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(Bits & Bytes Users Group)
Computer Club of The Tropics |
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(Bits & Bytes Users Group)
Computer Club of The Tropics |
The Web's rapid expansion has produced a crop of acronyms and buzz words. Unfortunately, they can be a bit confusing at times. We hope the following table helps you out:
| Acronym | General meaning or usage |
|---|---|
| Address | An address in memory is a location to which an application or a piece of hardware refers. For example, a word processor will store your document in a particular memory address while you have it open. Problems occur when two things (hardware or software) try to use the same address. |
| Anonymous FTP | An anonymous file transfer protocol site on the Internet allows you to log into the site and download files from a remote host without obtaining a user identification e-mail address or the word "guest" as the password. |
| Applet | Quite simply, a small application. For example, each of the windows that appear when you double-click on an icon in Control Panel are considered Applets, because while they are small applications by themselves, they require a larger application (Control Panel) to operate them. |
| Application | Any program on your hard disk - an application usually has its own Directory and can be started by clicking on its icon in the Start Menu. Most applications have their own Window. |
| ASP | Active Server Pages is a technique, function, and approach used in Microsoft's IIS to permit dynamic generation of HTML. |
| Bandwidth | A measurement how much data per second can be transmitted. The speed with which a web site is displayed is determined by the lowest bandwidth part of the path. This is the reason we dislike it when web sites are hosted by arbitrary home computers. People with slow modems cannot look at web sites designed for high bandwidth. People with high bandwidth connection hate looking at slow bandwidth servers. |
| BBS | Short for Bulletin Board System; A computer system that provides users with files for downloading and a forum for areas of electronic discussions. A BBS is run by and for local users and a good place to find free or inexpensive software products. |
| BIOS | Short for Basic Input-Output System; this is a chip (or set of chips) in your computer that controls how your computer communicates with some of the basic hardware components in your system, such as the keyboard, floppy drive, and hard disk. In newer computers, the BIOS is also what supports Plug-&-Play. A buggy or incompatible BIOS is a common cause of problems encountered when upgrading to a new version of Windows. |
| Bookmark | A link in your web browser that allows you to access a website without re-entering the site's URL address. Bookmarking a site gives you a convenient way to revisit the page at a later time. |
| Boot | The process of starting up a computer. |
| Browser | A Winsock client (software) used to navigate the World Wide Web. Netscape, Mozilla, and Internet Explorer are examples of browsers. |
| Buffer | The use of part of your computer's memory to relieve the burden on a specific component, such as your keyboard or printer. For example, if you press all of the keys on your keyboard at once (on a slow computer), the letters would appear on the screen slower than you've typed them. Since the computer isn't able to process keys that quickly, they keys you've pressed are stored in a buffer and fed to the computer at a slower rate it can handle - this way, your keystrokes aren't lost. Note that your computer will beep if the buffer is full, telling you keys pressed thereafter will be forgotten. Similar to Cache. |
| Bug | An error in software that causes it to work improperly or not at all. This term comes from an occurrence when an actual bug made a nest in an early hard-wired (without software) computer, causing it to malfunction. |
| Byte | The smallest unit of storage, either on a disk or in memory. For example, in a document created by a word processor, each character takes up at least one byte. |
| Cache | The use of part of your computer's memory to improve the performance of a specific component, such as your hard disk, CD-ROM drive, or even your processor. By storing recently accessed information in a disk cache, for example, your computer can respond faster because it is accessing memory, instead of the slower hard disk. (pronounced "cash") Similar to Buffer. |
| CGI | The Common Gateway Interface allows a Web server to run external functions and applications. |
| Chat Rooms | Chat rooms are also called news groups, a form of interactive conferencing among people in a topical group similar to a list service. A chat room usually consists of a group of subscribers who can e-mail messages and files among the entire group. Chat rooms are usually grouped by a common interest for a given topic. Each member can post messages or files on a "bulletin board" to be read by all other group members. |
| Cluster Size | This is the smallest amount of hard disk space a file can occupy. Floppies have a cluster size of 512 bytes and hard disks can have a cluster size ranging from 1 kilobyte to 16 kilobytes (sometimes even more). The larger the partition, the larger the cluster size. |
| CMOS | A small bit of memory used by your computer used to store certain settings while it's turned off, such as the type of hard disk installed. You can typically change the CMOS settings by pressing a certain keystroke (such as Del or ESC) during the system boot. |
| Cookie | A way to make YOUR computer remember data for the benefit of a web server |
| CPU | Central Processing Unit - this is another name for the processor. |
| Database | A collection of information stored in an organized fashion, suitable for updating and viewing the information contained within frequently and easily. A database application is required to access the information in a database. |
| Default | An original, factory setting. For example, the taskbar is located at the bottom of the Windows screen by default, but you can move it to any side of the screen by dragging it with the mouse. |
| Defragment | Using the Disk Defragmenter application, you can fix all the files on your hard disk that have become fragmented . When many files become fragmented, your hard disk performance is slower, and the danger of file corruption is greater, so it is a good idea to defragment often. This is also known as Optimizing your hard disk. |
| Desktop | The blank area on your screen behind all the windows. The desktop can hold icons, because it is really a directory on the hard disk. Right-click on the desktop to change its many properties. |
| Directory | A container for files - it can have any name, but always has a yellow folder for its icon. Also called Folder. Every directory has its own icon, into which other icons can be dropped. |
| Disk | A storage device used to hold files and directories. There are hard disks and floppy disks. |
| Diskette | Another name for floppy disk |
| Document | This is the file you create in an application - an example is a letter that you've written in a Word Processor. Every document has its own icon |
| Domain | Name of individual server or computer location connected to the Internet. Internet addresses such as e-mail addresses also include domain names. No two domain names may be the same. Once a person registers a domain, that person has exclusive rights to it for a specified period of time. |
| DOS | Disk Operating System - the first Operating System available for the PC platform. See Command Prompt. Easily recognized by the C:\> prompt. |
| Driver | A piece of software that assists your computer in using a specific device, such as a printer or scanner. Buggy drivers cause the majority of problems with a computer. |
| A method of sending and receiving personal messages over a networks, such as the Internet. | |
| Explorer | The primary interface for Windows - this includes the folders in My Computer and the items in the Task Bar, as well as the window with the tree view |
| Extension | The part of a file name that follows the period "." - this allows Windows to determine what type a file is. For example, a file with the .TXT extension tells Windows that it is a text file |
| ExtraNet | A secure, private network that functions like the World Wide Web. An Extranet is not accessible to the general public but may be accessed by authorized persons through the Internet. |
| FAQ | Short for Frequently Asked Questions, a collection of questions and answers commonly used in World Wide Web sites, newsgroups, and other discussion forums. |
| File | Files contain data, whether it's a document you've written, or an application used to create the document. Every file has its own icon. Files are stored in folders. |
| Firewall | Combination of hardware and software that prevents outsiders from accessing a company's internal computer network through the Internet. A firewall usually has a single machine that is connected to the Internet. All messages entering or leaving the Intranet pass through the firewall, which determines whether each message can leave and blocks documents that do not meet the specified security criteria. |
| Floppy Disk | This is an inexpensive, removable disk that has a much lower capacity and speed than a hard disk. Its capacity can be measured in kilobytes or megabytes |
| Folder | Interchangeable with Directory, although folder is a newer term. |
| Forms | A way how a user gives information back to a web server. A form typically invokes a CGI program to process the collected information. |
| Fragmented | When a file has become fragmented, it means that it is broken up into pieces on your hard disk. Imagine if you saved a file to your hard disk, and then saved another right after it. When you go to add more to the first file and then save it again, it no longer can fit in the space allotted, and must be split apart. When many files become fragmented, your hard disk performance is slower, and the danger of file corruption is greater. To fix fragmented files, you must defragment your hard disk |
| Frames | A method to divide the window of a browser into sub areas. When used right it can be nice. When used badly its user-hell. Very difficult to design right. |
| FTP | File Transfer Protocol is an Internet protocol that permits users to transfer files between computers across the Internet. |
| GIF | Graphics Interchange Format A format used to encode graphics on the web. Very good for small graphics but doesn't compress well for photographs. |
| Gigabyte | One billion bytes, or more precisely, 1,024 megabytes (totaling 1,073,741,824 bytes). Different definitions of this term cause discrepancies between different manufacturers and applications. |
| GUI | Short for Graphical User Interface; a type of user interface that uses graphics (such as icons and windows) to control the computer. Windows uses a GUI. |
| Hard Disk | This is a disk that is permanently connected to your computer, and has a much higher capacity and speed than a floppy disk. Its capacity is measured in megabytes, and can be divided into several partitions |
| Hardware | A general term used to describe the equipment that makes up and is connected to your computer. To the beginner, software is what ever you see on the screen, and hardware is everything you can touch. |
| Home Page | ASCII file accessed over the Internet from client computers running web browser programs such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. The home page is the first page a user views. It usually offers an index or table of contents to the other documents stored at the site |
| HTML | Hyper Text Markup Language The programming language used on the World Wide Web that controls the appearance of information displayed on the web page |
| HTTP | Hyper Text Transfer Protocol is the protocol that determines how HTML documents should be delivered to a Web browser (your computer) from a Web server (a particular WebSite). |
| Hyperlink | A graphic or word in an HTML file on the World Wide Web that is linked to another site, document or file. |
| Icon | The little pictures that you see on the screen, usually representing folders and files - icons can be dragged onto other icons, onto applications, and into folders. Icons usually get a double-click, while buttons get a single left-click. |
| IIS | The Internet Information Server from Microsoft permits a suitably equipped hardware system to service HTTP traffic. |
| Interface | The method by which you control anything. The screen is the interface to your computer, just as a dashboard is the interface to your car, just as a doorknob is the interface to a door |
| Intranet | A private network inside a company that uses the same kind of software that you would find on the public Internet, but for internal use only. The Intranet has a firewall that precludes unauthorized access. |
| ISP | Internet Service Provider The company which gives you access to the internet. The company which handles your e-mail service. The company which runs the server which hosts your web site. Many people use the same company for these different services; others use different companies |
| Java | An object oriented language developed and promoted by Sun Microsystems for writing distributed Web applications. These applications are called "applets" and can be downloaded from a Web server onto your browser. Oftentimes, applets are used to create Web animations, control buttons, and graphical objects like charts and diagrams. |
| Javascript | A programming language which is frequently used for medium complex web interactions. Javascript programs are directly coded into a web page itself. Javascript is executed in the browser. Javascript is rather different from Java but has some artificial similarities. |
| JPEG | A format used to encode photographs on the web. "Nobody" knows the internals; just use your photo editor to make its output in JPEG format. JPEG is good for compaction of real photographs but looks not so good for graphics. |
| Kilobyte | One thousand bytes, or more precisely, 1,024 bytes. |
| LAN | Local Area Network - a network with all its computers close together (geographically) |
| List Service or Listserv | An electronic mailing list in which electronic mail messages are distributed to a list of subscribers. Some list services are defined by a given topic in which subscribers have an interest. |
| Megabyte | One million bytes, or more precisely, 1,024 kilobytes (totaling 1,048,576 bytes). |
| Memory | Also known as RAM, this is what allows your applications to run. The more memory you have, the more windows you can have open, and the more applications you can run simultaneously. Memory, while not the same as disk space, is also measured in bytes, kilobytes, and megabytes. |
| Menu | A list of things that an application does. In Windows, nearly every application has a menu along the top of its window, usually containing the items File, Edit, View, and Help - when clicked, additional subordinate menu items are displayed. |
| MPEG | A format useful to represent compressed video clips. Uses too much resources; we couldn't allow long mpegs on our server |
| Network | A network is what you get when you connect two or more computers together - the Internet is a type of network. The terms LAN and WAN describe the geographic scope of the network |
| Operating System | The software used to control a computer and run applications. Windows, DOS, and Unix are all examples of operating systems. |
| Partition | A division of a hard disk. For example, a 500 megabyte hard disk can be divided into two 250-megabyte partitions. Smaller partitions can be used to further organize files and reduce the cluster size. |
| PDF (Portable Document Format) | File format developed by Adobe Systems that displays documents identically on any computer system. To view files in PDF format, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free software application distributed by Adobe Systems. |
| PERL | The Practical Extraction and Report Language is an interpreted scripting language, normally used in writing CGI scripts. |
| Processor | This is the chip in your computer that does all the calculations - for Windows users, it's based upon Intel's x86 architecture, which includes the 386, 486, and Pentium series. This is also referred to as the CPU. |
| RAM | Short for Random Access Memory - this is the main type of memory in your computer. |
| Reboot | The process of re-starting your computer. If you turn it off and then on again, or use the reset button on the front of your computer, it's called a cold boot. If you hold Ctrl and Alt while pressing Del, it's called a warm-boot. |
| Registry | A complicated database of settings for use in Windows. You can edit these settings with the Registry Editor, REGEDIT.EXE. The registry is stored in two files in your Windows directory, USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT. |
| ROM | Short for Read-Only Memory - this is a type of storage or memory that can only be read, not written to. A CD-ROM is an example of a ROM storage. |
| Root Directory | The top-level directory in the tree. For drive C:, the root directory is signified by a single back-slash: C:\. |
| Search Engine | A program that analyzes web page titles and catalogs information. Search engines also help isolate specific information resources through keywords that the user specifies. Different search engines are better for different searches |
| SGML | Standard Generalized Markup Language defines and manages the structure and format of web documents. HTML is an SGML-based language |
| Shortcut | A small file that allows you to put an icon for an application in a directory other than the one containing the application. You can also make shortcuts to folders and files. Useful places for shortcuts are the desktop and the Start Menu. You can tell a shortcut from other icons by the little curved arrow in the lower-left corner |
| Spam | The Internet's version of electronic junk mail or junk news group postings sent to several e-mail addresses or discussion groups. |
| SQL | Structured Query Language defines how to request information from a relational database. SQL makes it possible for several people to access a database at the same time. |
| SSI |
SSI is an easy server-side scripting language used almost exclusively for the web. As its name implies, its primary use is including the contents of a file into another, via a Web Server. SSI is primarily used to "paste" the contents of one or more files into another. |
| SSL | Secure Socket Layer A communications protocol which provide secure communications on the Internet for such things as web browsing, e-mail, Internet faxing, instant messaging and other data transfers. |
| Start Menu | The menu that appears when you click the button labeled Start at the bottom of your screen, on the Taskbar |
| Stylesheets | A concept for defining styles in a web page. This is good technology and in a year or two I will start using Stylesheets. |
| Taskbar | The bar along the bottom of your screen, containing the Start Menu and a button for each running Task |
| TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol is a collection of transport and application protocols used to transmit data over the Internet and other networks. |
| Title bar | The stripe across the top of a window containing the title of the application in the window. You can move a window by dragging its title bar |
| Tray | The small indented area on your Taskbar that holds the clock by default |
| Unix | The primary operating system used on the Internet. It is the networking counterpart to DOS, as it also is based upon a command prompt. |
| URL | a Uniform Resource Locator is a standardized character string that identifies the location of a document or other resources on the Web. You can think of the URL as a WebSite's address. For example, the URL for The Tropic Wind is http://www.the-tropics.net |
| User Interface | The Interface to your computer - a combination of controls used to perform any operation. See graphical user interface and command prompt |
| WAN | Wide Area Network - a network with all its computers geographically far apart - the Internet is the ultimate WAN. |
| Web server | Software that stores and retrieves Web pages (HTML documents) and other Internet resources using HTTP |
| Window | A rectangular box containing an application, a part of an application, a message, or a folder. This concept is the basis for the user interface in Windows. |
| Winsock | Short for Windows Sockets - this is the language your computer speaks when it's connected to the Internet. Dial-Up Networking is the Winsock support built into Windows. Once you've connected Windows to the internet, you can use Winsock clients (software). |
| World Wide Web | Also known as the Web or "www." It is a collection of text documents, graphics, video and audio files. The web is a segment of the Internet that uses hyperlinks to interconnect files |
