"I just used the CSS in my IMS GUI WYSIWYG drag and drop
DHTML editor to create a Javascript interactive drop-menu that
links to the URL on my ISP host that I got from Internic."
I really do know what I am talking about. Do you? The fact is only a
few months ago I would have had trouble with a couple of these
terms.
I have been in this business for a long time and I think I know as
much or more than anyone when it comes to computer graphics and
the Internet. Even so, if I would have had trouble with a few of
these terms a few months ago, I almost certainly would not have
known what I was talking about only a few years ago.
The computer industry is rife with techno-bable (is that how you
spell it?). I can coin new terms as fast as the next techie. It needs a
good marketer however, to cast a new term into the lexicon of
everyday techno-speak.
So what do these and all those other terms mean?
Here is a brief list for your reference. Just don't blink. There are sure
to be more by the time you have finished reading them.
HTML HyperText Markup Language. The code that is used to
define a web page. Don't ask me who's idea this term was.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets.) The expanded term is probably
worse than the abbreviation. It refers to the ability to assign styles to
elements on a web page (HTML document). Examples include
position, size, color etc.
DHTML Dynamic HTML. Incorporates the ability to change the
CSS values in an HTML document after it has been loaded. The
result are Animated and Interactive web pages.
WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get. A computer program
that displays a reasonably good example of the finished result as it
is being constructed.
GUI Graphical User Interface. A program that uses a visual
interface instead of a command line interface. DOS uses commands,
Windows uses a GUI.
Drag and Drop A GUI that allows you to use your mouse to drag
elements from one location to another.
IMS Interactive Multimedia System. I told you we are quite
capable of creating our own anachronisms.
Anachronisms: Big words made up by VIP's (Very Important
People) and LITOM's (Legends In Their Own Mind).
ISP Internet Service Provider. A company that provides
internet services such as web page hosting.
Dialup Service Provider. An ISP that provides telephone connection
services so that you can connect to the Internet with your modem.
Access Service Provider. An ISP that provides any kind of access to
the Internet such as Cable modem.
Modem MOdulator, DEModulator. A device connected to your
computer that goes Brrrr... Beee. Baaa. whenever you try to use
it. If you have not figured out the purpose of this one yet you are
probably not reading this.
Host A computer that stores web accounts. You will often get
a contract with an ISP to host your web site.
Server A computer that serves other computers. A Host server
stores web sites. A mail server stores and transmits email. All host
computers are servers but not all servers are hosts.
Form HTML code to collect information from a visitor.
Perl Practical Extraction and Report Language. The most
common scripting language for processing Form data.
CGI Common Gateway Interface. A protocol for gathering
data from a Form and sending it to a program or Script such as Perl.
Often used to indicate the entire method for processing a Form but
in fact it is only a transfer interface.
WWW World Wide Web. (as if you did not know). Is a method
for connecting many of the resources available over the Internet
using HTML. Often incorrectly used as a synonym for the Internet.
Internet Is the physical world wide interconnection between
computers and their resources using TCP/IP.
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Is a
communication protocol between computers that wish to "talk" over
a physical connection. It defines the rules on how they
communicate. TCP/IP is the method by which all computers talk
over the Internet but it works equally as well on a LAN.
LAN Local Area Network. A kind of mini network between
locally connected computers, often in a business. Gets into
Intranets, Firewalls etc, which are topics for another day.
IP Internet Protocol. The protocol that sends packets of
data over the Internet.
IP Address Internet Protocol Address. Defines were an IP packet is
going. Often to somebody's computer over the Internet. Your
domain has an IP address.
Domain An Internet Web Site identified with an IP address.
Domain Name The name of a Web Site that is mapped to an IP
address using a URL.
URL Universal Resource Locator. Is the address of any
resource on the World Wide Web. It often refers to a Web Page but
it can include almost any file that can be found on a server
connected to the WWW (see above).
FTP File Transfer Protocol. The protocol used to transfer
files from one computer to another over the Internet. It is what you
use to copy your web pages to your host.
Spam A luncheon meat made famous by Monty Python and
now freely distributed over the Internet using TCP/IP on the WWW
to your email box as soon as the distributor finds your Domain IP
mail box host address.
Do you think that's it? No way. Here is a brief list of web sites that
are dedicated to explaining these and many other arcane terms.
There are probably more.
