A

Access

Microsoft Office database software. Sometimes used on simple, dynamic Web sites.

An anchor can be used to create a link to another document, by using the href attribute, or to create a bookmark inside a document, by using the name attribute. This is useful in guiding users to specific content by “jumping” down the page.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An interface for letting one program communicate with another program. As it relates to the Web: An interface for letting browsers or servers communicate with other programs. See Active-X and Plug-In

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)

A widely used standard for encoding text documents. ASCII is a set of 128 alphanumeric and special control characters used for computer storing and printing of text. Used by HTML when transmitting data over the web. In ASCII, every letter, number, and punctuation symbol has a corresponding number, or ASCII code.

ASP (Active Server Pages)

A Microsoft technology allowing the insertion of server executable scripts in Web pages. ASP was replaced in 2002, in favor of the NET Framework.

AVI (Audio Video Interleave)

Video file format which uses compression technology developed by Microsoft.

Apache

Open source web server software, primarily running Unix, Linux and Solaris operating systems.

Avatar

This term refers to an interactive representation of a human in a virtual reality environment. The term was popularized by Neal Stephenson’s novel “Snow Crash.”

It also refers to a static photo or illustration (usually a small thumbnail) used in a profile on Social Media and other Web sites.

B

Bandwidth

A measurement of the speed and/or amount of data passed through an Internet connection.

Bit

The smallest measurement for computer data. A bit can have the value of 0 or 1. A computer uses 8 bits to store one text character. See Byte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terrabyte

Blog, Web Log

A blog (short for Web log) is a Web site which provides a series of posted items, usually in the form of short articles, photos and diary entries. Blogs usually include a searchable archive of older postings. A blog was typically the voice of one person, although that meaning has changed over the years as the term blog has been applied to many applications.

Bot, Robot

See Web Spider

Browser, Web Browser

Browsers are software applications that enable you to view Web pages and other documents on the Internet. They translate HTML-encoded files into the text, images, sounds and other features you see. Some of the most commonly used browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Google Chrome.

Byte

A computer storage unit containing 8 bits. Each byte can store one text character.

C

Cache

As it relates to the Web: A web browser or web server feature which stores copies of web pages on a computer’s hard disk.

ColdFusion, CFM, CFML

ColdFusion is an application server and scripting language used for Internet application development for dynamic Web pages.

CGI (Common Gateway Interface)

A set of rules that describes how a CGI program communicates with a web server.

CGI Program

A small program that handles input and output from a web server. Often CGI programs are used for handling forms input or database queries.

Client/Server Relationship

As it relates to the Web: The communication and separation of workload between a Web client (IE: browser) and a Web server (IE: Web site).

Client-Side

Client-side refers to operations that are performed by the client in a client/server relationship.

Typically, a client is a computer application, such as a Web browser, that runs on a user’s local computer and connects to a server as necessary. Operations may be performed client-side because they require access to information or functionality that is available on the client but not on the server, because the user needs to observe them or provide input, or because the server lacks the processing power to perform the operations in a timely manner for all of the clients it serves. Additionally, if operations can be performed by the client, without sending data over the network, they may take less time, use less bandwidth, and incur a smaller security risk.

Cookie

Data from a Web server, sent to and stored by the browser on the client computer. When a browser connects back to certain Web pages, the stored cookie is sent back to the server, allowing it to respond to you according to the cookie’s contents. The main use for cookies is to provide customized Web pages according to a profile of your interests. When you log onto a customize type of invitation on a Web page and fill in your name and other information, this may result in a cookie on your computer which that Web page will access to appear to know you and provide customized.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

CSS is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation (that is, the look and formatting) of a document written in a markup language. Its most common application is to style Web pages written in HTML.

D

DHTML

A term used to describe HTML content that can change dynamically.

DNS, Domain Name Servers

DNS refers to a database of Internet names and addresses which translates the names to the official Internet Protocol numbers and vice versa. DNS refers the browser to the appropriate Web server in order to bring up the Web site associated with a particular URL.

Domain, Domain Name

The name that identifies a web site (IE: visionn.com)

Download

To transfer a file from a remote computer to a local computer. As it relates to the Web: to transfer a file from a Web server to a Web client. See Upload

Dynamic

As it relates to the Web: Dynamic refers to a Web page or site that are database-driven (Not Static). See Static

F

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

A common feature on Web sites, FAQs are pages with answers to commonly asked questions.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

FTP is a protocol that allows the transfer of files from one computer to another. Typically a client program is used to connect to the server and transfer files.