What does that mean?

Like everything else computer related, there is an abundance of jargon relating to the web. This glossary should help to demystify some of the terms you may have heard. This is not supposed to be a comprehensive training course, but it should give you an idea of what those people who delight in spouting technobabble are actually talking about.

ASP, or Active Server Pages, is a Microsoft technology. Essentially, ASP sits on a web server and produces web pages on the fly, creating them when requested by the person using the website, often incorporating specific information which the user has provided.

Broadband is a type of connection to the internet, but a much faster connection than a traditional dialup service. It is made over a normal telephone line, but does not disrupt the telephone service, so you can use the internet and make calls at the same time. Broadband speeds are also available from connections supplied by cable services.

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The browser is simply the program used to view world wide web pages. The two most common browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox. Others with much smaller market shares are Opera and Netscape Navigator; Lynx is an older browser which can display text only, no images. (Ringsoft Designs recommends Firefox as the best browser).

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A CGI, or Common Gateway Interface, is a small script or program which resides on a web server. Its main function is to pass data between the browser and other application programs. A common use involves forms on web pages - a user inputs information on to a form, and sends it back to the server, where a CGI script passes it on to other programs for further processing. The results can then be passed back to the user, again using CGI.

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A common concept in modern computing is the client / server relationship. The client generally collects and arranges data, and passes it on to a server for processing; the results are passed back to the client for viewing. A browser is a web client, which passes requests on to a web server. A client is usually a piece of software.

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A cookie is a small file sent from a web server to a browser and stored on the hard disk of the browser's computer. It is typically used to store information about the user's visit to a site, so on subsequent visits, the web server will know when the last visit was, and what pages were visited. This is very useful for shopping applications, for example.

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CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, are an optional way of coding web pages. Among other things, they are designed to make it easier to consistently control page layout. CSS is supported by all modern browsers. Ringsoft Designs makes extensive use of style sheets.

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A DNS, or Domain Name Server, provides an up to date list of all internet web sites, and where your browser can find them. Every time you type a URL into your browser, the browser communicates with a DNS to find out how to contact that site. This process is transparent to the user.

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Dreamweaver is a software product from Macromedia for building websites, generally thought to be be more of a professional's tool than Front Page.

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E-commerce is a generic term for business done over the internet. As with many new terms, its exact meaning tends to vary depending on who is using it.

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Any organization whose computers are permanently linked to the internet should use a firewall, and so should any home user with a broadband connection. It is a security device designed to check internet traffic and block anything coming in (or going out) which it has been set up to treat as inappropriate. Firewalls can block users trying to hack into a computer with malicious intent. They can also be used to filter out and block files with, for instance "sex" in the title.

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Flash is a Macromedia software product which can create sophisticated animations for web pages. These can be standalone cartoon type animations, or make up the actual user interface of a site. Modern browsers have Flash support built in, while older browsers can download patches which allow them to support Flash.

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A website which uses frames has the window of the browser divided into two or more separate sections; each of these sections is treated as a window in its own right, and can have its own scroll bars. Frames are generally used to aid navigation. Some web designers are strongly against the use of frames, partly because it is easy to implement them in a distracting and unhelpful manner, partly because they can confuse Search Engines.

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Frontpage is a Microsoft software product which is used to design web pages. It is made with ease of use in mind, and does not necessarily produce the most elegant or reliable code. While it may be suitable for the novice, it is generally frowned upon by the professional web design community. Ringsoft Designs do not use Frontpage.

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FTP is strictly speaking File Transfer Protocol, the protocol used by two computers when moving whole files from one to another for storage. It is also used to mean File Transfer Program, a program which performs this function.

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A gif file is one of the two major graphics formats used on web pages. Gif files can support up to 256 different colours, and are best suited to simple line art or logos; they also support simple transparency, unlike the other popular graphics format, jpg.

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HTML is Hyper Text Markup Language, the basic building block of any webpage. Not really a programming language, though often considered as such, it is actually a language for describing the structure of a document, specifically a web page. While HTML was not initially intended to describe what the page actually looks like, as graphics have become more important in websites, it has evolved to fulfill this function.

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HTTP is the protocol used by the browser and web server to communicate with each other. More fully Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, it is also found in the URL of websites, such as http://www.ringsoft-designs.co.uk

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To communicate on the internet, a computer needs an IP address. This is in the form a number made up of four groups, separated by dots, such as 158.152.126.37 . Most (but not all) dial up internet users have a different IP address allocated from a pool each time they log on to their ISP; computers which are connected fulltime have a static IP address, which is permanent.

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You are probably using an ISP or Internet Service Provider right now as you are reading this. The ISP is the company which provides you with an internet account, generally with access to the web, email and possibly other services. Some ISPs require a paid subscription, others do not. These "free ISPs" make money by sharing revenue from the call charge, and from advertising on their own pages.

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Java is a compact programming language occasionally found in web pages. It produces executable code which runs in the browser. It is capable of running complex applications, or just simple graphic buttons.

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A scripting language (unlike java), javascript is a more readable programming language; it is very common on websites, typically found in mouse overs, where a button changes appearance when the pointer lingers over it.

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Along with gif files, one of main graphics file formats used on the web, jpg files can support millions of different colours, and are best suited to photographic type images.

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An alternative to ASP, PHP is a server side programming language which is used for web applications such as shopping carts or bulletin boards.

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A plugin is a patch or program which has been added to a browser to deal with specific types of files. Plugins were frequently needed for older browsers to deal with new technology, but modern browsers tend to have all the main plugins already built in.

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Another image file format, png combines the advantages of gif and jpg formats. It is not fully supported by all browsers, but should become more popular in the next few years.

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A portal is a site designed to be a first point of entry to the web; essentially it will be a list of links to useful sites and resources, often with advertising and links to general services such as news, weather or sports results. Portal sites should be well designed to make the advertising fit in with the overall look, and also to keep users coming back on a regular basis.

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A proxy is a specialized server which a browser can be configured to use. It is frequently implemented where a user is on a LAN (Local Area Network); rather than many users each connecting to the internet individually, they connect to the proxy and the proxy handles all internet connectivity. Some proxies can also store copies of frequently requested pages to improve response times.

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Search Engines are an essential part of the world wide web. They automatically index all websites they learn about, and maintain a database of keywords. By entering keywords for the subject you are searching for, you can find any number of websites which may (or may not) be what you are looking for. Strictly speaking, many modern Search Engines are really directories, where sites have actually been reviewed by human beings and placed in an appropriate category.

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A server is a computer which processes requests from a number of clients. A server is generally thought of as hardware (though obviously running software); for efficiency purposes, it is often dedicated to one task, for example an FTP server, or a web server.

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Spam is the colloquial term for unsolicited email which is sent to a huge list of addressees. Almost always unwanted and without a valid return address, it is often used to promote drugs such as Viagra. It is believed the name comes from the Monty Python sketch.

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SSL or Secure Socket Layer is a protocol generally used on merchant sites. It encrypts data passed between the browser and the server, so is useful for passing order information or credit card details. A message is usually issued by the browser when entering and leaving this state, and a key or padlock icon is displayed in the status bar while SSL is in effect.

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TCP/IP is actually two protocols, Transmission Control Protocol, and Internet Protocol. Between them, they pretty much control the flow of data across the internet. That's probably as much as you need to know. If you really feel you want to learn more about TCP/IP, there are many books devoted to the subject. They all make for extremely dull reading.

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A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is an unnecessarily convoluted way of saying 'address'.

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XHTML is a more up to date version of HTML. It is meant to be used in conjuction with CSS: the XHTML should contain the content, while the CSS handles the presentation. Ringsoft Designs use XHTML/CSS for current websites.

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