Key Terms of Internet

active map/imagemag

A picture in which clicking on different areas provides links to different URLs

add-ons

Programs that provide extra facilities for a WWW browser e.g. sound, video (see helper application)

anonymous ftp

A means of retrieving files from the host computer as an unnamed guest with limited privileges

Archie

An indexing too that helps you to find files that are available by anonymous ftp

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange; basically a document without any formatting codes

BBS

Bulletin Board Service

browser

A program that accesses the WWW and reads hypertext (see client)

bulletin board

The Internet equivalent of a notice board, where messages can be posted and read by anyone

CGI

Common Gateway Interface; a programming mechanism for servers

client

A computer (or, more specifically, a software application, e.g. a browser) that uses the resources provided by another computer (the server)

domain

The naming hierarchy of the Internet is based on domains (e.g. a University department), within which each computer has a unique name

domain name server (DNS)

DNS converts between a machine name (e.g. madhav@jnc.iisc.ernet.in) and a numerical IP Internet address

e-mail

Electronic mail; a means of exchanging messages, which may include enclosed files and graphics, depending on the sophistication o the system

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions, many USENET newsgroups have a list of FAQs

fill-in-form

A document on a WWW page in which you can enter information

firewall

A combination of software and hardware that limits access to a WWW site and provides a degree of security

ftp

File Transfer Protocol; a mechanism for transferring files across a network

gateway

A computer system that joins and translates between two otherwise incompatible networks or applications

GIF

Graphics Interchange Format; an algorithm for image compression developed for the commercial Internet provider CompuServe

gopher

A menu-driven system of disseminating and accessing information on the Internet (see Veronica)

graphical browser

A browser capable of displaying pictures (e.g. Mosaic and Netscape)

helper application

Another name for add-ons, usually applied to Macintosh computers

home page

The starting page for access to the WWW or, alternatively, a personal page of information

host

A computer on the network

HTML

Hyper Text Markup Language; the coding syntax used to write WWW pages, which are read by browsers

HTTP

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol; the WWW protocol that performs the request and retrieve functions of a server

hypertext

The basic concept behind the WWW, whereby one resource can be linked to any other information elsewhere on the WWW

Internet

The worldwide distributed network of computers connected using TCP/IP, or similar protocols

IP number

The unique number for a machine on the Internet (see domain name server)

JPEG

Joint Photographic Expert Group; an algorithm for image compression

LAN

Local Area Network; a network that serves a small area

list server

A program that sends mailing lists to subscribers by e-mail

MIME

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension; an e-mail extension allowing inclusion of nontextual information (e.g. graphics, video), and also used to indicate different types of WWW documents

modem

Modulator/Demodulator; hardware that translates digital computer signals into sounds that can be transmitted down a telephone line

MOO

Multi-User Dimension Object Oriented; an enhanced MUD with an object-based environment (e.g. BioMOO)

MPEG

Moving Picture Expert Group; a standard for digital encoding of video

MUD

Multi-User Dimension; a virtual reality site on the Internet where multiple users can interact

multimedia

A document or program that integrates text, graphics, audio and video

NCSA

National Centre for Supercomputing Applications; the birth place of NCSA Mosaic and NCSA Telnet

OSI

Open Systems Interconnection; a technical specification of communication protocols

packet

The basic unit of data transmitted over the Internet; packets are transmitted independently and then reassembled at their destination

POP

Post Office Protocol; a program that allows mail to be stored and retrieved by remote computer

PoP

Point of Presence; an access point to the Internet provided by your service provider

PPP

Point to Point Protocol; a protocol that allows a computer to transmit packets by TCP/IP using a standard telephone line and a modem (similar to SLIP)

protocol

A means by which different types of computers communicate with each othe (see TCP/IP)

router

Hardware connecting two networks that use the same protocols, allowing transfer of data between them

server

A computer, or a program on the computer, acting as an Internet site whose data is available to the client

service provider

A commercial company that sells Internet connection facilities

site

A collective term covering all the Internet facilities offered by one organization

SLIP

Serial Line Internet Protocol; similar to PPP and now being superseded by it

TCP/IP

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol; the communications program common to most connected Internet computers

Telnet

A program that allows users to login to other computers on the Internet via TCP/IP

URL

Uniform Resource Locator; an address that specifies the location of a file on the Internet (e.g. http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/cesmg/Welcome.html), usually used for the WWW

USENET

A system for disseminating news among cooperating computers

Veronica

Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives; an indexing tool that helps you find gopher files

viewer

A program that allows graphics or video files to be viewed by a WWW browser

WWW

World Wide Web (or just the Web); a hypertext-based Internet service providing information and resources