Listed here is some of the most commonly used terms on the
Internet.
Access Provider: An organisation offering access
to some or all of the services available over the Internet.
ASCII: The American Standard Code for
information Interchange. The ASCII code is a set of characters, letters, digits and
symbols. ASCII text is plain, unformatted text.
Bandwidth: Strictly refers to the capacity of
the phone line, but is also used to refer to other transmission and storage resources.
Binary Files: Any that are not plain ASCII text,
e.g.; images, programs and formatted text from word processors.
Browsing: Moving from one site to another on the
World Wide Web, enjoying the scenery and following up interesting leads. Also called
surfing.
Byte: The basic unit of data. One byte can hold
one character or a number in the range 0 to 255. A byte is made up of 8 bits, each of
which can be 0 or 1, or an on/off electrical signal.
Content Provider: Organisation providing
information and / or services to Web users.
Dial-up Connection: The method used by most home
and small business users, where you get on-line to the Internet by dialling your Access
Provider. Large organisations normally have dedicated line, giving a permanent, high speed
connection.
Directory: Web site holding an organised set of
links (thousands of them!). The better ones only have links to reviewed and selected
sites.
Download: Copy a file from the Internet to your
own computer.
FAQ's: (Frequently Asked Questions) at almost every
place on the Internet where you can ask for help, you will find a FAQ list a set of common
questions, and their answers. Check the FAQs first, before asking a question.
Gigabyte: A thousand megabytes or 1,000,000,000 Taking
each byte asa letter, this is the equivalent of around 2,000 thick paperback books.
Home Page: On a Web site, the home page is the top one
of a set, or a user's only published page. On a browser, the home page is the one that the
browser will go to when it first starts.
Host Computer: One that provides a service for
Internet users. The service may be simple pages of information, access to files for
downloading, a place to meet and chat with other users, or a complex interactive
service.
Hypertext: Documents linked so that clicking on a
button, icon or keyword takes you into the related document wherever it may be. Web pages
are written in HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language) which handles links in a standardised
way.
Internet Geographical Address Zones
3-letter zones
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Internet 3-letter zone designator indicates different types of organizations. In
"pentagon.io.com" the "com" means it's a commercial organisation. In
"rtfd.mit.edu" the "edu" means it's an educational institution.
List of 3-letter zone designators
---------------------------------
COM Commercial organisation
EDU Educational institution
GOV Government Body or department
INT International Organisation
MIL Military organization
NET Networking organisation
ORG Organisation (miscellaneous)
2-letter zones
--------------
Internet 2-letter geographic zones symbolise addressing for countries.
In "niftyserve.or.jp" the "jp" means it's in
Japan. In "rubaiyat.com.sa" the ".sa" means it's a Saudi Arabian
location or address.
Two tables of the 2-letter zone designators are given below,
sorted first by the designator and then by the geographic location
ISP: (Internet Service Provider) Alternative
name of Access Provider.
LAN: (Local Area Network) network operating
within one site or organisation.
Log on: Connect to the Internet.
Modem:
(modulator-demodelator) a device which translates digital computer signals into an
analogue form for transmission down the ordinary phone lines.
News Server: A computer at an Internet access
provider's site that collects newsgroup articles for the benefit of its users.
Network: A collection of linked computers. On a
LAN, users can share printers and other networked resources. On any network including the
Internet users can communicate and share data with each other.
Off-line: Using your e-mail software or browser
while not connected to the Internet. Mail can be more conveniently read or written
off-line.
On-line: Connected to the Internet.
Portal: An Intent site which offers a range of
services, including organised links into the Web. Portals aim to encourage as many users
as possible to come through their site on their way into the Internet and to read the
adverts that pay for it all.
Search Engines: Web sites that hold searchable
indexes to Web-pages and other Internet resources.
Shareware: Software that you can try for free,
but for which you should pay a (small) fee to continue to use.
Site: Set of Web pages run by one individual or
organisation. The site may occupy one or more computers all by itself, or be one of many
in a shared space.
Upload: Copy a file from your computer onto an
Internet host computer.
Web Browser: A program that lets you leap
between hypertext links to read text, view graphics and videos, and hear sounds. The two
leading browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
