Confused?We have created this short glossary of Internet terms. On the web, databases are stored on the server to store, for example, product catalog information. When a user requests information (simply by clicking on a link) a CGI searches the database and dynamically builds a page to show the results. Other applications include on-line ticket reservations and shopping carts. Generic term for operations on the server that permit interaction with the user. For example, when a user submits a form, the CGI receives the data and performs whatever operations it has been programed to do, such as displaying a thankyou message on the user's screen, storing the data in a database on the server or sending e-mail. FTP The set of rules for computers (protocol) which allows files to be transferred on the Internet. A more efficient way of doing this than HTTP or e-mail. GIF A graphics format often used on the Internet for small drawings or titles. When a web page is translated, they have to be redrawn if they contain text. HTTP The set of rules for computers (protocol) that makes the World Wide Web possible. A global network. It is not synonymous with the Web (WWW); it also carries e-mail, newsgroups and FTP, amongst other services. A company that maintains servers connected to the Internet by high-capacity connections and makes them available for web hosting, e-mail and FTP. A company that allows users to connect to the Internet, usually via normal telephone lines or ISDN (digital) telephone lines. IPP See Internet presence provider ISP A programming language that makes it possible to control some aspects of browser operation. It can be used, for example, to create animation effects, or to check that a user has completed a form correctly. It works on the user's computer, rather than on the server (compare CGI). When two or more computers are connected to each other or to other devices, such as printers, we have a network. The Internet is essentially the same thing on a global scale. A programming language that is often used for CGI. It runs on the server, unlike Javascript. A computer that stores files and sends them on request to "client" computers connected to it on a network. On the Internet, servers may store the files that make up websites ("web server"), e-mail messages ("mail server"), newsgroups ("news server"), etc. A website that lets users browse a catalog, place an order and, usually, pay for goods by credit-card. Web Not the same thing as the Internet, which is a physical network. The WWW is the complex of links between documents (pages of the same or different web sites) made possible by HTTP. |