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* * * The following terms are listed alphabetically. * * * **Access (Microsoft Access)** A database system developed by Microsoft. Part of Microsoft Office Professional. Primarily used to run low-traffic web sites on Windows platforms. **ActiveMovie** A multimedia programming control introduced by Microsoft. **ActiveX** Allows web browsers to download and execute Windows Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). (See also Plugin.) **Address** See URL. **AdSense** An online advertising system provided by Google. **AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)** The "art" of creating interactive web applications using JavaScript and XML. With Ajax, web applications can exchange data with a web server in the background (asynchronously) and update parts of a web page without reloading the entire page. (#) **Anchor** In networking: the starting or ending point of a hyperlink. (#) **Adobe Air** An Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) system that enables developers to create desktop applications using web technologies (HTML, JavaScript, FLASH). **Android** A mobile operating system originally developed by Android Inc., later acquired by Google. **Anonymous FTP** See FTP Server. **ANSI (American National Standards Institute)** An organization that creates standards for the computer industry. Responsible for the ANSI C standard. **ANSI C** The international standard for the C programming language. **ADO (ActiveX Data Object)** Microsoft's technology for accessing any type of data store. (#) **ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)** A special type of DSL line where upload speed differs from download speed. **Agent** See Search Agent / Search Engine. **Amaya** An open-source web browser-editor from W3C, designed to promote leading-edge ideas in browser design. **Animation** A sequence of images played in succession to simulate motion. **Antivirus Program** A computer program that detects and removes all types of computer viruses. **Apache** An open-source web server. Mostly used on Unix, Linux, and Solaris platforms. **Applet** See Web Applet. **Archie** A computer program used to locate files on public FTP servers. **API (Application Programming Interface)** An interface enabling one program to communicate with another. In web contexts: an interface enabling web browsers or web servers to communicate with other programs. (Also see ActiveX and Plugin.) **ARPAnet** A network test experiment initiated during the development of the Internet in the 1970s. **Authentication** In web contexts: methods used to verify a user's identity on the web or within a computer program. **ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)** A set of 128 alphanumeric and special control characters used for storing and printing text in computers. Data transmitted over the web in HTML. (#) **ASF (Advanced Streaming Format)** A multimedia streaming format developed by Microsoft Windows Media. **ASP (Active Server Pages)** A Microsoft technology enabling server-side script execution embedded in web pages. (#) **ASX (ASF Streaming Redirector)** An XML format for storing information about ASF files, developed by Microsoft Windows Media. **AVI (Audio Video Interleave)** A video file format. Developed by Microsoft using video compression technology. **Banner Ad** (A commonly graphical) advertisement placed on a web page as a hyperlink to the advertiser’s website. **Bandwidth** A measure of how much data can be sent through your internet connection (data volume). More bandwidth means faster connection. **Baud** The number of symbols transmitted per second over a channel. **BBS (Bulletin Board System)** A network-based public discussion, file-sharing, and announcement system. **Binary Data** Data in machine-readable form. **Bit (Binary Digit)** The smallest unit of data storage in a computer. A bit has a value of either 0 or 1. A computer uses 8 bits to store one text character. **Blog (Web Log)** A type of website (usually maintained by an individual) containing dated entries—often personal opinions, commentary, explanations of events, etc. **Blogger** A person who maintains or writes content for a web log (blog). **Blogging** Writing or adding content to a web log (blog). **BMP (Bitmap)** A format used to store images. **Bookmark** In web contexts: a stored link (bookmark) to a specific website, for convenient future access by web users. **Bounce Rate** The percentage of website visitors who view only one page before leaving ("bouncing"). **Browse** A term describing the movement of a web user navigating page-by-page across the web using hyperlinks and a web browser. (See Web Browser.) **BPS (Bits Per Second)** A term describing the speed of data transmission over the internet. **Browser** See Web Browser. **Byte (Binary Term)** A computer storage unit containing 8 bits. Each byte can store one text character. **C** An advanced programming language used for advanced computer application programming. **C++ (C Plus Plus)** C extended with object-oriented features. **C# (C Sharp)** Microsoft’s version of C++, extended with features similar to Java. **Case Sensitive** Used to describe sensitivity to uppercase or lowercase letters. **Cache** In web contexts: the function of storing copies of web pages on the hard disk of a web browser or web server. **Chat** Online, text-based communication among internet users. **CGI (Common Gateway Interface)** Rules describing how a CGI program communicates with a web server. **CGI Bin** A folder (or directory) on a web server where CGI programs are stored. **CGI Program** A small program that processes input and output from a web server. CGI programs are typically used to handle form input or database queries. **Cinepac** A computer video codec. **Client** See Web Client. **Client/Server** In web contexts: a communication model distributing workload between a web client and a web server. **Click** In web contexts: clicking a hyperlink element (e.g., text or image) on a web page to trigger an event such as navigating to another page or jumping to another section of the same page. **Clickthrough Rate** The ratio of visitors who click a hyperlink (or ad) on a displayed web page. **Cloud Computing** Storing applications and data on the internet (rather than on the user’s local computer). **Codec (Compressor / Decompressor)** A general term for technologies used for data compression and decompression. **Communication Protocol** Standards (language and set of rules) enabling computers to interact in a standardized way. Examples include IP, FTP, and HTTP. [Learn more about communication protocols in our TCP/IP tutorial](#) **Compression** A method of reducing the size of web documents or graphics for faster delivery over the network. **Computer Virus** A computer program that may damage message displays, delete files, or even destroy a computer’s operating system. **Cookie** Information stored on your computer by a web server via a web browser. Cookies provide information about your visits to a website, used by the server on subsequent visits. **ColdFusion** Web development software supporting most platforms (Linux, UNIX, Solaris, and Windows). **CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)** A W3C recommendation defining a language for styling web documents (e.g., fonts, sizes, colors, spacing, etc.). (#) **Database** Computer-stored data organized so that a computer program can easily retrieve and manipulate it. (#) **Database System** A computer program that manipulates data in a database (e.g., MS ACCESS, Oracle, MySQL). **DB2** An IBM database system. Mostly used on Unix and Solaris platforms. **DBA (Data Base Administrator)** A person (or software) who manages a database. Typical tasks include backup, maintenance, and execution. **DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)** An internet standard protocol assigning new IP addresses to network users. **DHTML (Dynamic HTML)** A commonly used term describing HTML content that may change dynamically. **Dial-up Connection** In web contexts: an internet connection established via telephone and modem. **Discussion Group** See Newsgroup. **DNS (Domain Name Service)** A computer program running on a web server that translates domain names into IP addresses. (#) **DNS Server** A web server performing DNS functions. **DOM (Document Object Model)** A programming model for web documents. (See HTML DOM and XML DOM.) **Domain Name** A name identifying a website. (e.g., ) (#) **DOS (Disk Operating System)** A generic disk-based computer operating system (see Operating System). Originally developed by Microsoft for IBM PCs. Commonly abbreviated as MS-DOS. **Download** Transferring a file from a remote computer to a local computer. In web contexts: transferring files from a web server to a web client. (See also Upload.) **DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)** A broadband access technology based on ordinary telephone lines. **DTD (Document Type Definition)** A set of rules (a language) defining the legal building blocks of web documents like HTML or XML. (#) **Dynamic IP** An IP address that changes each time a device connects to the internet. (See DHCP and Static IP.) **E-mail (Electronic Mail)** Messages sent from one person to another via the internet. **E-mail Address** An address used to send email to a person or organization. Typical format is username@hostname. **E-mail Server** A web server dedicated to handling email services. **Encryption** Converting data from its original form into an encrypted form readable only by someone who can reverse the process. Encryption aims to prevent unauthorized access to data. **Error** See Web Server Error. **Ethernet** A type of local area network (see LAN). **Firewall** Security-filtering software that restricts types of network communication. Most commonly used between a personal computer (or LAN) and the internet. **Flash** A vector-based multimedia format used on the web, developed by Adobe. **Form** See HTML Form. **Forum** In web contexts: equivalent to a Newsgroup. **Frame** In web contexts: a portion of the browser window displaying specific content. Frames are commonly used to display different web page contents. **FrontPage** Web development software for Windows platforms, developed by Microsoft. **FTP (File Transfer Protocol)** One of the most common methods for sending files between two computers. **FTP Server** A web server you can log into to download files (or upload files to). Anonymous FTP is a method of downloading files from an FTP server without using a login account. **Gateway** A computer program that transfers (formats) data between incompatible applications or networks. **GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)** A format developed by C