Web Jargon

BROADBAND - Broadband is a general term used to describe high-speed Internet connectivity. Connection speed is measured in kbps (kilobits per second) and megabits per second (Mbps).

By 2006 all schools should have a broadband connection at bandwidths appropriate to their particular circumstances and needs. Typically, all schools should be connected at a minimum of 2 Mbps and ideally secondary, including secondary special at 8 Mbps or higher by 2006. All connections should be “symmetric” i.e. the same speed in either direction.

As an interim solution, appropriate “asymmetric connections” (such as ADSL or satellite) should be used where available and affordable to improve schools’ current connectivity, principally as a replacement for ISDN. Schools adopting this interim solution should have a plan to upgrade to symmetric broadband by 2006.

BOOKMARK – a way to store in your computer direct links to Internet sites you wish to return to. Netscape uses the word Bookmark and the equivalent in Internet Explorer (IE) is called a Favorite.

BROWSE – to follow links in a page, to look around a page, exploring what's there. The alternative to browsing a page is searching it.

BROWSERS – software programs that enable you to view World Wide Web documents. They interpret encoded files into the text, images, sounds, and other features you see.

CACHE – this temporarily stores web pages you have visited in your computer. A copy of documents you retrieve is stored in cache. When you use GO, BACK, or any other means to revisit a document, the browser first checks to see if it is in cache and will retrieve it from there because that is much faster than retrieving it from the server.

COOKIE – a message from a WEB SERVER computer, sent to and stored by your browser on your computer. When your computer consults the originating server computer, the cookie is sent back to the server, allowing it to respond to you according to the cookie's contents. The main use for cookies is to provide customised Web pages according to a profile of your interests.

DISCUSSION GROUP – an area on line focused on a specific topic where users can read and add comments.

DOMAIN – hierarchical scheme for indicating logical and sometimes geographical venue of a web page from the network, such as .co.uk, .com, or .org.

DOWNLOAD – to save something from the Internet onto your own computer.

E-MAIL – Electronic Mail, a method of sending messages electronically over the Internet. Messages usually consist of plain text, with documents and multimedia documents usually sent as attachments.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions, about a particular Internet site or service, usually a page created by the Webmaster to provide answers to common problems or queries.

FIREWALL – a security device that places a protective ‘wall’ around a computer or network of computers, keeping it from being accessible to the public. This is typically used to protect an internal network when it is connected to an outside network, especially the Internet, so that computers are protected from unauthorised access.

FRAMES – a format for web documents that divides the screen into segments, each with a scroll bar as if it were as ‘window’ within the window. Usually, selecting a category of documents in one frame shows the contents of the category in another frame.

FTP – File Transfer Protocol, the ability to transfer rapidly entire files from one computer to another.

HTML – Hypertext Markup Language, a standardised language of computer code, embedded in ‘source’ documents behind all Web documents, containing the textual content, images, links to other documents (and possibly other applications such as sound or motion), and formatting instructions for display on the screen.

HOME PAGE – the first or main page you usually see when you enter a web site.

HYPERTEXT – the feature that allows a text area, image, or other object to become a ‘link’ that retrieves another web page, image, sound file, or other document on the Internet.

IP ADDRESS or IP NUMBER – (Internet Protocol address or number). A unique number consisting of four parts separated by dots, for example 165.113.245.2 Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP address.

ISDN – Integrated Services Digital Network, a super-fast technology that allows a higher speed internet connection over a standard telephone line than a 56k modem allows. The line can be used for two services at once, such as two Internet connections or an Internet connection and a telephone line.

ISP or INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER – a company that sells Internet connections via modems. Often these companies also provide Web page hosting services free or at relatively low cost.

JAVASCRIPT – A simple programming language to enable greater interactivity in Web pages.

MODEM – A hardware device that connects a telephone line to a computer, allowing what is generally referred to as ‘dial-up access’. The higher the modem speed, up to a current maximum of 56K (or 56 kilobits per second), the faster the data are received or transmitted.

NETIQUETTE – generally recognised rules of polite behaviour on the Internet (discussion groups, chat rooms etc.).

NEWSGROUP – a discussion group operated through the Internet.

PDF or .pdf or pdf file – abbreviation for Portable Document Format, a file format that is used to capture almost any kind of document with the formatting in the original. Viewing a PDF file requires Acrobat Reader, which is built into most browsers or can be downloaded free from Adobe.

PLUG-IN – an application built into a browser or added to a browser to enable it to interact with a particular file type (such as a movie, sound file or Word document)

SERVER, WEB SERVER – a computer running software, assigned an IP address, and connected to the Internet so that it can provide documents via the World Wide Web. Also called HOST computer.

SITE or WEB-SITE – a collection of individual web pages linked together.

SPAM – an inappropriate, often annoying or unpleasant, use of e-mail where the same unwanted message is sent to lots of people, often to e-mail addresses gathered at random from the Internet. This often comes in the form of unsolicited ‘junk’ e-mail containing advertising or promotional messages sent to large numbers of people.

THUMBNAIL – a miniature preview representation of a page or image. A thumbnail appears on screen much faster than the full file.

URL – Uniform Resource Locator, the unique address of any Web document.

VIRUS – a program that replicates itself on computer systems by incorporating itself into other programs which are shared between computers on a network. In some cases, the virus may also be programmed to do additional damage.