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Web
Hosting Glossary of Terms |
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| A
(Address) Record |
Address
records assign a hostname (e.g.: support.yourdomain.com)
to a specific IP address (e.g.: 123.123.123.123).
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| Access |
Refers
to the database program "Microsoft
Access", also called Jet Database.
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| ADSL-
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line |
A
technology that allows more data to
be sent over existing copper telephone
lines (POTS). ADSL supports data rates
of from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving
data (known as the downstream rate)
and from 16 to 640 Kbps when sending
data (known as the upstream rate).
ADSL requires a special ADSL modem.
It is not currently available to the
general public except in trial areas,
but many believe that it will be one
of the more popular choices for Internet
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| Alias
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An
alias is an e-mail address that forwards
its mail to a specified mailbox, masking
the true name of the mailbox in which
the mail is actually received. For
example, Sales@JoesDomain.com could
be an alias for Joe1234@aol.com. |
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| Analog
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This
word is often used to denote the opposite
of digital. Loosely, it means the
measuring of data on more physical
grounds, as opposed to the more electronic
or "wired" state of digital.
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| Anonymous |
The
means that allow a person to connect
to an FTP site, search through available
files, and download any file, document
or program without having to establish
a userID and/or password on the system
where the material resides. |
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| Anonymous
FTP |
An
Internet File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
option that allows you to let others
onto your Web site to download files
that you have made available, without
first establishing an account. Most
FTP servers are set up to allow a
limited amount of anonymous FTP users
to log in at the same time, and only
provide access to designated files.
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| Apache |
A
popular Web server. By some estimates,
it is used to host more than 50% of
all Web sites in the world. The original
version of Apache was written for
UNIX, but there are now versions that
run under OS/2, Windows and other
platforms.
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| Applet |
A
mini-program that can be downloaded
quickly and used by any computer equipped
with a Java- or ActiveX-capable browser.
Applets carry their own software players
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| ARPANET
- Advanced Projects Agency Network |
The
precursor to the Internet. Developed
in the late 60's and early 70's by
the U.S. Department of Defense as
an experiment in wide-area-networking
that would survive a nuclear war.
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| ASP
- Active Server Pages (Windows Only)
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You
are hosted on our fiber optic network,
which connects to the Internet through
5 redundant DS-3, OC-3 and OC-12 multi-homed
connections. This high-speed connectivity
combined with exceptionally fast and
reliable Dual Pentium III/4 servers,
guarantee fast access to all web sites
housed.
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| Autoresponder |
An
e-mail that is automatically sent
in reply to any e-mail received in
a specified mailbox. Also known as
a vacation message. |
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| Backbone |
The
Internet's high-speed data highway
that serves as a major access point
to which other networks can connect.
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| Bandwidth |
1.
The range of frequencies a transmission
line or channel can carry; the higher
the frequency the higher the bandwidth
and the greater the information-carrying
capacity of a channel. For a digital
channel this is defined in bits
per second or BPS. For an analog
channel it is dependent on the type
and method of modulation used to
encode the data.
2.
Expressed in cycles per second (hertz),
the amount of information that can
flow through a channel. On the less
technical side bandwidth is used
to measure the amount of time it
takes for a Web page to fully load.
Internet users occasionally refer
to larger graphics on Web pages
as "bandwidth hogs" -
the use of the term bandwidth in
this case isn't quite accurate,
but what it means is that the graphic
is loading slowly due to its large
file size.
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| Banner
Ad Rotator |
Displays
alternating banner ads and includes
an administration area with the ability
to add, edit and delete banners from
the rotation list.
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| BBS
- Bulletin Board System |
An electronic message center. The
Bulletin Board System (BBS) allows
you to dial in with a modem, review
messages left by others, and leave
your own message if you want. Bulletin
boards are a particularly good place
to find free or inexpensive software
products. Most bulletin boards serve
specific interest groups.
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| Binary
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Any downloadable file that doesn't
simply contain human-readable, ASCII
text. Typically it refers to a runnable
program available for downloading,
but it can also refer to pictures,
sounds or movies, among others. Most
Usenet newsgroups have subgroups specifically
for binaries; a posting in comp.sys.mac.comm
might announce that a program is available
for downloading, but the binary (the
file itself) would be found in comp.sys.mac.comm.binaries.
Newsgroups such as alt.pictures.binaries
contain files for download which are
actually pictures. You will need a
newsreader to download and decode
these files.
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Bit |
A measurement of the speed at which
data is moved from one place to another
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Browser |
A program used to view, download,
upload, surf or otherwise access documents
(pages) on the World Wide Web. Browsers
can be text-based, meaning they do
not show graphics or images, but most
are text- and graphical-based. Browsers
read "marked up" or coded
pages (usually HTML but not always)
that reside on servers and interpret
the coding into what we see "rendered"
as a Web page. Netscape Navigator
and Microsoft Internet Explorer are
examples of Web browsers. The program
you are using right now to view this
information is called a browser.
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Browser Compatibility |
A term that compares the way a Web
page looks on one WWW browser as opposed
to another. Usually this is done with
Microsoft Internet Explorer (MIE)
and Netscape Navigator, but can also
refer to cross-platform compatibility.
(For example, the way a page renders
or displays on a Windows system as
opposed to a Mac.) The reason these
incompatibilities exist is due to
the way a browser interprets the Web
page's code (HTML). The differences
are usually very slight, but they're
enough to annoy some Web designers
and sometimes even their clients to
the point in which great time and
energy is spent in making a Web site
compatible with any browser on any
type of system. Browser compatibility
is also used in conjunction with (and
should not be confused with) the term
browser support.
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Browser Support |
This refers to the ability of a particular
browser to even recognize and interpret
certain HTML or other Web page codes.
For example, Netscape Navigator 1.0
did not have the ability to render
a page layout in frames. This feature
did not come along until version 2.0,
therefore it can be said that Navigator
1.0 did not "support" frames.
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Byte |
A set of Bits that represent a single
character. Usually there are 8 Bits
in a Byte
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Cable Modem |
A modem attached to a coaxial cable
television system. Cable modems can
transmit data at 500 kilobytes a second,
much faster than a typical computer
modem that sends signals over telephone
lines.
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CGI-BIN |
A directory on a server that "houses"
all of the CGI programs. When you
see this as a directory in your browser's
URL window, it usually means you are
either running or about to run a CGI
program. The "binary" part
refers to when many of the files placed
in that directory were binary files.
More recently, many of these files
are text-based.
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Client |
A software program used to contact
and obtain data from a server software
program on another computer, often
across a great distance.
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CNAME - Canonical Name |
The Canonical Name resource record,
CNAME, specifies an alias or nickname
for the official, or canonical, host
name. Alias records assign an alternate
hostname to a specific hostname. Both
hostnames point at whatever IP address
the primary hostname is assigned to.
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colocation |
Most often used to refer to having
a server that belongs to one person
or group physically located on an
Internet-connected network that belongs
to another person or group.
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ColdFusion |
A Rapid Application Development (RAD)
system created by the Allaire Corporation
of Cambridge, Mass, ColdFusion integrates
browser, server and database technologies
into Web applications. Cold Fusion
Web pages include tags written in
ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML)
that simplify integration with databases
and avoid the use of more complex
languages like C++ to create translating
programs. ColdFusion is the industry's
leading cross-platform Web application
server. With ColdFusion, Web developers
can quickly develop and deliver a
new generation of large-volume, transaction-intensive
Web applications for everything from
e-commerce to business automation
and more.
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Common Gateway Interface (CGI) |
CGI is a set of rules that describe
how a web server communicates with
another piece of software on the same
machine, and how the other piece of
software (the CGI program) communicates
with the web server. Many scripting
languages, such as Perl, follow the
CGI standard. This allows you to develop
more interactive sites, by making
use of system features.
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Configuration |
A general-purpose computer term that
refers to the way your computer's
operating system is set up. It can
also refer to the total combination
of hardware components - central processing
unit (CPU), video display device,
keyboard and peripheral devices -
that make up the computer system.
The configuration is also at work
in the software settings that allow
various hardware components of a computer
system to communicate with one another.
A "vanilla" configuration
is the standard "clean"
and "no frills" version
of a computer's configuration (no
device drivers or extra settings).
This is what a technician might set
a system to when trying to troubleshoot
a problem with a computer's hardware.
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Connectivity |
The state of being connected to the
Internet or some other type of computer
network. On the Internet, if you lose
your connectivity, you are no longer
online and must redial into your ISP.
When ISPs get many users signing on
all at once, the connectivity tends
to be poor. "What is your connectivity?"
usually means what kind of speed does
your Internet connection support,
like 28.8 or T-1.
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Cookie |
A piece of information about your
computer, something you clicked on,
and/or you (such as your username)
that is stored in a text file on your
hard drive. A server accesses this
information when you connect to a
Web site that wants to know this information.
One common occurrence of a "handing
out a cookie", would be when
you as a user, log into a system through
a Web site. After you enter in your
username and password, your browser
saves a text file that it calls upon
for later access. This prevents you
from having to log in again if you
happen to leave the Web site and then
return at a later time. Cookies are
also used in the process of purchasing
items on the Web. It is because of
the cookie that "shopping cart"
technology works. By saving in a text
file the name, and other important
information about an item a user "clicks"
on as they move through a shopping
Web site, a user can later go to an
order form, and see all the items
they selected, ready for quick and
easy processing.
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Credit card processing |
Online credit card processing is available
through many of our partners, such
as Verisign Payment Services or Cardservice
International. For full details Click
here
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Cron |
A Unix command for scheduling jobs
to be executed sometime in the future.
A cron is normally used to schedule
a job that is executed periodically
- for example, to send out a notice
every morning. It is also a daemon
process, meaning that it runs continuously,
waiting for specific events to occur.
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CyberCash |
A form of real-time credit card processing
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Dedicated Line |
A telecommunications line that lets
your computer have a direct, permanent
connection to the Internet
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Dial-Up Account |
A basic type of Internet account that
allows you to dial up an Internet
Service Provider's (ISP) computer
with a modem. These types of accounts
usually have a UNIX or other command-line
interface.
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Digest |
A manner in which messages to a list
server mailing list can be automatically
consolidated into one e-mail (the
digest) and sent to the list subscribers
periodically.
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DLL - Dynamic Link Library |
A Windows platform file that is actually
an executable mini-program itself
that is NOT executed directly by a
user but by a running program or application
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DNS - Domain Name System |
A database system that translates
an IP address into a domain name.
For example, a numeric IP address
like 207.219.116.4 is converted into
netlingo.com. The DNS is a static,
hierarchical name service that uses
TCP/IP hosts and is housed on a number
of servers on the Internet. Basically,
it maintains this database for figuring
out and finding (or resolving) host
names and IP addresses. This allows
users to specify remote computers
by host names rather than numerical
IP addresses. Also referred to as
Domain Name Service and Domain Name
Server.
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Domain Name or Domain |
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The unique name identifying a Web
site, located at the right of the
@ sign in an Internet address. Domain
names always have two or more parts,
separated by dots, as in www.yourdomain.com.
Domains are tied to name servers,
which direct to which IP address the
domain should point. Any server can
have multiple domain names, but a
domain name can only point to one
server.
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Domain Registration |
Our partnership with InterNIC allows
us to register or transfer your domain
with them seamlessly. Therefore, we
charge no additional fee for InterNIC
registration or transfers. However,
be aware that you are still responsible
for the cost of domain registration
with InterNIC, which currently is
$70 for two year, $150 for five year,
and $250 for 10 year registrations.
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DRAM - Dynamic Random-Access Memory
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A memory chip contained on such devices
as video and sound cards. DRAM is
"dynamic" because the chip
contains an electrical charge (as
opposed to SRAM, see below). The electrical
charge will die out eventually so
it must refresh its memory regularly,
which it does automatically from your
CPU. The only reason you need to know
about DRAM is because it is related
to access time and video cards, etc.
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DSN - Data Source Name |
Data source names are used to access
a database. Customers can create DSN's
via their administration page.
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Dynamic Content |
Information on a Web site or Web page
that changes often, usually daily
and/or each time a user reloads or
returns to the page. Content that
is also structured based on user input.
For example, when you search on some
keywords on a search engine, the resulting
page you get is a "dynamic"
page, meaning the information was
created based on the words you typed
into the form on the previous page.
Dynamic Web sites are usually driven
by Web application environments such
as Microsoft ASP or Allaire's ColdFusion,
and the content is taken from a database
each time a page request is made.
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Dynamic SQL |
Creates queries based on user data,
environment variables, and previously
returned query results. Dynamic SQL
can also increase processing efficiency
by executing multiple queries and
sending them to multiple databases
from a single browser request.
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E-Commerce - Electronic Commerce |
Quite simply, it means conducting
business online. In the traditional
sense of selling goods, it is possible
to do this electronically because
of certain software programs that
run the main functions of an e-commerce
Web site, such as product display,
online ordering, and inventory management.
The software, which works in conjunction
with online payment systems to process
payments, resides on a commerce server.
The definition of e-commerce has expanded
to include all kinds of commercial
online transactions, like selling
products via credit cards, charging
for advertising on a high-traffic
Web site, or trading stock in your
brokerage account -- practically any
way a company can derive revenue online
is thought of as e-commerce.
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E-mail - Electronic Mail |
E-mail is the sending and receiving
of messages, usually text, from one
computer to another using e-mail software.
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Ecash |
Developed by DigiCash and the Mark
Twain Bank, ecash is the ability to
use real money in an electronic purchasing
system over the World Wide Web. The
process involves you sending a check
to Mark Twain Bank which in turn sends
you software that gives you access
to the ecash Mint where you draw funds
to your hard drive for use when purchasing
goods and services on the Internet.
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Encryption |
A way of making data unreadable to
everyone except the receiver, encryption
is an increasingly common way of sending
credit card numbers over the Internet
when conducting commercial transactions.
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Ethernet |
A widespread networking scheme rated
at 10 Mbs (megabits per second).
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Extensions |
The characters after the dot in a
file's name are considered its extension.
This is used to determine how the
file is formatted and viewed. For
example a file named netlingo.html
means that the file is coded in HTML
and therefore must be viewed with
a compatible program such as a Web
browser in order to see it properly.
On the Internet you will come across
many different file extensions such
as .dcr, .mov, .avi and .au. In order
to properly handle these files your
browser must be configured to recognize
these extensions.
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FastCGI |
An open extension to CGI that provides
higher performance by reusing processes
to handle multiple requests.
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File Extension |
The group of letters after a
period or "dot" in
a file name is called the file
extension. This extension refers
to the type of file it is, for
example, if the filename is
readme.txt, the extension txt
denotes this is a text file
and can be viewed using a text
editor such as Notepad or Simple
Text. Operating systems such
as MAC OS or Windows 95 will
refer to a file's extension
when choosing which application
to launch when a user clicks
on a particular file name.
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Firewall |
A device that protects a private
network from the public part,
or a computer set up to monitor
traffic between an Internet
site and the Internet. A firewall
is designed to increase a server's
security by keeping unauthorized
outsiders from tampering with
a computer system.
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FrontPage Compatibility |
Allows you to edit your site
using Microsoft FrontPage or
Visual InterDev. Also allows
you to make use of special built-
in features that use FrontPage
Extensions.
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FrontPage Extensions |
Server add-ons that allows you
to make use of pre-defined functions
such as a hit counter, Java
buttons and form validation.
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FTP - File Transfer Protocol |
Common procedure used for downloading
and uploading files over the
Internet. With FTP you can log
in to another Internet site
and transfer (send or receive)
files. Some sites have public
file archives that you can access
by using FTP with the account
name "anonymous" and
your e-mail address as the password.
This type of access is called
anonymous FTP. Macintosh users
use a program called Fetch;
one of the FTP programs for
Windows is called WS-FTP
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Gateway |
A computer system for exchanging
information across incompatible
networks that use different
protocols. For example, many
commercial services have e-mail
gateways for sending messages
to Internet addresses.
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GIF - Graphic Interchange Format
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A common format for image files,
especially suitable for images
containing large areas of the
same color.
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Gigabyte |
1000 or 1024 Megabytes
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Guest Book |
A simple guest book allows visitors
to leave their name and a brief
message from/on your site.
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GUI - Graphical User Interface
(goo-ey) |
This term refers to a software
front-end application meant
to provide an attractive and
easy-to-use interface between
a computer user and an application.
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HDML- Hand-Held Device Markup
Language |
The HTML for hand-held devices
like Palm Pilots and PDAs. A
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