mingle on the same lines, and be sorted and directed to different
routes by special machines along the way. This way many people can use
the same lines at the same time.
Password
A code used to gain access to a locked system. Good passwords
contain letters and non-letters and are not simple combinations such as
"virtue7". A good password might be:
Hot$l-6
See also: Login
POP
Two commonly used meanings: "Point of Presence" and "Post Office
Protocol".
A "Point of Presence" usually means a city or location where a network
can be
connected to, often with dialup phone lines, so if an Internet company
says
they will soon have a POP in Belgrade, it means that they will soon
have a
local phone number in Belgrade, and/or a place where
leased-lines
can connect to their network. A second meaning, "Post Office Protocol"
refers to the way e-mail software such as Eudora gets mail from a mail
server. When you obtain a SLIP, PPP, or shell
account you almost always get a POP account with it, and it is this
POP account that you tell your e-mail software to use to get your
mail.
See also: PPP, SLIP
PPP
(Point to Point Protocol) -- most well known as a protocol that
allows a computer to use a regular telephone line and a modem
to make a TCP/IP connection and thus be really and truly on the
Internet . PPP is gradually replacing SLIP for this
purpose.
See also: IP Number, Internet, SLIP, TCP/IP
RFC
(Request For Comments) -- the name of the result and the process
for creating a standard on the Internet . New standards are
proposed and published on line, as a "Request For Comments". The
Internet Engineerng Task Force is a consensus-building body that
facilitates discussion, and eventually a new standard is established,
but the reference number/name for the standard retains the acronym
"RFC", e.g. the official standard for e-mail is RFC 822.
Router
A special-purpose computer (or software package) that handles the
connection between 2 or more networks . Routers spend all their
time looking at the destination addresses of the packets
passing through them and deciding which route to send them on.
See also: Network, Packet Switching
SMDS
(Switched Multimegabit Data Service) -- A new standard for very
high-speed data transfer.
Server (see Client)
A computer, or a software package, that provides a specific kind of
service to client software running on other computers. The term
can refer to a particular piece of software, such as a WWW
server, or to the machine on which the software is running, e.g. "Our
mail server is down today, that's why e-mail isn't getting out." A
single server machine could have several different server software
packages running on it, thus providing many different services to
clients on the network .
See also: Client, Network
SLIP
(Serial Line Internet Protocol) -- a standard for using a regular
telephone line (a "serial line") and a modem to connect a
computer as a real Internet site. SLIP is gradually being
replaced by PPP .
See also: Internet, PPP
T-1
A leased-line connection capable of carrying data at
1,544,000 bits -per-second. At maximum theoretical capacity, a
T-1 line could move a megabyte in less than 10 seconds. That is
still not fast enough for full-screen, full-motion video, for which you
need at least 10,000,000 bits-per-second. T-1 is the fastest speed
commonly used to connect networks to the Internet .
See also: 56K, Bandwidth,
Bit, Byte, Ethernet, T-3
T-3
A leased-line connection capable of carrying data at
45,000,000 bits-per-second. This is more than enough to do full-screen,
full-motion video.
See also: 56K, Bandwidth,
Bit, Byte, Ethernet, T-1
TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) -- This is the
suite of protocols that defines The Internet . Originally
designed for the UNIX operating system, TCP/IP software is now
available for every major kind of computer operating system. To be
truly on the Internet , your computer must have TCP/IP
software.
See also: IP Number, Internet, UNIX
Telnet
The command and program used to login from one
Internet site to another. The telnet command/program gets you to
the "login:" prompt of another host.
Terminal
A device that allows you to send commands to a computer somewhere
else. At a minimum, this usually means a keyboard and a display screen
and some simple circuitry. usually you will use terminal software in a
personal computer - the software pretends to be ("emulates") a physical
terminal and allows you to type commands to a computer somewhere else.
Terminal Server
A special purpose computer that has places to plug in many
modems on one side, and a connection to a LAN or
host machine on the other side. Thus the terminal server does
the work of answering the calls and passes the connections on to the
appropriate node . Most terminal servers can provide PPP
or SLIP services if connected to the Internet .
See also: LAN, Modem, Host, Node, PPP, SLIP
UNIX
A computer operating system (the basic software running on a
computer, underneath things like word processors and spreadsheets).
UNIX is designed to be used by many people at the same time (it is
"multi-user") and has TCP/IP built-in. It is the most common
operating system for servers on the Internet
URL
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) -- The standard way to give the
address of
any resource on the Internet that is part of the World Wide Web (WWW).
A URL looks like this:
http://www.matisse.net/seminars.html
or telnet://well.sf.ca.us
or news:new.newusers.questions
etc.
The most common way to use a URL is to enter into a WWW browser
program, such as Netscape, or Lynx.
See also: Browser, WWW
Usenet
A world-wide system of discussion groups, with comments passed
among hundreds of thousands of machines. Not all Usenet machines are
on the Internet , maybe half. Usenet is completely
decentralized, with over 10,000 discussion areas, called newsgroups
.
Veronica
(Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives)
-- Developed at the University of Nevada, Veronica is a constantly
updated database of the names of almost every menu item on thousands of
gopher servers. The Veronica database can be searched from most
major gopher menus.
See also: Gopher
WAIS
(Wide Area Information Servers) -- A commercial software package
that allows the indexing of huge quantities of information, and then
making those indices searchable across networks such as the
Internet . A prominent feature of WAIS is that the search
results are ranked according to how relevant the "hits" are, and that
subsequent searches can find "more stuff like that last batch" and thus
refine the search process.
WAN
(Wide Area Network) -- Any internet or network that
covers an area larger than a single building or campus.
See also: Internet, internet, LAN, Network
WWW (World Wide Web)
Two meanings - First, loosely used: The whole constellation of
resources that can be accessed using Gopher , FTP ,
HTTP , telnet , Usenet , WAIS and some
other tools. Second, the universe of hypertext servers (HTTP
servers ) which are the servers that allow text,
graphics, sound files etc to be mixed together.
See also: Browser, FTP, Gopher, HTTP, Telnet,
URL, WAIS
This document prepared by Internet Literacy Consultants
+1.415.469.8271
|
