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  • Home > Definitions of the Web

WEB DEFINITIONS

ASP
Active Server Pages. (This might be a little confusing because ASP also stands for 'Application Service Provider'). ASP is a Microsoft technology that runs inside Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

ASP.Net or "dot net" is Microsoft's next generation of the ASP language. It provides a complete environment for content management and sharing over the Internet.

A program or group of programs designed for end users. Software can be divided into two general classes: systems software and applications software. Systems software consists of low-level programs that interact with the computer at a very basic level. This includes operating systems, compilers, and utilities for managing computer resources. In contrast, applications software (also called end-user programs) includes database programs, word processors, and spreadsheets. Figuratively speaking, applications software sits on of systems software because it is unable to run without the operating system and system utilities.
A leading paint program from Adobe Systems, Inc. For many years, Photoshop has been the model against which other paint programs are compared. Initially, it ran only on Macintosh systems, which was a strong selling point for Macs, especially among graphic artists. Today, Photoshop runs on both Macs and Windows PCs.
The machine-readable representation of the UPC. Bar codes are read by a scanner that passes over the code and registers the UPC. The width of each black line and the subsequent white space between each line coincides with the numbers of the UPC.

Short for Web browser, a software application used to locate and display Web pages. The two most popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Both of these are graphical browsers, which means that they can display graphics as well as text. In addition, most modern browsers can present multimedia information, including sound and video, though they require plug-ins for some formats.

A high-level programming language developed by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs. C++ adds object-oriented features to its predecessor, C. C++ is one of the most popular programming language for graphical applications, such as those that run in Windows and Macintosh environments.

CGI is a protocol that allows any of the above languages to be recognized by your server.

Acronym for customer relationship management. CRM entails all aspects of interaction a company has with its customer, whether it be sales or service related. Computerization has changed the way companies are approaching their CRM strategies because it has also changed consumer buying behavior. With each new advance in technology, especially the proliferation of self-service channels like the Web and WAP phones, more of the relationship is being managed electronically. Organizations are therefore looking for ways to personalize online experiences (a process also referred to as mass customization) through tools such as help-desk software, e-mail organizers and Web development apps.

Short for Cascading Style Sheets, a new feature being added to HTML that gives both Web site developers and users more control over how pages are displayed. With CSS, designers and users can create style sheets that define how different elements, such as headers and links, appear. These style sheets can then be applied to any Web page.

Cold Fusion is an application from Macromedia that creates HTML pages from a database. Once a template is defined, Cold Fusion fills that template with content. Catalogs, for example, are easy to build and maintain in Cold Fusion. If a URL ends in .cfm, it is a page that was created with Cold Fusion.
A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customized Web pages for them. When you enter a Web site using cookies, you may be asked to fill out a form providing such information as your name and interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web browser which stores it for later use. The next time you go to the same Web site, your browser will send the cookie to the Web server. The server can use this information to present you with custom Web pages. So, for example, instead of seeing just a generic welcome page you might see a welcome page with your name on it.

Dynamic HTML adds more elegance to basic HTML. With DHTML, you can make changes without causing the whole screen to redraw. So, for example, in a DHTML site, users can roll over a menu and see the choices change color, or they see one graphic to turn into another graphic. A good DHTML programmer can write code that will be 'friendly' to all browsers and types of computers.

Short for electronic mail, the transmission of messages over communications networks. The messages can be notes entered from the keyboard or electronic files stored on disk. Most mainframes, minicomputers, and computer networks have an e-mail system. Some electronic-mail systems are confined to a single computer system or network, but others have gateways to other computer systems, enabling users to send electronic mail anywhere in the world. Companies that are fully computerized make extensive use of e-mail because it is fast, flexible, and reliable.

A buzzword that refers to an intranet that is partially accessible to authorized outsiders. Whereas an intranet resides behind a firewall and is accessible only to people who are members of the same company or organization, an extranet provides various levels of accessibility to outsiders. You can access an extranet only if you have a valid username and password, and your identity determines which parts of the extranet you can view. Extranets are becoming a very popular means for business partners to exchange information.

False Positive results in emails tagged as spam which are not actually spam

Flash is an application published by the Macromedia company. Think of Flash as a 'window' that is displayed within the HTML environment. You have complete control of the window. You can display animations. You can make the animations clickable. You can make text move and change. Flash is very fast because it draws graphics on the fly, rather than storing text or graphics as complete images. (Although Flash can also display photographic images and illustrations). Flash gives you much more creative room than HTML, but it requires a 'plug-in', a piece of code on your computer that runs Flash. The newer browsers automatically come with Flash. If your user has an older browser, and they don't already have Flash, they will be asked to download it. If they agree to download Flash, they will be sent to the Macromedia site where they will need to click on a few things to receive Flash. If they haven't already downloaded Flash, you might lose them at this point. It is a tradeoff.

'Frames' are pages within an HTML page. Frames behave like a separate window. They can have their own menus, scroll bars, and content. Frames let you keep certain content (your logo and menu for example) fixed on the screen, when users scroll down to read text. You can also use frames to display someone else's web site inside your web site.

Hypertext Markup Language is the original and the simplest display language for the Web. It defines the look of the screen background, the location of text and graphics, the appearance of text,(font, size, style, color, line breaks) and the creation of links. HTML uses simple commands called 'flags'. Flags are the 'Markup' part of 'Hypertext Markup Language'. Basic HTML lays things out on screen one below another, like a roll of paper towels. Basic HTML is not sophisticated. With basic HTML, if one thing changes on the screen, the whole screen is erased and the entire screen is redrawn.

A global network connecting millions of computers. More than 100 countries are linked into exchanges of data, news and opinions. Unlike online services, which are centrally controlled, the Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to use and which local services to make available to the global Internet community. Remarkably, this anarchy by design works exceedingly well. There are a variety of ways to access the Internet. Most online services, such as America Online, offer access to some Internet services. It is also possible to gain access through a commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP).
A network based on TCP/IP protocols (an internet) belonging to an organization, usually a corporation, accessible only by the organization's members, employees, or others with authorization. An intranet's Web sites look and act just like any other Web sites, but the firewall surrounding an intranet fends off unauthorized access. Like the Internet itself, intranets are used to share information. Secure intranets are now the fastest-growing segment of the Internet because they are much less expensive to build and manage than private networks based on proprietary protocols.

Short for Internet Service Provider, a company that provides access to the Internet. For a monthly fee, the service provider gives you a software package, username, password and access phone number. Equipped with a modem, you can then log on to the Internet and browse the World Wide Web and USENET, and send and receive e-mail.
Java is an entire programming language resembling C or C++. It takes a sophisticated programmer to create Java code. And it requires a sophisticated programmer to maintain it. With Java, you can create complete applications. Or you can attach a small group of instructions, a Java "applet" that improves your basic HTML. A Java Applet can also cause text to change color when you roll over it. A game, a calendar, a scrolling text banner can all be created with Java Applets. There are sometimes compatibility problems between Java and various browsers, operating systems or computers, and if not written correctly, it can be slow to load. Java is a powerful programming language with excellent security, but you need to be aware of the tradeoffs.
When new technologies start, they sometimes acquire names that will be confusing in the future. That's the case with JavaScript. JavaScript is not 'Java'. JavaScript is a simple programming language that was developed by Netscape that writes commands to your browser when the HTML page is loaded. Note: you can have compatibility issues with Java Script, especially in newer versions of Browsers.
Short for Java Server Page. A server-side technology, Java Server Pages are an extension to the Java servlet technology that was developed by Sun. JSPs have dynamic scripting capability that works in tandem with HTML code, separating the page logic from the static elements -- the actual design and display of the page -- to help make the HTML more functional(i.e. dynamic database queries). A JSP is translated into Java servlet before being run, and it processes HTTP requests and generates responses like any servlet. However, JSP technology provides a more convenient way to code a servlet. Translation occurs the first time the application is run. A JSP translator is triggered by the .jsp file name extension in a URL. JSPs are fully interoperable with servlets. You can include output from a servlet or forward the output to a servlet, and a servlet can include output from a JSP or forward output to a JSP. JSPs are not restricted to any specific platform or server. It was orignially created as an alternative to Microsoft's ASPs (Active Server Pages). Recently, however, Microsoft has countered JSP technology with its own ASP.NET, part of the .NET initiative.

An application in which a company or organization has already invested considerable time and money. Typically, legacy applications are database management systems (DBMSs) running on mainframes or minicomputers. An important feature of new software products is the ability to work with a company's legacy applications, or at least be able to import data from them.

A search engine optimization technique where one increases the number and quality of incoming links from external sources with the intention of increasing a Web page's link popularity, thus helping increase a Web page's position in the search engines.

Linux is a new operating system developed by a Finland programmer named Linus Torvald. Linux is free and the source code is all 'open'. That is, any one can work on the Linux operating system and then post new code to improve it. This concept is known as 'Open Source'. IBM has adopted Linux as a standard. It is a new system and there are tradeoffs to using it. It is hard to install and it is still being tested. But it very useful, and it is free.

A popular model of computer made by Apple Computer. Introduced in 1984, the Macintosh features a graphical user interface (GUI) that utilizes windows, icons, and a mouse to make it relatively easy for novices to use the computer productively. Rather than learning a complex set of commands, you need only point to a selection on a menu and click a mouse button. Moreover, the GUI is embedded into the operating system. This means that all applications that run on a Macintosh computer have a similar user interface. Once a user has become familiar with one application, he or she can learn new applications relatively easily. The success of the Macintosh GUI led heralded a new age of graphics-based applications and operating systems. The Windows interface copies many features from the Mac. There are many different Macintosh models, with varying degrees of speed and power. All models are available in many different configurations. All models since 1994 are based on the PowerPC microprocessor.

In software, a module is a part of a program. Programs are composed of one or more independently developed modules that are not combined until the program is linked. A single module can contain one or several routines.

The use of computers to present text, graphics, video, animation, and sound in an integrated way. Long touted as the future revolution in computing, multimedia applications were, until the mid-90s, uncommon due to the expensive hardware required. With increases in performance and decreases in price, however, multimedia is now commonplace. Nearly all PCs are capable of displaying video, though the resolution available depends on the power of the computer's video adapter and CPU.

Pronounced Òmy ess cue elÓ (each letter separately) and not "my SEE kwill." MySQL is an open source RDBMS that relies on SQL for processing the data in the database. MySQL provides APIs for the languages C, C++, Eiffel, Java, Perl, PHP and Python. In addition, OLE DB and ODBC providers exist for MySQL data connection in the Microsoft environment. A MySQL .NET Native Provider is also available, which allows native MySQL to .NET access without the need for OLE DB. MySQL is most commonly used for Web applications and for embedded applications and has become a popular alternative to proprietary database systems because of its speed and reliability. MySQL can run on UNIX, Windows and Mac OS.

Based in Redwood, California, Oracle Corporation is the largest software company whose primary business is database products. Historically, Oracle has targeted high-end workstations and minicomputers as the server platforms to run its database systems. Its relational database was the first to support the SQL language, which has since become the industry standard.

Self-referentially short for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, an open source, server-side, HTML embedded scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages. In an HTML document, PHP script (similar syntax to that of Perl or C ) is enclosed within special PHP tags. Because PHP is embedded within tags, the author can jump between HTML and PHP (similar to ASP and Cold Fusion) instead of having to rely on heavy amounts of code to output HTML. And, because PHP is executed on the server, the client cannot view the PHP code. PHP can perform any task that any CGI program can do, but its strength lies in its compatibility with many types of databases. Also, PHP can talk across networks using IMAP, SNMP, NNTP, POP3, or HTTP. PHP was created sometime in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf. During mid 1997, PHP development entered the hands of other contributors. Two of them, Zeev Suraski and Andi Gutmans, rewrote the parser from scratch to create PHP version 3 (PHP3).

Short for Practical Extraction and Report Language, Perl is a programming language developed by Larry Wall, especially designed for processing text. Because of its strong text processing abilities, Perl has become one of the most popular languages for writing CGI scripts. Perl is an interpretive language, which makes it easy to build and test simple programs.
'Abbreviation of structured query language, and pronounced either see-kwell or as separate letters. SQL is a standardized query language for requesting information from a database. The original version called SEQUEL (structured English query language) was designed by an IBM research center in 1974 and 1975. SQL was first introduced as a commercial database system in 1979 by Oracle Corporation. Historically, SQL has been the favorite query language for database management systems running on minicomputers and mainframes. Increasingly, however, SQL is being supported by PC database systems because it supports distributed databases (databases that are spread out over several computer systems). This enables several users on a local-area network to access the same database simultaneously. Although there are different dialects of SQL, it is nevertheless the closest thing to a standard query language that currently exists. In 1986, ANSI approved a rudimentary version of SQL as the official standard, but most versions of SQL since then have included many extensions to the ANSI standard. In 1991, ANSI updated the standard. The new standard is known as SAG SQL.

A program that searches documents for specified keywords and returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found. Although search engine is really a general class of programs, the term is often used to specifically describe systems like Alta Vista and Excite that enable users to search for documents on the World Wide Web and USENET newsgroups. Typically, a search engine works by sending out a spider to fetch as many documents as possible. Another program, called an indexer, then reads these documents and creates an index based on the words contained in each document. Each search engine uses a proprietary algorithm to create its indices such that, ideally, only meaningful results are returned for each query.

Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, is the process of increasing the amount of visitors to a Web site by ranking high in the search results of a search engine. The higher a Web site ranks in the results of a search, the greater the chance that that site will be visited by a user. It is common practice for Internet users to not click through pages and pages of search results, so where a site ranks in a search is essential for directing more traffic toward the site. SEO helps to ensure that a site is accessible to a search engine and improves the chances that the site will be found by the search engine.

Writing your Web page content so that it is easy to read for your end user and search engine friendly.

A technology developed by Macromedia, Inc. that enables Web pages to include multimedia objects. To create a shockwave object, you use Macromedia's multimedia authoring tool called Director, and then compress the object with a program called Afterburner. You then insert a reference to the "shocked" file in your Web page. To see a Shockwave object, you need the Shockwave plug-in, a program that integrates seamlessly with your Web browser. The plug-in is freely available from Macromedia's Web site as either a Netscape Navigator plug-in or an ActiveX control. Shockwave supports audio, animation, video and even processes user actions such as mouse clicks. It runs on all Windows platforms as well as the Macintosh.

In search engine marketing terms, site placement is the location of a page within the search engine results page. The higher the placement, the more likely your page will be clicked on by the searcher.
'Tables allow organizing content into rows and columns of rectangular cells that may contain text, images, or other (nested) tables. Although tables were originally intended only for data display, web designers have engaged in the controversial practice of using them to precisely control site layout.
Unix is the original Network operating system. It was developed at Bell Labs in the 1960s. It is the operating system found on Sun and Silicon Graphics machines. Unix is the most popular server software. The guts of the Internet are written Unix.

To transmit data from a computer to a bulletin board service, mainframe, or network. For example, if you use a personal computer to log on to a network and you want to send files across the network, you must upload the files from your PC to the network.

An artificial environment created with computer hardware and software and presented to the user in such a way that it appears and feels like a real environment. To "enter" a virtual reality, a user dons special gloves, earphones, and goggles, all of which receive their input from the computer system. In this way, at least three of the five senses are controlled by the computer. In addition to feeding sensory input to the user, the devices also monitor the user's actions. The goggles, for example, track how the eyes move and respond accordingly by sending new video input. To date, virtual reality systems require extremely expensive hardware and software and are confined mostly to research laboratories. The term virtual reality is sometimes used more generally to refer to any virtual world represented in a computer, even if it's just a text-based or graphical representation.

A programming language and environment developed by Microsoft. Based on the BASIC language, Visual Basic was one of the first products to provide a graphical programming environment and a paint metaphor for developing user interfaces. Instead of worrying about syntax details, the Visual Basic programmer can add a substantial amount of code simply by dragging and dropping controls, such as buttons and dialog boxes, and then defining their appearance and behavior. Although not a true object-oriented programming language in the strictest sense, Visual Basic nevertheless has an object-oriented philosophy. It is sometimes called an event-driven language because each object can react to different events such as a mouse click. Since its launch in 1990, the Visual Basic approach has become the norm for programming languages. Now there are visual environments for many programming languages, including C, C++, Pascal, and Java. Visual Basic is sometimes called a Rapid Application Development (RAD) system because it enables programmers to quickly build prototype applications.

Pronounced WIZ-zee-wig. Short for what you see is what you get. A WYSIWYG application is one that enables you to see on the display screen exactly what will appear when the document is printed. This differs, for example, from word processors that are incapable of displaying different fonts and graphics on the display screen even though the formatting codes have been inserted into the file. WYSIWYG is especially popular for desk publishing.

Windows is the operating system from Microsoft. The Windows source code is proprietary. that is, only Microsoft programmers can see it and work on it. This makes Windows stable and permanent, but it requires a commitment to Microsoft and the way technology is defined by them.

The process of design, layout, template creation of Web pages for the purpose of creating a Web site or Web presence. Web page design differs from print design in that Web pages must download quickly and be optimized for various screen resolutions and bit types. to top

A site (location) on the World Wide Web. Each Web site contains a home page, which is the first document users see when they enter the site. The site might also contain additional documents and files. Each site is owned and managed by an individual, company or organization.

The term Web services describes a standardized way of integrating Web-based applications using the XML, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI open standards over an Internet protocol backbone. XML is used to tag the data, SOAP is used to transfer the data, WSDL is used for describing the services available and UDDI is used for listing what services are available. Used primarily as a means for businesses to communicate with each other and with clients, Web services allow organizations to communicate data without intimate knowledge of each other's IT systems behind the firewall. Unlike traditional client/server models, such as a Web server/Web page system, Web services do not provide the user with a GUI. Web services instead share business logic, data and processes through a programmatic interface across a network. The applications interface, not the users. Developers can then add the Web service to a GUI (such as a Web page or an executable program) to offer specific functionality to users. Web services allow different applications from different sources to communicate with each other without time-consuming custom coding, and because all communication is in XML, Web services are not tied to any one operating system or programming language. For example, Java can talk with Perl, Windows applications can talk with UNIX applications.

Long for WWW, a system of Internet servers that support specially formatted documents. The documents are formatted in a script called HTML (HyperText Markup Language) that supports links to other documents, as well as graphics, audio, and video files. This means you can jump from one document to another simply by clicking on hot spots. Not all Internet servers are part of the World Wide Web.
Short for Extensible Style Language, a specification for separating style from content when creating HTML or XML pages. The specifications work much like templates, allowing designers to apply single style documents to multiple pages. XSL is the second style specification to be offered by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C )(www.w3c.org). The first, called Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), is similar to XSL but does not include two major XSL's innovations -- allowing developers to dictate the way Web pages are printed, and specifications allowing one to transfer XML documents across different applications. W3C released the first draft of XSL in August 1998, and promotes the specifications as helpful to the Web's speed, accessibility, and maintenance.
Short for Extensible Markup Language, a specification developed by the W3C. XML is a pared-down version of SGML, designed especially for Web documents. It allows designers to create their own customized tags, enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organizations.

 
 
 
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