Computer Directory
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Access - See MS Access.
Active Server Page (ASP) - Short for
Active Server Pages. ASP is a server-side scripting
environment (not a scripting language) developed by
Microsoft that allows embedding of scripting commands
in HTML documents to create dynamic web pages. ASP is
particularly useful for reading from and writing to
databases in the background, and displaying the results
on web pages. ASP comes with VBScript and JScript scripting
engines, but third-party engines for Perl, REXX, and
Python are also available.
ActiveX - ActiveX controls are software
modules based on Microsoft's Component Object Model
(COM) architecture. They add functionality to software
applications by seamlessly incorporating pre-made modules
with the basic software package. Modules can be interchanged
but still appear as parts of the original software.
ActiveX controls turn Web pages into software pages
that perform like any other program launched from a
server.
Apache - Apache is a freely available Unix based
web server program, which was built by a group of open
source programmers. It is currently the most commonly
used web server program on Internet connected sites.
Visit the official
Apache web site for more details.
Ad banner A commercial message i.e. animation or a banner on a web page promoting a product.
Ad Clicks A click on an advertisement on a web site,
which takes a user to another web location or another frame
of page within the advertisement, it is referred to as an ad
click.
Ad Impressions Its a measurement of responses from an ad delivery system, to an ad requested by the user's browser, which is recorded in a certain format depending on the delivery system. Web pages have ads. Once the visitor has viewed an ad on a web page an impression is recorded. Ad Views are different from Page Views.
Ad Click Through Ratio Percentage of users who click on an advertisement i.e. ratio of ad clicks to ad impressions. This is an indication of the effectiveness of this ad.
Bandwidth - The amount of data that can
be transmitted at a given moment to a server. The higher
your bandwidth, the larger amount of traffic your site
can handle at one time. Measured in in BPS or KBPS (bytes per second or kilobytes per second).
Browser A Client program (software) that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources and HTML pages. (For example Netscape, Microsoft Explorer)
Log File
A file created by a web server or proxy server which contains all the information when the server is accessed and all activities that are carried out on that server.
CGI - Short for Common Gateway Interface.
The CGI standard lays down the rules for running external
programs in a Web HTTP server. CGI programs or scripts
can be written in several programming languages including
C, C++, Java and Perl.
Cache
Memory used to temporarily store the most frequently requested content / files / pages in order to speed its delivery to the user. Popular web browsers such as Netscape and Microsoft store information and details on a PC's hard disk. If a user requests a particular web page, the browser first checks the 'PC's cache' to see if a copy exists, if so, the browser delivers the page from the hard drive, rather than via the Internet. This speeds up the loading of the page, and reduces network congestion. Depending on the amount of time a user spends on the Internet, pages may stay in the PC cache for many weeks. Unless they are cleared.
Cookies
The most common meaning of "Cookie" on the Internet refers to a piece of information sent by a Web Server to a Web Browser, that the Browser software is expected to save and to send back to the Server whenever the browser makes additional requests from the same Server. Cookies might contain information such as login or registration information, online "shopping cart" information, user preferences, etc. The server records information in a cookie in a text file and stores this file on the visitor's hard drive (mostly temporary Internet files). When a Server receives a request from a Browser that includes a Cookie, the Server is able to use the information stored in the Cookie. Cookies are usually set to expire after a predetermined amount of time and are usually saved in memory until the Browser software is closed down. When the visitor accesses the same web site again, the server looks for the cookie and configures it based on the information provided.
Cgi-bin - The directory on a Web server
where CGI scripts are stored. The name of the CGI directory
can be changed by the webmaster or system adminstrator.
Co-location hosting - This hosting option
gives webmasters more freedom over their servers. Webmaster
have to provide the hardware and network administration
and the hosting company will provide the rack space
and Internet connection.
Cold Fusion - Coldfusion is a Macromedia technology
which allows the programmer to a proprietary scripting
language directly within an html document on the server.
The server runs the code to generate the final page
which is returned to the client's browser. This style
of embedding a server parsed languaged directly within
an html file is very similar to PHP, ASP and JSP.
Cookie - Cookies are blocks of text
placed in a file on your computer's hard disk. Web sites
use cookies to identify users who revisit the site.
Cron Jobs - Cron jobs (aka Crontabs)
are commands for running certain UNIX processes that
need to be executed at a specific time, either on a
regular or continuous basis.
CSS - Cascading Style Sheets are
a big breakthrough in Web design because they allow
developers to control the style and layout of multiple
Web pages all at once. With CSS, when you want to make
a change, you simply change the style, and that element
is updated automatically wherever it appears within
the site.
Domain Name
The text name that identifies an Internet site corresponding to the numeric IP address of a computer on the Internet (i.e., www.indiatimes.com). Every domain name consists of one top or high-level and one or more lower-level designators. Top-level domains are either generic or geographic. Generic top-level domains include .com, .net, .edu & .org. Geographic domains designate countries of origin, such as .us (United States), .fr (France), .uk (United Kingdom), etc.
Domain names
are the word sequences users enter in their address
bar of an internet navigator to visit a specific web
site. Each domain name is assigned to an IP address.
The DNS ( Domain Name System ) is used to translate
the IP addresses into words.
Domain Name Lookup
The process of converting a numeric IP address into a text name (for example. 203.199.107.189 is converted to www.indiatimes.com).
Data Center - This is where all the
servers are located. Technicians are in the same building
for administration and technical support.
Dedicated Hosting - aka
as dedicated server. This type of hosting allows a webmaster
to rent an entire server. This server is not shared
with anybody. This is more flexible than shared hosting
(see below), as webmasters have full control over the
server, including choice of operating system, hardware,
etc. Administration, however, is still handled by the
hosting company.
Disk Space - Refers to an amount of space on
a web server's hard drive. If for example a web hosting
customer was given a disk space allocation of 100 MB
on a web server, the customer would be able to store
a total of 100 MB of data. This can be html, php, asp,
images, or other files.
Diesel Generator - In the event of a
power outage, a diesel-powered generator is used by
web hosting companies as a back-up source to generate
electricity for the web servers in the datacenter.
Domain Parking - See Glossary
of Domain Name Terms.
Firewall - Software that
acts as a security filter that can restrict types of
network communication. Most often used between a LAN
and Internet.
Flash - A plug-in that plays Flash movies, which
usually include animation, sound and even video clips,
right in your Forms
An HTML page which passes different variables back to the server. These pages are used to gather information from users in the form of pages or ads. It's also referred to as scripts.
FTP
Internet protocol which facilitates transfer of files. It's a standard method of sending files between computers over the Internet. browser. Flash was developed by Macromedia.
FrontPage - See MS FrontPage.
FTP - Short for File
Transfer Protocol. Webmasters can easily manage all
their files by connected to their FTP.
GIF
Graphics Interchange Format is an image file format commonly used in HTML documents. Hit A web site when accessed the computer sends a request to the site's server for downloading the web page.
HTTP - Short for HyperText
Transfer Protocol, the protocol by which HTML files
move across the Internet. Hypertext Markup Language.
HTML allows text to include codes that define fonts,
layout, embedded graphics, and hypertext links.
HIT
records each element of a requested page (including graphics, text, and interactive items). Home Page The main point of entry or a main page of a Web site.
HTML
Hyper Text Markup Language is used to write documents for the World Wide Web. An HTML page is a Hyper Text Markup Language document stored in a directory on a Web server at the time of the request for the purpose of displaying that document. HTML files are plain text
files, so they can be composed and edited in different
types of operating systems In addition to text, an HTML page may include graphics, video, audio, and other files
HTTP
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol is a standard method of transferring data between a Web server and a Web browser.
HTTPS - See SSL.
IIS - Short for Internet Information
Server, Microsoft's server software for Windows NT /
2000 / 2003 .
IP - Short for Internet
Protocol. An IP address is a unique 32-bit number, which
identifies a computer in an IP network.
IP Address
Internet protocol numerical address assigned to each computer on the network so that its location and activities can be distinguished (e.g. 125.45.87.204).
IP Database
The database used by an adserver to match the IP address of the request with the Country / city etc. to serve ads to them.
IRC - Internet
Relay Chat. A system that enables Internet users
to talk with each other in real time over the Internet.
Most web hosts don't allow webmasters to host an IRC
server on their network.
Java - A programming platform
developed by Sun Microsystems commonly used for web
applications on web servers.
JSP - Short forJava Server Page. Regular HTML
webpages with embedded scripts that deliver dynamic
content. Mostly used on Linux, Unix and Solaris platforms.
Load Balancing - Load balancing is dividing
the amount of work that a server has to do between two
or more servers so that more work gets done in the same
amount of time.
Managed hosting - A dedicated server that comes
with a full suite of technical support and maintenance
services. This differs from unmanaged dedicated web
hosting, where customers are provided with their own
servers but are still responsible for all maintenance
duties.
MIME - MIME (Multipurpose
Internet Mail Extension) is an Internet protocol that
allows other information such as word processing documents,
graphics, sound and video to be sent as attachments
to E-mail messages.
MS Access - Microsoft's advanced
database creation and maintenance software. It is very
popular among developers who maintain online databases
with Windows NT.
MS FrontPage - A popular site design and management
tool developed by Microsoft.
Name server - A server responsible for
translating IP addresses and domain names.
NOC - Short for Network Operations
Center. This is where all the servers are located. Technicians
are in the same building for administration and technical
support.
Parking - See Glossary
of Domain Name Terms.
POP - Short for Post Office Protocol.
It allows e-mail messages to be downloaded and stored
locally through a local email client like Outlook, Eudora,
and Netscape Messenger. Also see SMTP.
Propagation Period -
See Glossary of Domain Name Terms.
Protocol - Defines rules for the transmission
of data.
Page Views
Also called Page Impressions. Unlike Hits, page views are recorded when the page is actually seen by the user.
Platform
The operating system (i.e. Windows 95, Linux, etc.) used by a visitor.
Protocol
A uniform set of rules or method of exchanging data between two devices over the Internet.
Proxy Server
A server that acts as the Internet server for a LAN or an intermediate server between the user and the web site.
Platform
The operating system (i.e. Windows 95, Linux, etc.) used by a visitor.
Protocol
A uniform set of rules or method of exchanging data between two devices over the Internet.
Proxy Server
A server that acts as the Internet server for a LAN or an intermediate server between the user and the web site.
Root - The top of the Domain Name System (DNS)
hierarchy.
Referrer URL
The referrer url is a place from which the user clicked to get to the current page.
Shared hosting - The most basic type of
web hosting. A web server is shared for numerous web
sites.
Shell Access - Shell
access allows a user to connect to a server using a
SSH client.
SMTP - Short for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol,
a protocol for sending e-mail messages between servers.
Also see POP.
SQL - Short for Structured Query Language.
A standard protocol used to communicate with databases.
Servers which can handle SQL are known as SQL servers.
SSH - SSH Telnet is a secure form of
Telnet. It is a more powerful means of access than FTP,
as it allows running scripts. SSH also allows more possibilities
for unwanted actions which may harm the web server.
A very popular (and free) SSH client is Putty.
SSI - Short for Server Side Include - A way for
a web server to include variable values and information
from an external source into a web page as it is requested
by the browser. Uses include automatic display of data
like the Last Modified date of the page, or storing
common page elements in their own files, enabling site-wide
updates by modifying a single file.
SSL - A protocol created by Netscape
Communications Corporation for general communication
authentication and encryption over TCP/IP networks.
The most popular usage is HTTPS, i.e. the HyperText
Transfer Protocol (HTTP) over SSL.
Server
A high-end computer which distributes / hosts files which are shared across a LAN, WAN or the Internet.
Server Error
An error occurring on the server in anyone of its processes.
Server Logs
Log files created on the server are server logs. This is mainly used to monitor the server performance, record authorized / unauthorized requests and all other activities carried out on the machine.
Session
A sequence of Internet activity made by one user at one site or a series of transactions performed by a user that can be tracked across Web sites.
Session cookies
These are temporary cookies, which are loaded into the users computer, and only work during that browser session. When the browser exits, these cookies are erased.
Subdomain - See Glossary of Domain Name Terms.
Telnet - Telnet is the
main Internet protocol for creating a connection to
a remote server.
TCP - Short for Transmission Control
Protocol. TCP allows two web hosts to exchange data,
and ensures that not data packets are lost during the
transfer.
TLD - See Glossary of
Domain Name Terms.
UNIX - Unix is an open source operating system
that was created created by Linus Torvalds in the late
1960s. The UNIX operating system comprises three parts:
the kernel, the standard utility programs, and the system
configuration files. Unix has spawned various popular
spin-offs, like FreeBSD and Linux.
USENET - Usenet is a world-wide
network of discussion groups (or news groups).
User Agent
Fields in an extended Web server log file identifying the browser and platform used by a visitor.
URL
Uniform Resource Locator is a means of identifying an exact location on the Internet e.g. http://www.indiatimes.com/default/index.html is the URL which defines the use of HTTP to access default web page (/index.html). As the previous example shows, a URL is comprised of four parts: Protocol Type (HTTP), Web site name (indiatimes.com), Directory path (/default /index.html), and File Name (index.htm).
Virtual hosting - See
shared hosting.
Virtual Private Server (VPS) - Almost
the same as a managed server. The main difference is
that several Virtual Private Servers are on one server.
Customers therefore get hosting services that are similar
to that of dedicated Web hosting but without sacrificing
performance or privacy. Vps' are the ideal solution
for webmasters who are not ready for a dedicated server
but need to upgrade from their shared hosting account.
Visit
Commonly reffered to as a User Session. Its all the activity performed by one user on a web site. By default, this session is terminated when a user is inactive for more than 30 minutes.
Web Space - See disk space.
WHOIS - A central database which tracks
all domain name and IP registrations. Whois.sc
Windows NT / 2000 / 2003 - These
are graphic-based, multitasking Operating Systems developed
over the past few years by Microsoft. Both can act as
standalone OS for personal computers/workstations, or
can serve as an OS for a Web site/network. Most Web
hosting companies and resellers offer Windows-based
hosting in some capacity or other.
XML - Short for Extensible Markup
Language, which allows you to define the tags (markup)
that you need to identify the data and text in XML documents. XML
Introduction
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