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INDEX :
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56K Line
A digital phone-line connection
(leased line) capable of carrying 56,000 bits-per-second. At this speed,
a Megabyte will take about 3 minutes to transfer. This is 4 times as fast
as a 14,400bps modem.
See also: Bandwidth, T-1
ADN
(Advanced Digital Network) --
Usually refers to a 56K/bps leased-line.
Archie
A tool (software) for finding
files stored on anonymous FTP sites. You need to know the exact file name
or a sub-string of it.
ARPANet
(Advanced Research Projects
Administration Network) -- The precursor to the Internet. Developed in
the late 60's and early 70's by the US Department of Defense as an experiment
in wide-area networking that would survive a nuclear war.
See also: Internet (uppercase
I)
Anonymous FTP
See FTP
ASCII
(American Standard Code for
Information Interchange) -- this is the de facto world-wide standard for
the code numbers used by computers to represent all the upper and lower-case
latin letters, numbers, punctuation, etc. There are 128 standard ASCII
codes each of which can be represented by a 7 digit binary number: 0000000
through 1111111
BBS
(Bulletin Board System) -- A
computerized meeting and announcement system that allows people to carry
on discussions, upload and download files, and make announcements without
the people being connected to the computer at the same time. There are
many thousands (millions?) of BBS's around the world, most are very small,
running on a single IBM clone PC with 1 or 2 phone lines. Some are very
large and the line between a BBS and a system like CompuServe gets crossed
at some point, but it is not clearly drawn.
Bit
(Binary DigIT) -- A single digit
number in base-2, in other words, either a 1 or a zero. The smallest unit
of computerized data. Bandwidth is usually measured in bits-per-second.
See also Bandwidth, Byte, Kilobyte, and Megabyte
BITNET
(Because It's Time Network)
-- A network of educational sites separate from the Internet, but e-mail
is freely exchanged between BITNET and the Internet. Listservs, the most
popular form of e-mail discussion groups, originated on BITNET. BITNET
machines are IBM VMS machines, and the network is probably the only international
network that is shrinking.
Backbone
A high-speed line or series
of connections that forms a major pathway within a network. The term is
relative as a backbone in a small network will likely be much smaller than
many non-backbone lines in a large network.
Bandwidth
How much "stuff" you can send
through a connection. Usually measured in bits-per-second. A full page
of english text is about 16,000 bits. A fast modem can move about 15,000
bits in one second. Full-motion full-screen video would require roughly
10,000,000 bits-per-second, depending on compression.
See also: 56K, Bit, T-1
Binhex
(BINary HEXadecimal) -- a method
for converting non-text files (non-ASCII) into ASCII. This is needed because
Internet e-mail can only handle ASCII.
See also: ASCII
Browser
A client program (software)
that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources.
See also: Client, URL, WWW
Byte
A set of Bits that represent
a single character. Usually there are 8 or 10 bits in a Byte, depending
on how the measurement is being made.
Client
A software program that is used
to contact and obtain data from a Server software program on another computer,
often across a great distance. Each Client program is designed to work
with one or more specific kinds of Server programs, and each Server requires
a specific kind of Client.
See also: Server
Cyberspace
Term originated by author William
Gibson in his novel "Neuromancer", the word Cyberspace is currently used
to describe the whole range of information resources available through
computer networks.
Domain Name
The unique name that identifies
an Internet site. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by
dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right
is the most general. A given machine may have more than one Domain Name
but a given Domain Name points to only one machine. Usually, all of the
machines on a given network will have the same thing as the right-hand
portion of their Domain Names, e.g.
gateway.gbnetwork.com
mail.gbnetwork.com
www.gbnetwork.com
and so on. It is also possible
for a Domain Name to exist but not be connected to an actual machine. This
is often done so that a group or business can have an Internet e-mail address
without having to establish a real Internet site. In these cases, some
real Internet machine must handle the mail on behalf of the listed Domain
Name.
See also: IP Number.
E-mail
(Electronic Mail) -- Messages,
usually text, sent from one person to another via computer. E-mail can
also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses (Mailing List)
See also: Listserv, Maillist
Ethernet
A very common method of networking
computers in a LAN. Ethernet will handle about 10,000,000 bits-per-second
and can be used with almost any kind of computer. See also: Bandwidth,
LAN
FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions)
-- FAQs are documents that list and answer the most common questions on
a particular subject.
There are hundreds of FAQs on
subjects as diverse as Pet Grooming and Cryptography. FAQs are usually
written by people who have tired of answering the same question over and
over.
FDDI
(Fiber Distributed Data Interface)
-- A standard for transmitting data on optical fiber cables at a rate of
around 100,000,000 bits-per-second (10 time as fast as Ethernet, about
twice as fast as T-3)
See also: Bandwidth, Ethernet,
T-1, T-3.
FTP
(File Transfer Protocol) --
A very common method of moving files between two Internet sites. FTP is
a special way to login to another Internet site for the purposes of retrieving
and/or sending files. There are many Internet sites that have established
publicly accessible repositories of material that can be obtained using
FTP, by logging in using the account name "anonymous", thus these sites
are called "anonymous ftp servers".
Finger
An Internet software tool for
locating people on other Internet sites. Finger is also sometimes used
to give access to non-personal information, but the most common use is
to see if a person has an account at a particular Internet site. Many sites
do not allow incoming Finger requests, but many do.
Gopher
A widely successful method of
making menus of material available over the Internet. Gopher is a Client
and Server style program, which requires that the user have a Gopher Client
program. Although Gopher spread rapidly across the globe in only a couple
of years, it is being largely supplanted by Hypertext, also known as WWW
(World Wide Web). There are still thousands of Gopher Servers on the Internet
and we can expect they will remain for a while.
See also: Client, Server, WWW,
Hypertext
Host
Any computer on a network that
is a repository for services available to other computers on the network.
It is quite common to have one host machine provide several services, such
as WWW and USENET
See also: Node, Network
HTML
(HyperText Markup Language)
-- The coding language used create Hypertext documents for use on the World
Wide Web. HTML looks a lot like old-fashioned typesetting code, where you
surround a block of text with codes that indicate how it should appear,
additionally, in HTML you can specify that a block of text, or a word,
is "linked" to another file on the Internet. HTML files are meant to be
viewed using a World Wide Web Client program, such as Netscape or Explorer.
See also: HTTP, Hypertext, Mosaic,
WWW
HTTP
(HyperText Transport Protocol)
-- The protocol for moving hypertext files across the Internet. Requires
a HTTP client program on one end, and an HTTP server program on the other
end. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World Wide Web (WWW).
See also: Client, Server, WWW
Hypertext
Generally, any text that contains
"links" to other documents - words or phrases in the document that can
be chosen by a reader and which cause another document to be retrieved
and displayed.
IMHO
(In My Humble Opinion) -- A
shorthand appended to a comment written in an online forum, IMHO indicates
that the writer is aware that they are expressing a debatable view, probably
on a subject already under discussion. One of many such shorthands in common
use online, especially in discussion forums.
IP Number
Sometimes called a "dotted quad".
A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots, e.g.
165.113.245.2
Every machine that is on the
Internet has a unique IP number - if a machine does not have an IP number,
it is not really on the Internet. Most machines also have one or more Domain
Names that are easier for people to remember.
See also: Domain Name, Internet
IRC
(Internet Relay Chat) -- Basically
a huge multi-user live chat facility. There are a number major IRC servers
around the world which are linked to each other. Anyone can create a "channel"
and anything that anyone types in a given channel is seen by all others
in the channel. Private channels can (and are) created for multi-person
"conference calls".
ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital
Network) -- Basically a way to move more data over existing regular phone
lines. ISDN is only slowly becoming available in the USA but where it is
available, it can provide speeds of 64,000 bits-per-second over a regular
phone line at almost the same cost as a normal phone call.
Internet (upper case I)
The vast collection of inter-connected
networks that all use the TCP/IP protocols and that evolved from the ARPANET
of the late 60's and early '70s. The Internet now (Nov. 1994) connects
roughly 30,000 independent networks into a vast global internet.
See also: internet (lower case
i)
internet (lower case i)
Any time you connect 2 or more
networks together, you have an internet - as in inter-national or inter-state.
Kilobyte
A thousand bytes. Actually,
usually, 1024 (2^10) bytes.
See also: Byte", Bit
LAN
(Local Area Network) -- A computer
network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building or floor
of the building.
Leased-line
Refers to a phone line that
is rented for exclusive 24-hour, 7-days-a-week use from your location to
another location. The highest speed data connections require a leased line.
See also: 56K, T-1, T-3
Listserv
The most common kind of maillist
, Listservs originated on BITNET but they are now common on the Internet
See also: BITNET, E-mail,
Maillist
Login
Noun or a verb. Noun: The account
name used to gain access to a computer system. Not a secret (contrast with
Password)
Verb: The act of entering into
a computer system, e.g. "Login to the WELL and then go to the GBN conference."
See also: Password
Megabyte
A million bytes. A thousand
kilobytes.
See also: Byte, Bit, Kilobyte
MOO
(Mud, Object Oriented) -- one
of several kinds of multi-user role-playing environments, so far only text-based.
See also: MUD, MUSE
MUD
(Multi-User Dungeon or Dimension)
-- A (usually text-based) multi-user simulation environment. Some are purely
for fun and flirting, others are used for serious software development,
or education purposes and all that lies in between. A significant feature
of most MUDs is that users can create things that stay after they leave
and which other users can interact with in their absence, thus allowing
a "world" to be built gradually and collectively.
See also: MOO, MUSE
MUSE
One kind of MUD - usually with
little or no violence.
See also: MOO, MUD
Maillist (or Mailing List)
A (usually automated) system
that allows people to send e-mail to one address, whereupon their message
is copied and sent to all of the other subscribers to the maillist. In
this way, people who have many different kids of e-mail access can participate
in discussions together.
Modem
(MOdulator, DEModulator) --
a device that you connect to your computer and to a phone line, that allows
the computer to talk to other computers through the phone system. Basically,
modems do for computers what a telephone does for humans.
Mosaic
The first known and most widespread
WWW browser or client software. The source-code to Mosaic has been licensed
by several companies and there are several other pieces of software as
good or better than Mosaic.
See also: Browser, Client, WWW
NIC
(Network Information Center)
-- Generally, any office that handles information for a network. The most
famous of these on the Internet is the InterNIC, which is where new domain
names are registered.
Network
Any time you connected 2 or
more computers together so that they can share resources you have a computer
network. Connect 2 or more networks together and you have an internet.
See also: Internet, internet
Newsgroups
The name for discussion groups
on Usenet .
See also: Usenet
Node
Any single computer connected
to a network .
See also: Network, Internet,
internet
Packet Switching
The method used to move data
around on the Internet . In packet switching, all the data coming out of
a machine is broken up into chunks, each chunk has the address of where
it came from and where it is going. This enables chunks of data from many
different sources to co-mingle on the same lines, and be sorted and directed
to different routes by special machines along the
way. This way many people can
use the same lines at the same time.
Password
A code used to gain access to
a locked system. Good passwords contain letters and non-letters and are
not simple combinations such as "virtue7". A good password might be:
Hot$l-6
See also: Login
POP
Two commonly used meanings:
"Point of Presence" and "Post Office Protocol".
A "Point of Presence" usually
means a city or location where a network can be connected to, often with
dialup phone lines, so if an Internet company says they will soon have
a POP in Belgrade, it means that they will soon have a local phone number
in Belgrade, and/or a place where leased-lines can connect to their network.
A second meaning, "Post Office Protocol" refers to the way e-mail software
such as Eudora gets mail from a mail server. When you obtain a SLIP, PPP,
or shell account you almost always get a POP account with it, and it is
this POP account that you tell your e-mail software to use to get your
mail.
See also: PPP, SLIP
PPP
(Point to Point Protocol) --
most well known as a protocol that allows a computer to use a regular telephone
line and a modem to make a TCP/IP connection and thus be really and truly
on the Internet . PPP is gradually replacing SLIP for this purpose.
See also: IP Number, Internet,
SLIP, TCP/IP
RFC
(Request For Comments) -- the
name of the result and the process for creating a standard on the Internet
. New standards are proposed and published on line, as a "Request For Comments".
The Internet Engineerng Task Force is a consensus-building body that facilitates
discussion, and eventually a new standard is established, but the reference
number/name for the standard retains the acronym "RFC", e.g. the official
standard for e-mail is RFC 822.
Router
A special-purpose computer (or
software package) that handles the connection between 2 or more networks
. Routers spend all their time looking at the destination addresses of
the packets passing through them and deciding which route to send them
on.
See also: Network, Packet Switching
SMDS
(Switched Multimegabit Data
Service) -- A new standard for very high-speed data transfer.
Server (see Client)
A computer, or a software package,
that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on
other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software,
such as a WWW server, or to the machine on which the software is running,
e.g.
"Our mail server is down today,
that's why e-mail isn't getting out." A single server machine could have
several different server software packages running on it, thus providing
many different services to clients on the network .
See also: Client, Network
SLIP
(Serial Line Internet Protocol)
-- a standard for using a regular telephone line (a "serial line") and
a modem to connect a computer as a real Internet site. SLIP is gradually
being replaced by PPP .
See also: Internet, PPP
T-1
A leased-line connection capable
of carrying data at 1,544,000 bits -per-second. At maximum theoretical
capacity, a T-1 line could move a megabyte in less than 10 seconds. That
is still not fast enough for full-screen, full-motion video, for which
you need at
least 10,000,000 bits-per-second.
T-1 is the fastest speed commonly used to connect networks to the Internet
.
See also: 56K, Bandwidth, Bit,
Byte, Ethernet, T-3
T-3
A leased-line connection capable
of carrying data at 45,000,000 bits-per-second. This is more than enough
to do full-screen, full-motion video.
See also: 56K, Bandwidth, Bit,
Byte, Ethernet, T-1
TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol) -- This is the suite of protocols that defines The Internet .
Originally designed for the UNIX operating system, TCP/IP software is now
available for every major kind of computer operating system. To be truly
on the Internet , your computer must have TCP/IP software.
See also: IP Number, Internet,
UNIX
Telnet
The command and program used
to login from one Internet site to another. The telnet command/program
gets you to the "login:" prompt of another host.
Terminal
A device that allows you to
send commands to a computer somewhere else. At a minimum, this usually
means a keyboard and a
display screen and some simple
circuitry. usually you will use terminal software in a personal computer
- the software pretends to be ("emulates") a physical terminal and allows
you to type commands to a computer somewhere else.
Terminal Server
A special purpose computer that
has places to plug in many modems on one side, and a connection to a LAN
or host machine on the other side. Thus the terminal server does the work
of answering the calls and passes the connections on to the appropriate
node . Most terminal servers can provide PPP or SLIP services if connected
to the Internet .
See also: LAN, Modem, Host,
Node, PPP, SLIP
UNIX
A computer operating system
(the basic software running on a computer, underneath things like word
processors and spreadsheets). UNIX is designed to be used by many people
at the same time (it is "multi-user") and has TCP/IP built-in. It is the
most common operating system for servers on the Internet
URL
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
-- The standard way to give the address of any resource on the Internet
that is part of the World Wide Web (WWW). A URL looks like this:
http://www.matisse.net/seminars.html
or telnet://well.sf.ca.us
or news:new.newusers.questions
etc.
The most common way to use a URL is to enter into a WWW browser program, such as Netscape, or Lynx. See also: Browser, WWW
Usenet
A world-wide system of discussion
groups, with comments passed among hundreds of thousands of machines. Not
all Usenet machines are on the Internet , maybe half. Usenet is completely
decentralized, with over 10,000 discussion areas, called newsgroups .
Veronica
(Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-wide
Index to Computerized Archives) -- Developed at the University of Nevada,
Veronica is a constantly updated database of the names of almost every
menu item on thousands of gopher servers. The Veronica database can be
searched from most major gopher menus.
See also: Gopher
WAIS
(Wide Area Information Servers)
-- A commercial software package that allows the indexing of huge quantities
of information, and then making those indices searchable across networks
such as the Internet . A prominent feature of WAIS is that the search results
are ranked according to how relevant the "hits" are, and that subsequent
searches can find "more stuff like that last batch" and thus refine the
search process.
WAN
(Wide Area Network) -- Any internet
or network that covers an area larger than a single building or campus.
See also: Internet, internet,
LAN, Network
WWW (World Wide Web)
Two meanings - First, loosely
used: The whole constellation of resources that can be accessed using Gopher
, FTP , HTTP , telnet , Usenet , WAIS and some other tools. Second, the
universe of hypertext servers (HTTP servers ) which are the servers that
allow text, graphics, sound files etc to be mixed together.
See also: Browser, FTP, Gopher,
HTTP, Telnet, URL, WAIS
