SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE WEB

VOCABULARY REVIEW

We have introduced a lot of vocabulary terms, and Internet and Web lingo so far. You can review these terms here. Another option is to print this page, and keep it handy for future reference.

Terms that we've covered so far are hilighted in RED.
New terms that we have not discussed are hilighted in BLUE.
Links to other vocabular terms are included in the definitions.

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If you can't find the term you are looking for, try these sites for more computer and Internet terminology: (Clicking on these links will NOT exit this tutorial. This page will remain open, and the new Web site will open on another screen (i.e., a new "browser session" will be initiated).) WebOPedia http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/ Glossary of Internet Terms http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html

Backbone
A high-speed line or group of connections that form a path in a computer network. The term is generally used in reference to smaller networks.

Client
A software program that is used to transfer information or documents from a server. Clients can be located nearby or thousands of miles away from the server. A Web Browser is a type of client that allows your computer to read information on the Web.

Computer Network (or Network)
Two or more computers connected together to share resources. Two or more networks connected together form an internet.

Cookie
Information that a server sends to a Web Browser that the browser stores and sends back to the server when additional information is exchanged. Cookies contain information like user preferences, shopping cart contents, registration information, etc. Web browsers can be set-up to accept or not accept Cookies. Cookies can be saved for short or long periods of time. Organizations use Cookies to store information about users that can be used to personalize services or resources, or enhance communication between an organization and a particular user.

Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD)
Two-letter country codes that represent the country or geographic region in which a Web site originates: .uk, .ca, .jp, etc. The United States also has a ccTLD (.us), but because we're in the U.S., a .us code isn't generally displayed.

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Cyberspace
A term that many people use to represent the Web, Internet, or the variety of information that is available via computer networks.

Electronic Mail (e-mail or email)
Messages that are sent from one person to another, or to a large number of people, via a computer. People exchange their e-mail addresses with one another so that they know where to send the messages.

Domain or Domain Name
The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names have two or more parts, separated by dots. On the left of the dot is the more specific part of the name; on the right of the dot is the more general part of the name:
med-libwww.bu.edu
yahoo.com
mtv.com

Download
Moving data or documents or files from another computer to your computer. (Downloading is the opposite of uploading, which is when you move files from your computer to another computer.)

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
An Internet resource that was very popular before the Web was invented. FTP is a way of moving files from Internet site to Internet site, by allowing your computer to login to another computer to retrieve information. Like other Internet resources, FTP can only transfer text files, and has been largely replaced in popularity by the Web.

GIF (Graphic Interchange Format)
A format for images or graphic files on the Web. A GIF file can be inserted into any Web document. When you view the Web document, the GIF file will be an image, graphic, or picture of some sort.

Gopher
Gopher was invented around 1993 at the University of Minnesota, just before the Web was invented. Gopher was a very popular method of making text-based information available on the Internet using menus to make information easier to organize and find. As use of the Web grew, Gopher became less popular because it only allowed for the sharing of text-based files, and not multi-media files (graphics, sound, video, etc.) But, thousands of Gopher servers are still on the Internet to this day.

Hit
A term that refers to making a good match when searching for Web documents in a search engine or site. For example, if we are searching for a specific organization and we find it, we have a "hit." (See also "miss".)

Host
Any computer in a network that stores information that is available to the public. A host computer can be accessed via the login command.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
The language that is used to write hypertext on the Web. HTML files are viewed using a Web browser.

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HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)
The protocol (a standard) for sharing hypertext files on the Internet. HTTP requires a client on one end, and a server on the other. HTTP is the most popular protocol for sharing information on the Web.

Hypertext
Any text that contains links (connections or paths) to other documents on the Web.

internet – small i
Two or more networks that are connected together form an internet.
Example: a connection of computers at a particular company, like McDonalds® or MTV®, or at a particular university, like the University of Phoenix, form an internet.

Internet – large I
The thousands of computer networks all over the world that are connected using the same protocol (TCP/IP) to communicate with each other.

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Intranet
A company or organizational network that is private: for internal company use only. Many organizations that have an Internet Web site for the public also have an Intranet that is for their own staff and affiliates only.

ISP (Internet Service Provider)
A company or organization that provides Internet access, usually for a monthly fee (America Online®, CompuServe®, and many others).

IP (Internet Protocol address)
In order to be on the Internet, every computer must have a unique IP address. An IP address is a combination of numbers that are made up of four parts, separated by commas:
155.32.412.2
An IP number is like a URL or a domain name. But, instead of using words, it uses numbers. While every computer on the Internet must have an IP address, not every computer has to have its own URL or domain name, because URLs and domain names are for computers that are sharing information, NOT receiving it.

Java and JavaScript
Java is a network-friendly programming language invented by Sun Microsystems. On the Web, the JavaScript programming language is used to create more sophisticated, interactive Web pages (than those can be created with HTML alone).

Link
A connection or path from one Web site or document to another.

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Login
The login command initiates a session whereby one computer accesses the information that is stored on another computer (host).

Meta-Search Engines
Search systems that search the contents of many other search engines at one time. Popular meta-search engines include MetaCrawler®, AskJeeves®, WebCrawler®, and many others. (See also search engines.)

Miss
A term that refers to the failure to make a good match when searching for Web documents in a search engine or site. For example, if I'm searching for the medical procedure called a "spinal tap" and instead, I get sites about the band "Spinal Tap," I have made a "miss." (See also "hit".)

Multi-Media
A document or Web site is multi-media if it contains graphics, pictures, illustrations, video, audio, or other media. (See also text-based/text-only.)

Network
Two or more computers connected together to share resources. Two or more networks that are connected together form an internet.

Protocol
A uniform computer standard that allows computers to communicate with one another. TCP/IP is the protocol for computers that are on the Internet.

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Search Engine
A system that is used for searching through information on the Web. Some search engines are made-up of large databases that are created by a "spider" computer (that goes out and searches Web sites, then brings back information about these sites to create a searchable database). Other search engines include only information that has been evaluated and pre-approved for inclusion. Popular search engines include Yahoo®, Google®, HotBot®, Lycos®, and others. (See also meta-search engines.)

Server
A computer or a software program that provides a specific kind of service to client machines. For example, a computer that makes information available on the Web is called a Web server. Or, if a computer is running an electronic mail system, it is a mail server.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
The protocol (or standard) that defines the Internet. To be "on the Internet," a computer must have the TCP/IP software so that it can communicate with other computers.

Telnet
A program that allows a computer to login to a host computer. The host is any computer in a network that stores information that is available to the public. The login command initiates a session whereby one computer accesses the information that is stored on another computer (host).

Text File (or Word File)
A document or Web site that includes text only -- no other media such as graphics, video, or audio are included. Early Internet resources such as FTP and Gopher allowed for the transmission of text-only files from computer to computer.

Top Level Domain (TLD)
The last (right-hand) part of a Domain Name. For example in the domain name www.unitedairlines.com, ".com" is the Top Level Domain. There are a lot of TLDs: .biz, .com, .edu, .gov, .info, .int, .mil, .net, .org, and so on. Each TLD represents the kind of organization that sponsors the Web site. (See also country code Top Level Domains (ccTLD).)

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URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
An address on the Web that is expressed with strings of words:
www.unitedairlines.com
www.yahoo.com
med-libwww.bu.edu/library/tutorial/index.html
URLs identify the server computer, the domain, and the name of the files that are being shared.

USENET news groups
Discussion groups that allow hundreds or thousands of people all over the world to share information and comments about a variety of topics. The 10,000+ topics of interest are called newsgroups. USENET computers may or may not be on the Internet.

Web Browser
Software (like Netscape® or Internet Explorer®) that allows your computer to display Internet resources. Web browsers are also referred to as "client programs" because they allow your computer (the client) to read documents or files that come from a server computer. The first Web browser, Mosaic®, was invented in 1993. Netscape® and Internet Explorer® are two popular Web browsers in use today.

Web or WWW or World Wide Web
Most people use the terms Web, World Wide Web, or WWW to refer to the entire Internet, but the Web is only one part of the Internet – the part that allows for multi-media files to be shared between computers. The Web can access ALL other parts of the Internet: Gopher, FTP, USENET, etc. The Web works by moving information from server computers to client computers using Web browser software (Netscape®, Internet Explorer®, and others).

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Didn't find the term you were looking for? Try these sites for more computer and Internet terminology:
(Clicking on these links will NOT exit this tutorial. This page will remain open, and the new Web site will open on another screen (i.e., a new "browser session" will be initiated).)

• WebOPedia
  http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/

• Glossary of Internet Terms
  http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html

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